Bookshelf

Honey bee pests, predators and diseases (2nd edition)

edited by R A Morse and R Nowogrodzki

Ithaca, NY, USA and London, UK; Cornell University Press (1990) 474 pp. Hardback. Available from IBRA price £23.00 excluding postage and packing*.

The necessity for this new edition arises because of the great changes in honeybee disease distribution which have occurred in the 12 years since the first edition. It is the parasitic mites which are causing so many problems to the bee- keeping industry at present and this is reflected by three new chapters dealing with this subject.

Every chapter in the book has been revised and updated, and the latest edition, covers more or less every creature that regards the honeybee colony as attractive prey: from viruses to bears, and everything in between — fungi, moths, ants, spiders, to mention but a few. The book also describes many other mishaps that befall honeybee colonies: overheated bees, laying workers, poisoning by toxic plants and so on. For every problem the book summarises our current state of knowledge and suggests a remedy, preventative measure or action to take. There are plenty of helpful illustrations and five appendices give useful additional information.

Beekeepers are often reluctant to learn about pests and diseases until their own bees succumb to some problem. In that event this new publication can be relied upon to provide helpful information and sound advice. This book is written by American authors, but the information provided relates to beekeeping everywhere.

ABC and XYZ of bee culture (40th edition) written and edited

by R A Morse and associate editor K Flottum

Medina, OH, USA; Al Root Co (1989) 516 pp. Hardback. Available from IBRA price £17.50 excluding postage and packing*.

This is the 40th edition of a book first published by Amos I Root in 1877. The new edition has been edited and written by Professor Roger Morse and a number of other specialists. This encyclopaedia of apiculture consists of 516 pages including a particularly well compiled glossary of apicultural terms.

The strength of this book lies in its practical information: clear text is accompanied by clear photographs, but the material provided is primarily intended for those practising North American-type beekeeping with frame hives and using Apis mellifera. The book does contain much other information and no doubt has items not carried in other encyclopaedias: it will be a useful addition to beekeepers’ libraries and represents very good value for money. The old adage “don’t judge a book by its cover” is important to remember for this publication: while it is of pleasant format and layout inside, purchasers may be discouraged by the now rather old-fashioned brown cover and lack of colour illustrations.

Varroasis of the honeybee

by FAO

Rome, Italy; FAO (1989).

A review of this audio-visual programme was given in Newsletter 16. Please note that the whole programme consists of an audio cassette, printed commentary brochure and a colour film strip (rather than 108 colour slides as stated in Newsletter 16). However this is not a cinema film but colour slides in sequence, copied onto 35 mm film. The programme is available with either an English or French commentary, please state which language you prefer when you order. The filmstrip plus commentary brochure and cassette are available from IBRA price £26.00 excluding postage and packing*.

Beeswax (2nd edition)

by R Brown

Burrowbridge, UK; Bee Books News and Old (1989) 150 pp. Available from IBRA price £6.75 excluding postage and packing*.

This is the second edition of Beeswax which was published in 1981 and won the Silver Medal shortly afterwards at the Apimondia Mexico Conference. The book contains details on the history, chemical content, and the many uses of beeswax. The 20 illustrations are carefully chosen to make this an essentially practical book for the beekeeper, wax candle and polish maker.

Ron Brown is a well-known British author and lecturer on beekeeping.

Beekeeping in the year 2000: Proceedings of the 2nd Australian and International Bee Congress 21- 26 July 1988

compiled and edited by J W Rhodes

Brisbane, Australia; International Colour Productions Pty Ltd (1989) 288 pp. Available form IBRA price £20.00 excluding postage and packing*.

The text of 88 pages pus keynote speeches and details of the Congress activities are presented. Inevitably the emphasis is on Australasian beekeeping, but the subjects covered include bee breeding, pathology, pollination, flora, management, technology and equipment, and bee product marketing. Definitely a publication to be included in apicultural libraries and the editor deserves congratulations for the modern, clear and highly-readable presentation of these Proceedings.

Studies on Social Forestry in India and Tigerpaper Vol XVII: No 2 (April-June 1990).

These two publications are available from FAO regional office in Bangkok. Neither contains information pertaining to bees or beekeeping but both carry interesting papers on forest and wildlife conservation and social forestry programmes.

Regional Forestry Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok.