A retired entomologist observes wasps (1948). Personal and charmingly written. This copy is inscribed by the author to his brother.

What really makes this book memorable are the accounts of observations of individual wasps, some of which Shafer developed friendly feelings toward (especially one flightless one he called Crumple-Wing) -- he could not avoid feeling a reciprocal sympathy from those of them that learned to recognize him. Certainly there were differences between them and they had quite a bit of memory and ability to learn. I found the accounts of nest-building behavior fascinating. These observations are preceded by a rather different sort of narration, explaining how, having been puzzled by seeing white pellets under the skin of wasp larvae, Shafer went on to figure out how the larvae solve the problem of waste disposal in the small cell they occupy for months on end. Though less colorful than the behavioral observations, this section is very interesting too.