Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
BOOKSHELF Honey a comprehensive survey Eva Crane 2020 658 pages hard/soft cover A reprint of Eva Crane’s seminal work first published in 1975. Forty-five years later it is still a wonderful text. Not changed are the facts about bees, plants and honey. What has changed remarkably is everything concerning world honey trade – a story which has altered completely. When this book was first published China was exporting around 20,000 tonnes of honey – compare this with China’s market domination today – exporting around 130,000 tonnes. What has changed also is the way that we now access information – Eva Crane and her team spent years carefully tracking down and amassing references to provide and support every statement in this strictly factual book – the bibliography and indices take up more than 100 pages, making this a far more precious compendium than can be today appreciated, living as we do now with Google at our finger tips.
Bee Optimism – translational research can rescue honeybees and other pollinators Jay D Evans 2020 139 pages soft cover A compendium of humorous essays, concise and rich in content. Success stories from the university bee research communities, government and bee scientists in industry, who have made an important and practical discovery, or have combined other work to make a substantial advance for bee science and beekeeping. The highly readable, enjoyable and informative book is in five parts: Challenges and opportunities, Sweetness and light, Royal decrees, Climate change and Closing.
Thinking outside the box – a beginner’s guide to top bar beekeeping April Kirkendoll 2020 256 pages soft cover A very good title for an excellent guide to top-bar hives and the natural beekeeping that they enable, with bees being able to create a more natural nest than is possible in rectangular and rigid frame hives. It contains useful chapters on building a top-bar hive with plans and a step by step guide, their history, and advice on management. In the chapter ‘Bee-Mageddon’, the author describes, admitting that it makes depressing reading, the very many and diverse problems that bees are now facing. An excellent addition to the small range of books now published on top-bar hive beekeeping.
Liquid gold – bees and the pursuit of midlife honey Roger Morgan-Grenville 2020 256 pages hard cover Roger Morgan-Grenville is a retired soldier who by chance met his now good friend Duncan and on seeing a swarm in need of a home, decided to take up beekeeping. Both novices, this book is a gentle account of the problems, hurdles and learning that they went through. The book interestingly provides an account of the amount of time and (not inconsiderable) expenditure involved in their new hobby - useful for anyone who wants a realistic estimate of what might be involved in beginning small scale beekeeping in UK. In year two they achieve an excellent harvest of honey and decide to enter the local honey show – but soon realise that winning at such an event is a whole, huge endeavour of its own! They sensibly decide to just continue their beekeeping for a few more years, and forget honey competitions for the time being.
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