Wasps: The Astonishing Diversity of a Misunderstood Insect
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today / Animal Emotions
March 2021

The ultimate visual journey into the beautiful and complex world of wasps.

Eric Eaton
Available from Princeton University Press...

Last year, I posted an essay called Some Truths About the Fascinating Lives of Wasps, which discussed an article published in New Scientist by Richard Jones called "Not so Waspish," with the subtitle, "They are one of the least-loved animals, but wasps deserve our affection. It's time for a rebranding." The online version is titled "Wasps may benefit us as much as bees. Could we learn to love them?" with the subtitle, "We love to hate wasps, but they pollinate flowers, kill off pests and their venom might even help us treat cancer."1

I learned a lot about wasps from Jones' essay and the references he provides, and wanted to learn more about these misunderstood insects. So, I was pleased to read a book called Wasps: The Astonishing Diversity of a Misunderstood Insect by Eric R. Eaton, a writer, editor, and consultant who has worked as an entomologist for many institutions.2 Here's what he had to say about his highly informative and beautifully illustrated book about these diverse and fascinating insects.

I wrote Wasps because these insects suffer from a terrible reputation that they do not deserve. We are conditioned to fear and loathe wasps by the pest control industry, social media memes, and family and friends. The media equates all wasps with hornets, yellowjackets, and other social wasps, when in fact that is a tiny fraction of wasp diversity. Not all wasp species sting, and of those that do, only females have stings....

 

Please read the ENTIRE INTERVIEW HERE (PDF).


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