The Hunting Wasp

Crompton, John, 1987 .2nd edition. "The Hunting Wasp"--Little Known, Shocking Similarities Between Insects and Humans. Nick Lyons Books, New York, New York. 240 pages. The Hunting Wasp is a classical work of natural history published more than 50 years ago and still in print. John Crompton, an English author and a natural historian. It was written in 1955, with two subsequent editions published in 1987 and 2004. The fact that there are new editions of the Hunting Wasp proves that this piece of work is of high quality and that the audience appreciates its context, despite the fact that scientific research being conducted nowadays has surpassed the observations Crompton describes. The book still finds its way to the hearts of the readers which, in my opinion, is a tribute to the story telling, clear style of Crompton's writing. The structure of the book follows the behavior of different subfamilies of the Sphecidae family of wasps, mainly those of Ammophila and Cerceris, in various situations. It focuses on how wasps obtain food for their offspring, underlining the fact that these insects have the capability of attacking and killing insect species much stronger and larger than themselves. Each chapter of the book shows how a wasp deals with a certain type of insects, whether it is a fly or a caterpillar, or a humongous praying mantis or a cockroach. Crompton typically compares and contrasts observations made by three entomologists, Fabre and the Peckham couple, who have spent significant time studying wasps, combing these observations with his own comments. This is particularly interesting as it gives a reader, especially the one not familiar with the process of scientific research, a chance to familiarize oneself with it and also the fact that scientific observations done in a similar manner can often lead to very different results. I liked very much the way in which Crompton wrote this book, because the vocabulary he chose in explaining his observations was equally suitable for a biologist and a more general reader. I did find the reading to be somewhat difficult at times, due to differences in British and American English, as well as some old fashioned vocabulary and grammar structures he sometimes uses. I also found the authors attempts to be poetic a little overwhelming at times ("And now I think, without further preliminaries, we will go straight into the arena and watch the fight", p.50) What amazed me the most while reading The Hunting Wasp was that insects, those creatures we find annoying and useless most of the time, are such intelligent little beings. Some parallels that the author drew between the ways humans and wasps react in certain situations were truly shocking and I couldn't help but think how we take the insects for granted and how little credit we usually give them. One of the most interesting moments were graphic descriptions of how wasps capture the prey and bring it to their offspring. The way in which they plan out t

Crompton's books get excellent reviews in the press. That's why I bought "The Hunting Wasp" several years ago. I didn't read it until recently, however, and then only because I found myself without other reading material one evening. I figured that any book on insect life is bound to pall after the first few pages, no matter how great the reviews. Not true. Crompton's accounts of the lives and loves of hunting wasps are cliff-hangers, filled with blood lust, love gone bad, murder and mayhem, the sacrifices of motherhood, and adventure. I love this book. It helps that John Crompton is an extraordinarily gifted writer and witty to boot. Describing the courtship of crickets (which are the prey of certain hunting wasps), he writes, "While the cricket sits fiddling, thinking only of his art, a female appears before him. He is disconcerted and shy and she is shy too, but timidly their antennae touch. After that they sit for hours fondling one another and then, after a last caress, the female goes away. But she returns, or he goes to her, and henceforward the affair proceeds with gathering tempo until they find themselves in each others' arms so to speak and the union proceeds. When he has recovered a little from the exhaustion caused by these nuptials, he scrapes a gentle note on the Stradivarius. Alas, the tune that once so thrilled the bride leaves her unmoved now. Indeed, it irritates her, and irritates her so much that she springs at him and smashes his violin. If he is wise he will not prolong the honeymoon. Nothing is more obvious than that his newly wed wife has conceived a violent aversion for him. Her transient love of music too has gone. He has done the only thing that interests her and she has no further use for him. He will get more than his violin broken if he stays." Wonderful stuff. So good that I've ordered his books on spiders, bees and ants so I can continue reading these spellbinding sagas of the insect world.

You would never expect that a book about wasps could possibly be interesting, if you think bugs are disgusting little critters for which Raid is the best tool of study. That's what I thought until I happened to leaf through Crompton's little volume. To my amazement, he made the strange world of these beasties fascinating. And he has a wonderfully witty way of describing them in semi-human terms. They're even more disgusting than I thought they were, but he opened my eyes to an extraordinary part of the world around me. A Disney world, it isn't. More like a Stephen King world. But his sense of humor makes it all bearable. Tree-huggers and condo inmates, read Crompton or be stung by ignorance! -- Tom McDonough