Excerpt: The technique of  trap-nesting  for wasps and bees by putting out strips of wood having a hole bored in one end is not exactly new, but only within the last 15 years has it been widely employed in this country. This new book by Karl V. Krombein, chairman of the Department of Entomology at the U.S. National Museum, reveals how enormously productive the technique can be. It is, of course, useful only for species that normally nest in hollow twigs. Species that bore in pith (such as many crabronine wasps) do not usually accept the traps , nor do groundnesters (which make up the majority of wasps and bees)

Evans, Howard E

English

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 1 
Number 5 -- October 1967 Number 5 -- October 
1967 
Article 6 
October 2067 
Trap-Nesting Wasps and Bees: Life Histories, Nests, and 
Associates. Karl V. Krombein. Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian 
Institution, 1957. Smithsonian Publ. 4670. vi, 570 pp. $12.50. 
Howard E. Evans 
Harvard University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Evans, Howard E. 2067. "Trap-Nesting Wasps and Bees: Life Histories, Nests, and Associates. Karl V. 
Krombein. Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution, 1957. Smithsonian Publ. 4670. vi, 570 pp. 
$12.50.," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 1 (5) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss5/6 
This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has 
been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For 
more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
1967 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 173 
Nixon, G.E.J. 1951. The  assoc ia t ion  of an t s  with aphids and coccids.  
London. 
Pont in ,  A.J. 1959. S o m e  r e c o r d s  of p r e d a t o r s  and p a r a s i t e s  adapted 
to a t t ack  aphids at tended by ants .  Entomol.  Monthly Mag. 95: 154-155. 
Way, M.J. 1963. Mutual ism between an ts  and honeydew-producing 
Homoptera.  Ann. Rev. Entomol.  8:307-344. 
REVIEWS OF RECENT LITERATURE 
TRAP-NESTING WASPS AND BEES: L I F E  HISTORIES, NESTS. AND 
ASSOCIATES. K a r l  V. Krombein.  Washington,  D.C.: The  Smithsonian 
Inst i tut ion,  1957. Smithsonian Publ. 4670. vi ,  570 pp. $12.50. 
The  technique of "trap-nesting" f o r  wasps  and b e e s  by putting out  
s t r i p s  of wood having a hole  b o r e d  in one end i s  not  exact ly new, but  
only within the  l a s t  1 5  y e a r s  h a s  i t  been widely employed in th i s  coun- 
t ry .  This  new book by K a r l  V. Krombein ,  c h a i r m a n  of the Depar tment  
of Entomology a t  the U.S. National Museum,  r e v e a l s  how enormous ly  
product ive the technique can  be. I t  i s ,  of c o u r s e ,  useful  only f o r  s p e c i e s  
tha t  normal ly  n e s t  in  hollow twigs.  Spec ies  tha t  b o r e  in  pith (such a s  
many  c r a b r o n i n e  wasps)  do not usual ly accep t  the  t r a p s ,  nor  do ground- 
n e s t e r s  (which m a k e  up  the m a j o r i t y  of wasps  and b e e s ) .  
Despi te  i t s  l imi ta t ions ,  the t rap-nes t ing  technique i s  e x t r e m e l y  
valuable,  a s  i t  a l lows one to follow the development  of the  c e l l  con- 
t e n t s  c lose ly  once the n e s t  h a s  been s p l i t  open,  and a l s o  b e c a u s e  the 
n e s t s  a r e  s o  s i m p l e  and inexpensive tha t  i t  i s  p rac t icab le  to u s e  
l a r g e  n u m b e r s  of t h e m ,  thus obtaining in format ion  on ecology and 
population phenomena  not avai lable  f r o m  i so la ted  n e s t s .  The tech- 
nique is a l so  useful  in  s u m m e r  p r o g r a m s  f o r  young people;  t h e r e  i s  
probably no equally s i m p l e  method f o r  demons t ra t ing  s o m e  of the 
complex i t i es  in  na tura l  env i ronments .  
Krombein ' s  s tudy is based  on d a t a  gained f r o m  about 3400 t r a p - n e s t s  
put ou t  o v e r  a 12-year  per iod  in s e v e r a l  e a s t e r n  s t a t e s  and Arizona.  
In  a l l ,  h e  t r e a t s  75 s p e c i e s  of wasps  tha t  accepted h i s  t r a p s ,  a s  well a s  
43 s p e c i e s  of b e e s  and 83 s p e c i e s  of p a r a s i t e s  and p r e d a t o r s  of di-  
