Hymenoptera : The Natural History and Diversity of Wasps, Bees and Ants

A treasure. Hymenoptera highlights these insects in an incredibly rich selection of color photographs and text, that serve both in identification and to illuminate their lives and strategies. It is hugely pleasing. Superb.
-- Bernd Heinrich, biologist and author

Winner of the 2024 Dartmouth Medal for most outstanding reference work, an annual award presented by the expert reference and collection development librarians of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

Stephen A. Marshall''s natural history titles are among the most respected books on the insect world published in the last 20 years. More admirable than the books'' rigorous science, however, is that they are wholly suitable for a lay audience, including high school students interested in entomology. The books have been adopted as classroom texts at the university level and are on the reference shelves of many practicing entomologists.

In Hymenoptera, Marshall has applied his broad knowledge of insects to the world of wasps, bees and ants. The subject of this book is enormous, since Hymenoptera is arguably the largest order of living things. Comprehensive and packed with richly illustrated keys and thousands of colour photographs identified with help from many of the world''s best hymenopterists, this volume provides the reader with a colourful and enjoyable introduction to a huge group of organisms, along with an overview of the diversity of fascinating families included in the group.

The second section is a guided tour of the diversity of the order, with fascinating stops for almost all of the world''s 100 or so families of wasps as well as most of the significant subfamilies. Thousands of photos, almost all taken in the field by the author, are used to capture the range of form and function in each family. Essential information about importance, range, behavior and biology is provided for each group, and easy-to-use photographic keys to most families are provided for those wishing to use the book as an identification guide.