La Vallée de l’abeille noire. Yves Élie Postface by Lionel Garnery

11.5 × 21.7 cm 312 pages softback april 2021 retail price: 22 €

A documentary maker, Yves Élie first met the black bee in the Cévennes region, Southwest France in the 2000s. Since he has not left the region and has dedicated his life to this fascinating insect, and has even created a national network for black conservatories. His bees’ honeys and meads are today sought after by the greatest chefs. He works closely with the French national research body, the cnrs, to perfect optimum conservation techniques.

THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK BEE

Yves Élie Postface by Lionel Garnery

It is well documented that the planet’s biodiversity is collapsing and that the future of insects, especially, is uncertain. Scientists’ figures make for grim reading: in Germany, almost 80% of insect life has been lost to the countryside, among them the pollenizers that have a crucial role in the proper functioning of ecosystems and cultures. The chief pollenizer is the domestic bee, Apis mellifera, whose colonies are suffering terribly. In the heart of the Cévennes region of France however is a valley where bees do not disappear. Here lives one happy beekeeper Yves Élie, a poet and specialist in black bees, an ancient variety that has traversed glacial eras to be with us today. Having survived thousands of years of harsh conditions, the black bee has developed characteristics of frugality, vivacity and responsiveness which make it especially adapted to the upheavals we live today, as long as the bee’s biology is respected. As a result, unlike most modern apiculturists, Yves Élie has adapted himself to the rhythm of life of black bees rather than vice versa. Through refined perception of the physiology and ethology of these highly social insects, the author takes us on a fascinating journey from the heart of the hive out into the landscape where bees and blooms meet to produce exquisite honeys that are the full expression of their homeland.

The book is also a poetic reflection on our relationship to the wild world around us.