This is a wonderful book about a detailed investigation of a single species of social wasp. Raghavendra Gadagkar and his colleagues have carried out a thorough study of Ropalidia marginata Lepeletier and developed ideas about the origins and maintenance of eusociality, currently topics of great interest...I have read [this book] twice from cover to cover completely captivated by the detailed studies on this social wasp. I have no hesitation in strongly recommending this book.
   --M. E. Archer, Entomologist's Monthly Magazine

This is a very readable introduction to facts and concepts by a leading authority on social wasps who has a deep understanding of evolutionary principles. Using entertaining anecdotes to illustrate important observations, Gadagkar expertly summarizes the remarkable studies he and his students conducted over a period of more than twenty years. A major accomplishment.
   --Mary Jane West-Eberhard, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Raghavendra Gadagkar is Professor and Chairman of the Centre for Ecological Sciences of the Indian Institute of Science and Honorary Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore, India.

Read More by Raghavendra Gadagkar:

• Survival Strategies: Cooperation and Conflict in Animal Societies