Despite being one of the most varied and colourful groups of insects, wasps are often overlooked and frequently misunderstood. Indeed, with the exception of a couple of species, the vast majority of Britain's wasps go largely unnoticed. This book explores the world of social and non-social wasps, revealing beautifully adapted predators, parasites and mimics of colour and form which will appeal to amateur and professional naturalists alike.
Surrey is probably the richest county in Britain for wasps supporting almost 90% of the British List. This abundance is mainly due to Surrey's landscape as, with the exception of coastal habitats, the county retains extensive areas of those habitats most favoured by wasps such as Lowland heath and calcareous grassland. The book includes an account of all 242 species recorded to date and illustrates 112 of them on 48 colour plates. In addition to information on status and distribution, there are numerous sections on the behaviour and biology of wasps, including conservation and biodiversity, finding wasps and how to identify them including a fully illustrated key to the aculeate families.
The author, David Baldock is a lifelong resident of Surrey and has an extensive knowledge of the natural history of the county. He writes regularly on bees and wasps in British Wildlife and is a council member of BWARS (Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Scheme). He is also a keen botanist and birdwatcher.