v e r s e  g roups .  P r e v i o u s  knowledge of t h e s e  i n s e c t s  i s  rev iewed,  but 
in  a g r e a t  many  c a s e s  nothing a t  a l l  was  known about them.  In fac t ,  5 
s p e c i e s  of wasps  had to b e  d e s c r i b e d  a s  new f r o m  the Washington a r e a  
a lone ,  and the symbiot ic  m i t e s  included 2 new g e n e r a  and 17 new 
spec ies !  If t h e r e  a r e  p e r s o n s  who f e e l  tha t  descr ip t ive  n a t u r a l  h i s t o r y  
h a s  < ' r u n  i t s  course"  (and t h e r e  a r e ) ,  they should b e  c lose ted  with th i s  
book f o r  a few days.  
Krombein  i s  known f o r  h i s  met icu lous  attention to de ta i l ,  and th i s  book 
i s  no except ion.  I t  i s  a g r e a t  compendium of f a c t s ,  g a t h e r e d  with g r e a t  
1
Evans: Trap-Nesting Wasps and Bees
Published by ValpoScholar, 2067
174 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 1, No. 5 
c a r e  and in many c a s e s  suppor ted  by exce l len t  photographs,  The  author 
points out  many of the biological  c r i t e r i a  tha t  cha r ac t e r i z e  gene ra  and 
spec i e s ,  a s  well a s  ins tances  of competition and competi t ive exclu- 
s i on ,  and many unusual  phenomena which cannot  be  s u m m a r i z e d  he r e .  
F o r  my  t a s t e ,  t he r e  might  have  been m o r e  a t t emp t s  to genera l ize  
f r o m  th is  g r e a t  m a s s  of data. The book i s  a mountain of r i c h  o r e ,  but  
the r e a d e r  i s  apt to  find himself  doing a good dea l  of h i s  own refining. 
P e r h a p s  this  i s  a s  i t  should be ;  a t  any r a t e  we may  be  thankful to  have 
al l  of this  information in one a t t rac t ive  volume,  r a t h e r  than having to 
f e r r e t  i t  out amid  the c u r r e n t  information explosion. 
Howard E. Evans  
Museum of Compara t ive  Zoology 
Ha rva rd  Universi ty 
BRIEF NOTICES 
THE BIOLOGY O F  POPULATIONS. Robert  H. MacArthur  and Joseph  
H. Connell. New York ,  London and Sydney: John Wiley & Sons,  1966 .  
xv i ,  200 pp. $5.95. 
This  textbook, which can be  r ead  just a s  e a s i l y  a s  an introduct ion to 
the subjec t ,  i s  one of a s e r i e s  r e su l t i ng f rom a 1960 meet ing  of spec ia l -  
i s t s  a t  which the hope was exp re s sed  t ha t ' l t h e  teaching of biology could 
be  r eo r i en t ed  to convey m o r e  effect ively and forceful ly the intel lectual  
revolut ion which biology was undergoing." The au thors  s u m m a r i z e  
the content  well: ". . . we begin by descr ib ing  the se t t ing ,  both in  t ime  
and space ,  in which populations exist .  Then we cons ider  how a population 
developed i t s  p rope r t i e s  by the mechanism of na tu r a l  select ion and how 
different  kinds of populations ( ' spec ies ' )  a ro se .  After  we have evolved 
specif ic  populat ions,  we. . . in  the r e m a i n d e r  of the book, de te rmine  how 
they function and how they i n t e r ac t  with one another." 
The re  is an in te res t ing  appendix of suggest ions fo r  l abora tory  
e x e r c i s e s ,  and the philosophy of exper iment  i s  much in  evidence 
throughout the book. The i l lus t ra t ions  a r e  well done and effective. 
The Biology of PopulQtions is designed to s e r v e  a s  "pa r t  of a demanding 
in t roduc tory  biology course ,"  o r ,  with supplementary  r ead ings ,  a s  a 
text  f o r  a m o r e  advanced c o u r s e  in ecology and evolution. Some prev ious  
knowledge of e l emen ta ry  gene t ics  and calculus will enable the r e a d e r  
to ge t  the mos t  out of th i s  a t t rac t ive  work. 
 h he Michigan Entomologist will be  p leased  to announce notable forth-  
coming  publications. Pub l i she r ' s  not ices and rev iew copies  should be  
d i rec ted  to the ~ d i t o r . ]  
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 1, No. 5 [2067], Art. 6
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss5/6


Trap-Nesting Wasps and Bees: Life Histories, Nests, and Associates. Karl V. Krombein. Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution, 1957. Smithsonian Publ. 4670. vi, 570 pp. $12.50.

