Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps
Written by Seirian Sumner
Narrated by Seirian Sumner
5/5
()
About this audiobook
“A book that draws us in to the strange beauty of what we so often run away from.” — Robin Ince, author of The Importance of Being Interested
In this eye-opening and entertaining work of popular science in the spirit of The Mosquito, Entangled Life, and The Book of Eels, a leading behavioural ecologist transforms our understanding of wasps, exploring these much-maligned insects’ secret world, their incredible diversity and complex social lives, and revealing how they hold our fragile ecosystem in balance.
Everyone worries about the collapse of bee populations. But what about wasps? Deemed the gangsters of the insect world, wasps are winged assassins with formidable stings. Conduits of Biblical punishment, provokers of fear and loathing, inspiration for horror movies: wasps are perhaps the most maligned insect on our planet.
But do wasps deserve this reputation?
Endless Forms opens our eyes to the highly complex and diverse world of wasps. Wasps are 100 million years older than bees; there are ten times more wasp species than there are bees. There are wasps that spend their entire lives sealed inside a fig; wasps that turn cockroaches into living zombies; wasps that live inside other wasps. There are wasps that build citadels that put our own societies to shame, marked by division of labor, rebellions and policing, monarchies, leadership contests, undertakers, police, negotiators, and social parasites. Wasps are nature’s most misunderstood insect: as predators and pollinators, they keep the planet’s ecological balance in check. Wasps are nature’s pest controllers; a world without wasps would be just as ecologically devastating as losing the bees, or beetles, or butterflies.
Wasps are diverse and beautiful by every measure, and they are invaluable to planetary health, Professor Sumner reminds us; we’d do well to appreciate them as much as their cuter cousins, the bees.
Seirian Sumner
SEIRIAN SUMNER is a professor of behavioral ecology at University College London, where she studies the ecology and evolution of social insects. She has published over seventy papers in scientific journals and has received numerous awards for her work, including a L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Award, a Points of Light Award from the UK prime minister, and a Silver Medal from the Zoological Society of London. She is a fellow and trustee of the Royal Entomological Society and cofounder of the citizen science initiative Big Wasp Survey. Sumner lives in Oxfordshire, England, with her husband and three children.
Related to Endless Forms
Related audiobooks
Alien Worlds: The Secret Lives of Insects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hidden Lives of Owls: The Science and Spirit of Nature's Most Elusive Birds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life Everlasting: The Animal Way of Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gods, Wasps and Stranglers: The Secret History and Redemptive Future of Fig Trees Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Genius of Birds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Incredible Journey of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beaks, Bones, and Bird Songs: How the Struggle for Survival Has Shaped Birds and Their Behavior Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Every Living Thing: Man's Obsessive Quest to Catalog Life, from Nanobacteria to New Monkeys Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hummingbirds' Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hidden World: How Insects Sustain Life on Earth Today and Will Shape Our Lives Tomorrow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Superlative: The Biology of Extremes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Homing Instinct: Meaning and Mystery in Animal Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Curious Species: How Animals Made Natural History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmpire of Ants: The Hidden Worlds and Extraordinary Lives of Earth's Tiny Conquerors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Native Bees: North America's Endangered Pollinators and the Fight to Save Them Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion -- Surprising Observations of a Hidden World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Thing with Feathers: The Surprising Lives of Birds and What They Reveal About Being Human Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beastly: The 40,000-Year Story of Animals and Us Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Planta Sapiens: The New Science of Plant Intelligence Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nature Underfoot: Living with Beetles, Crabgrass, Fruit Flies, and Other Tiny Life Around Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tales from the Ant World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Modern Bestiary: A Curated Collection of Wondrous Wildlife Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Nature For You
Shelter: A Love Letter to Trees Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: My Year of Psychedelics: Lessons on Better Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Uncertain Sea: Fear is everywhere. Embrace it. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cactus Jack: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Never Cry Wolf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Elephant Whisperer: My Life With the Herd in the African Wild Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Animals Strike Curious Poses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion -- Surprising Observations of a Hidden World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Book of the Damned Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Genius of Birds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Escaping from Eden: Does Genesis teach that the human race was created by God or engineered by ETs? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Coffee: A Sustainable Guide to Nootropics, Adaptogens, and Mushrooms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life on Earth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Endless Forms
2 ratings0 reviews