Seirian Sumner Explains How We Need Pesky Bugs and Their Many Wonders
Wasps...are they mean or just misunderstood? Seirian Sumner explains how we need pesky insects and their many wondersSeirian Sumner, professor of behavioral ecology at UCL loves wasps ="author-section byline-plain">By
NATURE
ENDLESS FORMS < /p>
by Seirian Sumner (William Collins £20, 304pp)
Ya- Does anyone have a good say about wasps? They build sinister white nests in our attics and sheds, have a fierce sting and ruin summer picnics.
While we love sweet, productive bees and worry about their dwindling numbers, hardly anyone likes wasps.
Move forward Seirian Sumner, professor of behavioral ecology at University College London, who is buzzing with enthusiasm for wasps.
Far from being a useless pest, she says, they are "one of nature's most secret and neglected gems", insects with a fascinating social structure including 'rebellions and policing, monarchies, contest leadership...'
The most ubiquitous wasp is the plague picnics, the yellow jacket wasp Vespula vulgaris, "the most despised insect in the world", according to Sumner - but there are at least 100,000 known species of wasps (compared to 22,000 species of bees) and probably several million 'others that have not yet been classified.
All bees evolved from wasps: At some point, about 124 million years ago, the first bees ceased to be ca...
NATURE
ENDLESS FORMS < /p>
by Seirian Sumner (William Collins £20, 304pp)
Ya- Does anyone have a good say about wasps? They build sinister white nests in our attics and sheds, have a fierce sting and ruin summer picnics.
While we love sweet, productive bees and worry about their dwindling numbers, hardly anyone likes wasps.
Move forward Seirian Sumner, professor of behavioral ecology at University College London, who is buzzing with enthusiasm for wasps.
Far from being a useless pest, she says, they are "one of nature's most secret and neglected gems", insects with a fascinating social structure including 'rebellions and policing, monarchies, contest leadership...'
The most ubiquitous wasp is the plague picnics, the yellow jacket wasp Vespula vulgaris, "the most despised insect in the world", according to Sumner - but there are at least 100,000 known species of wasps (compared to 22,000 species of bees) and probably several million 'others that have not yet been classified.
All bees evolved from wasps: At some point, about 124 million years ago, the first bees ceased to be ca...
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