Book Review: Wasps by Heather Holm

For centuries, "bees" have been feared and maligned. Thanks to accurate information about essential pollination services by true bees, attitudes are changing. Author and photographer Heather Holm and her books about bees have been instrumental in helping people recognize and understand the intimate relationships among bees, flowers, ecosystems, and our food supply.

This time Heather Holm has taken on the fuzzy bees' smooth cousins, the wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets, in her new book, Wasps (Pollination Press, LLC, 2021). Holm approaches these misunderstood insects with the same sensitivity she has applied to bees. This approach was not an easy task. While we may have learned to appreciate the bees because of their essential role in pollinating our food crops, these wasps are a different story! Or are they?

Upon opening my copy of Wasps, I thumbed through the pages to find my favorite wasp, the two-spotted blue-winged scoliid wasp (Scolia dubia). Yes, I do have a favorite wasp! It's beautiful and well-mannered, and its chosen prey are scarab beetle larvae. I was not disappointed by her full-page photograph! The scoliid's iridescent blue wings were held above its black body, accented with two bright yellow dots on its russet posterior. The opposite page gave the scoliid's ranking within the Hymenoptera order of ants, bees, wasps, and allies. Paragraphs described its appearance, biology, host, and size. A range map of North America, a list of native nectar plants, and the season that adults are active are included. Holm treats each wasp species of eastern North America in this complete fashion!

But let's go back to the beginning of the book. Holm's introduction, "Why Wasps? How to Use This Book" concisely describes the layout of her recent work. "All About Wasps" sets the tone by introducing the sociality of wasps through their nesting types. Chapters two through four expand upon wasp life cycles, anatomy, and diet. Now that the reader understands the wasp, Holm introduces the wasp as an ecosystem service provider in chapter five.

We humans may be unaware of all that wasps do for our ecosystems, directly and indirectly. Wasps are pollinators of flowers as they gather nectar to feed themselves. Nectar contains both sugars and amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. Another source of food for adult wasps is tree sap. Wasps are excellent managers of pest insects that they provide to their young as protein sources.

Chapters six through seventeen discuss the different families or subfamilies of wasps in eastern North America. Each new chapter begins with a summary of family characteristics. Each species within a family has the same color coding to keep the information, and the reader, organized within the book.

Holm is not yet finished. She next introduces a planting guide divided regionally within eastern North America in chapter eighteen. A glossary reinforces the scientific terms she has presented throughout the text. For the reader who wants additional information, an extensive bibliography is included. The index is easy to use for beginners and experienced wasp lovers.

While this book is too large and heavy for pocket or field use, it should be stored within easy reach on the bookshelf. My copy has accumulated many bookmarks representing recent observations of these essential creatures. I treat wasps with great respect, not only because they can defend themselves but also because they are a complex and integral part of our ecosystem. Heather Holm’s Wasps has reinforced the latter concept. As you are planning and planting your garden for the bees, include the wasps: they deserve it!