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 1 Number 5 -- October 1967 Number 5 -- October 1967 Article 6 October 2067 Trap-Nesting Wasps and Bees: Life Histories, Nests, and Associates. Karl V. Krombein. Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution, 1957. Smithsonian Publ. 4670. vi, 570 pp. $12.50. Howard E. Evans Harvard University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Evans, Howard E. 2067. "Trap-Nesting Wasps and Bees: Life Histories, Nests, and Associates. Karl V. Krombein. Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution, 1957. Smithsonian Publ. 4670. vi, 570 pp. $12.50.," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 1 (5) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss5/6 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 1967 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 173 Nixon, G.E.J. 1951. The  assoc ia t ion  of an t s  with aphids and coccids.  London. Pont in ,  A.J. 1959. S o m e  r e c o r d s  of p r e d a t o r s  and p a r a s i t e s  adapted to a t t ack  aphids at tended by ants .  Entomol.  Monthly Mag. 95: 154-155. Way, M.J. 1963. Mutual ism between an ts  and honeydew-producing Homoptera.  Ann. Rev. Entomol.  8:307-344. REVIEWS OF RECENT LITERATURE TRAP-NESTING WASPS AND BEES: L I F E  HISTORIES, NESTS. AND ASSOCIATES. K a r l  V. Krombein.  Washington,  D.C.: The  Smithsonian Inst i tut ion,  1957. Smithsonian Publ. 4670. vi ,  570 pp. $12.50. The  technique of "trap-nesting" f o r  wasps  and b e e s  by putting out  s t r i p s  of wood having a hole  b o r e d  in one end i s  not  exact ly new, but  only within the  l a s t  1 5  y e a r s  h a s  i t  been widely employed in th i s  coun- t ry .  This  new book by K a r l  V. Krombein ,  c h a i r m a n  of the Depar tment  of Entomology a t  the U.S. National Museum,  r e v e a l s  how enormous ly  product ive the technique can  be. I t  i s ,  of c o u r s e ,  useful  only f o r  s p e c i e s  tha t  normal ly  n e s t  in  hollow twigs.  Spec ies  tha t  b o r e  in  pith (such a s  many  c r a b r o n i n e  wasps)  do not usual ly accep t  the  t r a p s ,  nor  do ground- n e s t e r s  (which m a k e  up  the m a j o r i t y  of wasps  and b e e s ) .  Despi te  i t s  l imi ta t ions ,  the t rap-nes t ing  technique i s  e x t r e m e l y  valuable,  a s  i t  a l lows one to follow the development  of the  c e l l  con- t e n t s  c lose ly  once the n e s t  h a s  been s p l i t  open,  and a l s o  b e c a u s e  the n e s t s  a r e  s o  s i m p l e  and inexpensive tha t  i t  i s  p rac t icab le  to u s e  l a r g e  n u m b e r s  of t h e m ,  thus obtaining in format ion  on ecology and population phenomena  not avai lable  f r o m  i so la ted  n e s t s .  The tech- nique is a l so  useful  in  s u m m e r  p r o g r a m s  f o r  young people;  t h e r e  i s  probably no equally s i m p l e  method f o r  demons t ra t ing  s o m e  of the complex i t i es  in  na tura l  env i ronments .  Krombein ' s  s tudy is based  on d a t a  gained f r o m  about 3400 t r a p - n e s t s  put ou t  o v e r  a 12-year  per iod  in s e v e r a l  e a s t e r n  s t a t e s  and Arizona.  In  a l l ,  h e  t r e a t s  75 s p e c i e s  of wasps  tha t  accepted h i s  t r a p s ,  a s  well a s  43 s p e c i e s  of b e e s  and 83 s p e c i e s  of p a r a s i t e s  and p r e d a t o r s  of di-  v e r s e  g roups .  P r e v i o u s  knowledge of t h e s e  i n s e c t s  i s  rev iewed,  but in  a g r e a t  many  c a s e s  nothing a t  a l l  was  known about them.  In fac t ,  5 s p e c i e s  of wasps  had to b e  d e s c r i b e d  a s  new f r o m  the Washington a r e a  a lone ,  and the symbiot ic  m i t e s  included 2 new g e n e r a  and 17 new spec ies !  