Synopses & Reviews
Few insects are more important than bees, wasps, and ants. They maintain the garden's biological balance, fertilize vegetables, fruits, and flowers, and recycle nutrients within the soil. It's no exaggeration to say that a garden can't be understood without an understanding of its insects.
Bees, Wasps, and Ants explores the importance of the Hymenoptera and explains how gardeners can encourage (or discourage) them in the garden. Part One includes a summary of their biology and a tour of what role they play in each part of the garden. Part Two takes a closer look at the individual groups within the family, including sawflies, horntails, woodwasps, parasitic wasps, predatory wasps, bees, and ants.
Bees, Wasps, and Ants is sure to persuade even the most insectphobic reader to invite these fascinating creatures into their gardens.
Review
"Grissell brings years of study and an infectious enthusiasm to this beautifully illustrated volume." Viveka Neveln
Review
An introduction to the myriad species of these insects and all they do in your garden. The American Gardener
Review
From the impact of insects on our lives to their biology and families, this is packed with detailed information tailored to gardener and growing interests, and thus is recommended for home and garden collections as well as any science library. The Bookwatch
About the Author
Eric Grissell was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. After receiving his doctorate in entomology in 1973 from the University of California, Davis, he worked as a taxonomic entomologist for the Florida Department of Agriculture until 1978. From 1978 to the present he has worked as a research entomologist for the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, located at the U.S. National Museum of Natural History. He is also a research associate for the Smithsonian Institution and an adjunct associate professor at the University of Maryland. Grissell has gardened since the age of 8 and has been an avid entomologist since the age of 11. He has published two popular books on gardening, several technical books on entomology, more than 75 scientific papers.