In Wasps And Bees In Southern Africa, the authors have compiled all that is known for southern Africa of the biology of wasps and bees, important pollinators and predators, and have shown how agricultural land use and coastal development impact on the diversity of wasps and bees. The principal focus is the semi-arid to arid areas – the authors' main study areas over the past 40 years. The work is intended for all who are interested in natural history, conservation and farming, and as a starting point for further observations and research.
A CD-ROM is included which contains a catalogue of flower visiting records for aculeate wasps and bees in semi-arid to arid areas of southern Africa.
"This will be a valuable work for the intended audience. The Gesses are the only scientists that could produce such a work for the southern African region. The work is an amazing compilation of hard-won data, most of it having been collected by the Gesses themselves. It will be highly useful to future researchers."
– Prof. Kevin O'Neil, Montana State University, United States of America Author of Solitary Wasps: Behavior and Natural History, Cornell University Press.
"This [book] is part of the culmination of a lifetime's work on bees and wasps. I do not think that there is part of another country that has as detailed an account of their bees and stinging wasps' food plant and nesting biology as presented in this [book]."
– Dr Connal Eardley, Biosystematics Division, Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa