Description
Wasps: Their Biology, Diversity and Role as Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants
By Heather Holm
Price: $26 (Suggested Retail $44.95)
Publisher: Pollination Press, October 27, 2022
Paperback: 420 pages
Reading age: 12 years and up
Dimensions : 11 x 9 x 1 inches
ISBN-10 : 0991356373
ISBN-13 : 978-0991356379
Notes:
WASPS is the first full-color, illustrated guide featuring approximately 150 species of flower-visiting wasps that occur in eastern North America, and the specific native plants and habitat each species depends upon. Written with an ecological lens, this richly-illustrated book details wasp diversity and has full-page profiles for each wasp species that include identification tips, geographic range maps, biology, prey, natural history and habitat.
Five introductory chapters cover wasp taxonomy, nesting biology, prey-hunting behaviors, diet, anatomy, as well as wasp habitat enhancement and management, and the ecosystem services provided by wasps–insect pest population control and pollination. Profiles of each wasp species comprise the major part of the book and are organized by family, showcasing twelve families and sixty-eight wasp genera. Also included are eastern North American regional native plant guides, tips on wasp observation, and over 1000 stunning photographs.
This is an essential book for conservationists, naturalists, insect enthusiasts, biologists, nature photographers, native plant aficionados, and anyone interested in beneficial insects and pollinators.
Winner of Seven Book Awards:
- 2022 American Horticultural Society Book Award
- 2022 Midwest Independent Publishers Association Book Award: Nature
- 2021 National Indie Excellence Award Winner: Nature
- 2021 National Indie Excellence Award Finalist:Environment
- 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist:Science/Nature
- 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist:Regional Non-Fiction
- 2021 Independent Publisher Book Award Silver: Nature
About the Author:
Heather Holm is a pollinator conservationist and award-winning author of four books: Pollinators of Native Plants (2014), Bees (2017), Wasps (2021), and Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States (2022). Both Bees and Wasps have won multiple book awards including the American Horticultural Society Book Award (2018 and 2022 respectively). She is the founder and chair of Minnesota Native Bees, an online field guide illustrating the native bees of Minnesota and beyond. Heather’s expertise includes the interactions between native pollinators and native plants, and the natural history and biology of native bees and predatory wasps. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and many local publications. Heather is also an accomplished photographer and her pollinator photos are frequently featured in print and electronic publications.
Heather serves on the boards of the following non-profits: Friends of Cullen Nature Preserve and Bird Sanctuary, Friends of Minnetonka Parks, and the new Minnesota Oak Savanna Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts. In her spare time, she is an active community supporter, writing grants, and coordinating and participating in volunteer ecological landscape restoration projects of fire-dependent ecosystems. The latest project is a 13-acre oak savanna restoration that will provide thriving habitat for pollinators, birds, mammals, and passive, nature-based opportunities for people.
