Bees for Development Journal 109
BOOK SHELF
Buy these titles at www.beesfordevelopment.org/catalog or at our shop in Monmouth, UK
Honey bee biology and beekeeping Dewey M Caron and Lawrence John Connor 2013 Hard cover £38 (US$60; €44) C800 The 368 pages of this new edition are fact and interest-filled. Written primarily for people using frame hives in North America, much of this text can be useful for students and learner beekeepers everywhere. The book contains twenty chapters – the first ten focus on honey bee biology, followed by ten chapters on all the activities involved in conventional north American beekeeping. Facts are presented in concise sections, and most pages contain interesting colour pictures or diagrams. The authors’ wide knowledge of the sector and considerable teaching experience mean that scientifically correct information is conveyed in a clear and understandable way. This is a useful source of understandable honey bee science leading on to comprehensive beekeeping information.
Urban beekeeping and the power of the bee Lisa Jean Moore and Mary Kosut 2013 Soft cover 259 pages £15.80 (US$26; €19) M800 Another new bee book from North America, this one considers the interconnections between city-dwelling humans and bees. The authors describe for us the New York urban bee scene within which various groups have formed, delineating themselves by language, ideas and bee management programmes. Broadly these divide into the conventional beekeepers who believe themselves to be well trained and use US styles of frame hives, and the naturalist beekeepers who encompass organic, biodynamic and holistic approaches, and are happy to be termed ‘backwards beekeepers’. The authors discuss how we interact with bees, and how this reflects our changing ecological and social landscape. They finally conclude that while we humans need bees, the reverse is not true: our future relationship with bees should be one of ethical engagement.
Healthy bees are happy bees Pam Gregory 2013 Soft cover 304 pages £27.50 (US$45; €33) G800 A well written new book about honey bee diseases and other current threats to honey bees – intended primarily for beekeepers in the UK. Facts are provided in ways that are readable and understandable, and sometimes funny too – the author provides this spoof definition for ‘Cloudy thinking virus’ – ‘Symptoms are muddled thinking and going off at a tangent. Can also show as talking a lot about not much in particular’. In addition to the usual parade of diseases and predators, an extensive range of possible hazards and problems for bees are also covered, with summaries of current knowledge, explaining, for example, how unpleasant tasting honeys arise, reasons for drone laying queens or laying workers, what pollen mites are, and even the possibility of finding that rarest of hive visitors – the pseudoscorpion. Only in the closing paragraphs of the book does the author concede that in fact ‘the biggest pest for bees is people’.
Bees and honey – myth, folklore and traditions Luke Dixon 2013 Soft cover 52 pages £11 (US$18; €13) D800 Luke Dixon’s latest book travels from the beginning of time to the current day to show the ways in which bees, beekeeping, honey and beeswax are part of culture, mythology, theology and folklore around the world.
Keep bees without fuss or chemical Joe Bleasdale 2013 54 pages £7 (US$11; €8) B30 First reviewed in BfDJ 107, this second edition has additional chapters and a table of hive losses that demonstrate the gradual evolution of honey bee populations in the UK towards Varroa tolerance.
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