The Social Biology of Wasps / Edition 1

by Kenneth G. Ross, Robert W. Matthews

Overview

In this edited collection, 17 internationally known authorities bring together the results of recent research on the natural history, ecology, behavior, morphology, and genetics of wasps as they pertain to the evolution of social behavior.

The first part of the book opens with a review of the classification of the family Vespidae along with a revision of the subfamily Polistinae. Seven subsequent chapters deal with the natural history and social biology of each of the major taxa of social and presocial vespids. The second part of the book offers chapters on reproductive competition; worker polyethism; evolution of nest architecture, of queen number and queen control, and of exocrine glands; population genetics; the nutritional bsis of social evolution; and the nest as the locus of social life. The final chapter is a comparative discussion of social behavior in the Sphecidae, the only family of wasps besides the Vespidae in which well-developed social behavior is known.

Providing a wealth of information about the biology of wasps, this comprehensive, up-to-date volume will be an essential reference for entomologists, evolutionary biologists, behavioral ecologists, ethologists, and zoologists.

Contributors: James M. Carpenter. David P. Cowan. Holly A Downing. Raghavendra Gadagkar. Albert Greene. James H. Hunt. Robert L. Jeanne. Makoto Matsuura. Robert W. Matthews. Hudson K. Reeve. PeterFrank Roseler. Kenneth G. Ross. J. Philip Spradbery. Christopher K. Starr. Stefano Turillazzi. John W. Wenzel. Mary Jane West-Eberhard.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801499067
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	05/30/1991
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	696
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Kenneth G. Ross is Assistant Professor of Entomology and Robert W. Matthews is Professor of Entomology at the University of Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

Anyone with even a casual interest in social insects should read it.

Nature

The Social Biology of Wasps provides a thorough and up-to-date account. It is fertile ground for graduate students seeking thesis topics and a great resource for anyone attuned to the tension between conflict and cooperation that makes social animals so interesting.

-- "Science"

Anyone with even a casual interest in social insects should read it.

-- "Nature"

From the Publisher

The Social Biology of Wasps provides a thorough and up-to-date account. It is fertile ground for graduate students seeking thesis topics and a great resource for anyone attuned to the tension between conflict and cooperation that makes social animals so interesting.

Science

Anyone with even a casual interest in social insects should read it.

Nature Lib

A collection of 17 studies by an international group of scientists reviews recent research on the natural history, ecology, behavior, morphology, and genetics of wasps in relation to the evolution of modern wasp society. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

The Social Biology of Wasps provides a thorough and up-to-date account. It is fertile ground for graduate students seeking thesis topics and a great resource for anyone attuned to the tension between conflict and cooperation that makes social animals so interesting.

Science