Bookshelf

The Joy of Bees

Paolo Fontana with English translation by Paul Tout

2019 710 pages Hardcover £37.50

This new, fabulous and entertaining 700 page text could become a classic! It is the English translation of Paolo Fontana’s original Italian text Il Piacere delle Api. Paolo is a member of a group of Italian beekeepers and bee-thinkers who have established a protocol for Biodiversity Friendly Beekeeping based on good principles. This book sets out the reasoned arguments supporting the protocol’s advocacy for beekeeping practice that best respect biodiversity – such as the use of local (and never hybrid) bees, the great importance of natural comb, keeping colonies in the same place throughout the year, and many other factors. However this is not by any means a standard beekeeping text, for example there are three pages of quotes from Aristotle about bees, hundreds of other quotes from ancient and modern life, and dozens of pictures and diagrams featuring bees, beekeeping, nature and human history. It is a wonderful compendium of knowledge – and all provided in highly readable, entertaining and informative sections, with references on almost every page that themselves add further interest.

The Garden Jungle or Gardening to save the Planet

Dave Goulson

2019 280 pages Hardcover £16.99

Dave Goulson is an excellent story-teller, able to make science entertaining and readable – this is his latest, delightful book, introducing us to the world at our feet. Dave explains that even the tiniest scrap of garden contains hundreds of species of insects, plants and small animals, of whom we know little. This book will help you to understand more – each chapter begins with a recipe – leading to ingredients discussed in the chapter. Gardens offer a huge network made up from tiny nature reserves where humans and wildlife should live in harmony. Goulson deftly addresses the damage unwittingly caused to the environment by gardeners buying intensively reared plants in disposable plastic pots, sprayed with chemicals, and in precious peat cut from the earth. With a few small changes, we could – and must – do so much better.

Dancing with bees – a journey back to nature

Brigit Strawbridge Howard

2019 304 pages Hardcover £20

Another excellent writer and story-teller, Brigit’s life is full of discovery, with bees at the heart of her story. This charming and enjoyable book is full of natural history detail about bees and will inspire you to take far greater interest in the different species with which we live: cuckoo bees, solitary bees, and bumble bees as well as honey bees. Brigit is a stalwart advocate for bees and rather than lecturing with frightening facts about their decline, she achieves success by discussing the delight to be gained from knowing about bees and perceiving them as they are: wonderous, accessible and endearing animals in urgent need of our protection. This book is beautifully illustrated by John Walters.

Brigit will be speaking in Monmouth, at the Shire Hall, as part of the Monmouth Bee Town series of Bee Talks. Free to attend – just come along to the Shire Hall at 7 pm on 5 November. You can buy copies of the book, signed by Brigit, on the night, or from our shop in Monmouth or at www.shop.beesfd.org

Ten Poems about Bees

Candlestick Press with an introduction by Brigit Strawbridge Howard (see above) 2019 £4.99

Ten poems about bees by ten authors, introduced by Brigit Strawbridge. A beautifully presented gift booklet, with a bookmark and envelope to send to anyone who delights in bees, flowers, gardens and honey.

The Solitary Bees – biology, evolution and conservation

Bryan N Danforth, Robert L Minckley and John L Neff

2019 472 pages Hardcover £35

This is a brilliant, important and useful new text: 90% of bee species in the world are solitary bees – surviving on their own and using their own resources to protect their offspring and fight off danger. This wonderful new book is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of their evolution, biology and behaviour. The authors achieve three main goals. The first of these was to bring together solitary bee biology into one text and make some of their amazing natural history better known, for example, that the males of one species of Anthophora collect parsnip perfume to attract females, the Hylaeus bee that builds an upside down nest, and Lasioglossum bees that forage by moon light. The second goal was to present current views of solitary bee evolutionary history, to elucidate biological patterns across bee families, and the third aim was to provide a road map for further studies. For example, all of Chapter 9 describes the various organisms that inhabit the solitary bee brood cell, for example bacteria and fungi, annelids, nematodes and mites – all of these seem to be beneficial to the developing bee larvae though their roles are unknown. The text explains the critical role that solitary bees play in crop pollination, and describes the dire threats they face due to habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, pathogens and invasive species. The book is beautifully illustrated by Frances Fawcett, and with 16 colour plates.

A book of honey

Eva Crane

2019 reprint 192 pages Softcover £29.95

When first published in 1980 this book was the first time an abundance of detailed information about honey was presented together. Today it remains a seminal text for anyone seeking to understanding what honey is and how it is created by bees from nectar. The first four chapters tell the story of honey from its raw materials to its use (including some good recipes), while the final two chapters look into the history of honey and its often sacred status in the ancient world. There are two appendices with further information and a comprehensive index, some excellent drawings by Dorothy Hodges and other interesting pictures too. Though now 40 years since first published, this book remains uniquely useful.

Processing beeswax

Bees for Development 2019 edition

19 pages Softcover £5

A new edition of the Bees for Development Training Module intended for use by trainers in tropical Africa. After the end of the Module, course participants will appreciate the value and different uses of beeswax, understand issues regarding its quality, know how to render beeswax using hot water or a solar wax extractor, and appreciate the different types of markets for beeswax.

This Module is available free of charge to projects and associations in developing countries and is also available for purchase from our website store.