Bookshelf

Honey hunting and beekeeping in Adamaoua, Cameroon

(Topics in Interdisciplinary African Studies 51)

Martin Gruber and Mazi Sandar

2019 108 pages Hardcover

Based on interviews and time spent with beekeepers in the Adamaoua region, this book provides a good introduction to the history and current status of honey production in Cameroon. The authors are positive towards local styles of beekeeping and bee hives and discuss their efficacy and affordability for people on low incomes. Beautiful descriptions and photographs of the hive making process are included. Unfortunately, the book omits market and production information about beeswax, which in recent years has become a valuable export crop for the region.

Sean Lawson.

Honey bee biology and beekeeping

Dewey Caron & Lawrence John Connor

2018 reprint 368 pages

Hardcover A reprint of this stalwart book that was first published in 1999. It has been regarded as the premier textbook for North American universities and beekeeping training. Many excellent photographs and diagrams accompany the 21 chapters, the first 11 of which concentrate on honey bee biology and are then followed by ten on honey bee management as practised in North America.

Raising honeybee queens

Gilles Fert (translation from French by Mark Pettus, edited by Leo Sharaskhin)

2020 edition 144 pages Softcover

Another classic publication recently updated. The subtitle is: local queens, easy methods, horizontal hives, never buy bees again! This well illustrated guide has over 150 colour photographs, drawings and diagrams. The abundant practical advice is easy to understand. Topics include keeping bees in vertical and horizontal hives, multiplying colonies and overwintering in any climate, as well as natural and chemical-free options. Translated into a dozen languages, this is probably the best guide to queen rearing that is available.

Variations on a beehive

Patricia Nelson

2019 200 pages Softcover

In 1985 Professor Len Heath of the Devon Apicultural Research Group (DARG), UK published his book A case of hives. A lot has changed since its publication for both honey bees and beekeepers since then – loss of habitat and decline in insect populations. The publishers Northern Bee Books commissioned DARG to produce an updated version to recognise these changes. Over 25 hives are discussed by wellknown names in this field, including The People’s Hive, top-bar hives and skeps.

Be more bee

Alison Davies

2020 144 pages Hardcover

A beautiful looking, quirky little book with practical tips and exercises alongside fun facts about bees as ‘fuzzy gurus’! The author explains that she became fascinated with bees from five years old and believes bees have: “a magical marvel, are friends of the earth and are an advocates of girl power”. This is not a book about beekeeping, it is about using bee concepts to inspire your life. The author equates (among other things) defying the odds, reaching for the stars and team work to the behaviour of bees.