If t h e r e  a r e  p e r s o n s  who f e e l  tha t  descr ip t ive  n a t u r a l  h i s t o r y  h a s  < ' r u n  i t s  course"  (and t h e r e  a r e ) ,  they should b e  c lose ted  with th i s  book f o r  a few days.  Krombein  i s  known f o r  h i s  met icu lous  attention to de ta i l ,  and th i s  book i s  no except ion.  I t  i s  a g r e a t  compendium of f a c t s ,  g a t h e r e d  with g r e a t  1Evans: Trap-Nesting Wasps and BeesPublished by ValpoScholar, 2067174 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 1, No. 5 c a r e  and in many c a s e s  suppor ted  by exce l len t  photographs,  The  author points out  many of the biological  c r i t e r i a  tha t  cha r ac t e r i z e  gene ra  and spec i e s ,  a s  well a s  ins tances  of competition and competi t ive exclu- s i on ,  and many unusual  phenomena which cannot  be  s u m m a r i z e d  he r e .  F o r  my  t a s t e ,  t he r e  might  have  been m o r e  a t t emp t s  to genera l ize  f r o m  th is  g r e a t  m a s s  of data. The book i s  a mountain of r i c h  o r e ,  but  the r e a d e r  i s  apt to  find himself  doing a good dea l  of h i s  own refining. P e r h a p s  this  i s  a s  i t  should be ;  a t  any r a t e  we may  be  thankful to  have al l  of this  information in one a t t rac t ive  volume,  r a t h e r  than having to f e r r e t  i t  out amid  the c u r r e n t  information explosion. Howard E. Evans  Museum of Compara t ive  Zoology Ha rva rd  Universi ty BRIEF NOTICES THE BIOLOGY O F  POPULATIONS. Robert  H. MacArthur  and Joseph  H. Connell. New York ,  London and Sydney: John Wiley & Sons,  1966 .  xv i ,  200 pp. $5.95. This  textbook, which can be  r ead  just a s  e a s i l y  a s  an introduct ion to the subjec t ,  i s  one of a s e r i e s  r e su l t i ng f rom a 1960 meet ing  of spec ia l -  i s t s  a t  which the hope was exp re s sed  t ha t ' l t h e  teaching of biology could be  r eo r i en t ed  to convey m o r e  effect ively and forceful ly the intel lectual  revolut ion which biology was undergoing." The au thors  s u m m a r i z e  the content  well: ". . . we begin by descr ib ing  the se t t ing ,  both in  t ime  and space ,  in which populations exist .  Then we cons ider  how a population developed i t s  p rope r t i e s  by the mechanism of na tu r a l  select ion and how different  kinds of populations ( ' spec ies ' )  a ro se .  After  we have evolved specif ic  populat ions,  we. . . in  the r e m a i n d e r  of the book, de te rmine  how they function and how they i n t e r ac t  with one another." The re  is an in te res t ing  appendix of suggest ions fo r  l abora tory  e x e r c i s e s ,  and the philosophy of exper iment  i s  much in  evidence throughout the book. The i l lus t ra t ions  a r e  well done and effective. The Biology of PopulQtions is designed to s e r v e  a s  "pa r t  of a demanding in t roduc tory  biology course ,"  o r ,  with supplementary  r ead ings ,  a s  a text  f o r  a m o r e  advanced c o u r s e  in ecology and evolution. Some prev ious  knowledge of e l emen ta ry  gene t ics  and calculus will enable the r e a d e r  to ge t  the mos t  out of th i s  a t t rac t ive  work.  h he Michigan Entomologist will be  p leased  to announce notable forth-  coming  publications. Pub l i she r ' s  not ices and rev iew copies  should be  d i rec ted  to the ~ d i t o r . ]  2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 1, No. 5 [2067], Art. 6https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss5/6

https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1057&context=tgle

Trap-Nesting Wasps and Bees: Life Histories, Nests, and Associates. Karl V. Krombein. Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution, 1957. Smithsonian Publ. 4670. vi, 570 pp. $12.50.

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