Bookshelf

Bee health and veterinarians

Edited by Wolfgang Ritter, 316 pages softcover, OiE World Organisation for animal health

This comprehensive text is an excellent, international guide to the topic. The content is divided into three main sections: Honey bees and beekeeping in general, The veterinarian and the honey bee colony, and Standards and regulations. Within the sections are chapters, with each written by top international experts working in the field. Together these contribute to a comprehensive, reliable, and up-to-date text.

Beekeeping with children and school groups

Undine Westphal, 143 pages hardcover, available from Bees for Development £23

Beekeeping is increasingly popular, and many people aspire to teach beekeeping to schoolchildren. But how to do it? This is a wonderful, extremely useful new book, full of ideas for guiding the beekeeping-teacher throughout the year, addressing all the aspects that must be considered when working with bees and children. In addition to the beekeeping advice, there are excellent novel and fun ideas for teaching and making bee craft items, for example a game to learn about pollination. Also, interesting things to do with bees - encouraging a colony to store honeycomb in a glass salad bowl, and hunting for pseudo scorpions which feed on Varroa mites.

Evolution and phylogeny of bees

Review and cladistic analysis in light of morphological evidence (Hymenoptera, Apoidea)

John D Plant and Hannes F Paulus, 364 pages hardcover, Schweizerbart Science Publishers

This is a reference work for those studying bee evolution, phylogeny and morphology. Part One reviews all previous attempts to construct the phylogenetic tree for bees based on morphological, bionomic or molecular approaches, including both very ancient and most recent publications. The various hypothesis for bee evolution are compared, also including fossil evidence. Part Two provides a new phylogenetic study using an extensive dataset of morphological features.

The elephant and the bee

On saving the world and other triumphant failures

Jess de Boer, 192 pages softcover, Jacaranda Books London

Jess de Boer writes with a very light touch, and this is the autobiography of her busy life so far, though still in her twenties! Jess learned about beekeeping in South Africa, and describes experiences in the world of beekeeping development that many will recognise - organising a three-day training and the disappointing, slow realisation that apparently enthusiastic, smiling participants have turned up only for the daily allowance. And it is not all beekeeping - she represented Kenya in the Women’s Triathlon at The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow - a multi-talented person indeed, and surely one to watch as she continues her mission to save the world. An engaging and fun read.

The observation hive handbook Studying honey bees at home

Frank Linton, 65 pages softcover, Honey Tongue Press

This is an excellent guide to observation hives – bee hives fitted with windows to let us to see what bees are doing inside their nesting place. As the author puts it: Beepeekers make better beekeepers! He has written the book in the hope that ordinary, small-scale beekeepers can set up and operate an observation hive, and begin to appreciate and learn far more about their bees’ behaviour. All the commonly available commercial designs are reviewed, as well as examples of homemade styles including a full size top-bar observation hive. Important considerations include selecting a location, caring for and manipulating the bees, maintaining the hives, what to consider if the observation hive is situated in a public place, using an observation hive for photography of bees, and suggestions for many other things to try.

The book is packed with excellent pictures, making it the best we have seen on this topic.