Edward Saunders became well known for his interests in both Hemiptera-Heteroptera and the Hymenoptera Aculeata. He wrote numerous papers and short notes on both groups. One of his most important papers was his Synopsis of the British Hymenoptera (with drawings by his brother G.S. Saunders) which appeared in three parts in the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London (1880-1884). In addition, he published two important volumes: Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the British Islands (1892) and The Hymenoptera Aculeata of the British Islands (1896). Both books were published by L. Reeve & Co., London, and each was produced in a cheaper, non-illustrated edition and a more expensive, illustrated one. Indeed, the illustrated edition of the Hymenoptera-Aculeata remains an extremely scarce and very expensive book (as might be expected for the period, the numerous whole insect illustrations were all hand-coloured). For more than a century this publication has been the only book to contain keys for the identification of all British bees though, of course, it is now well out of date. In addition to the keys, there are detailed descriptions of each species, together with brief details of their distributions within the British Isles.