[2] Wanless played a significant role in the British Arachnological Society being its member in 1969–1973, 1974–1976 and 1986–1989, and Meetings Secretary in 1973–1978.
At the Museum Wanless developed interest in African jumping spiders while editing Doug Clark's notes and later working on their collaborative paper.
[4] In 1977, he joined the Royal Geographical Society's expedition to Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak where he collected and described local species.
[1][5] Wanless retired from the National History Museum in 2003, however he continued studying grasses and sedges publishing a guide on them in 2013.
Upon retirement, Wanless became increasingly involved in the work of the Wren Group and the Lakehouse Lake project being a member of its committee.