Bookshelf

Apiculture in China

Chief Editor Chen Yaochun.

Agricultural Publishing House, Beijing, China (1993) 180 pages. Hardback. In English £17.00

This marvellous guide to apiculture in China was prepared especially for the Apimondia Congress. It starts with the history of beekeeping in China, from the first steps towards managing bees in log hives during the years 25-220 AD. Perhaps Jiang Qi, who lived between 215 and 282 AD was the first beekeeping extentionist: he taught beekeeping skills to over 300 people.

This is a comprehensive publication seemingly covering all aspects of Chinese apiculture. Much useful data is given for example the Chinese standards for beeswax and honey, information on honey plants, hive types, practices in different regions of the country, training courses, and on the wealth of Chinese beekeeping literature. This book provides fascinating glimpse into great beekeeping culture which has until! so recently been quite unknown by outsiders.

The clearly-written text is accompanied by many interesting colour illustrations.

Nectar and pollen plants China

by Xu Wanilin.

Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Heilongjiang Province, China (1993) 553 pages of text. Hardback. In Chinese. £42.00

An important reference work: 543 species of nectar and pollen plants are described. Most are accompanied by botanical drawing and in addition there are 114 excellent colour photographs: many of these manage to show a bee foraging on the flower of the species. The text is in Chinese but the Latin names of plant families and species are given, making this book of great value and interest to bee botanists. There is an English alphabetical index together with common names, and listing by family. Finally there are 506 electron micrographs of pollen grains. A classic work by Professor Xu Wanlin.

Encyclopaedia of Apiculture

Agricultural Publishing House, Beijing, China (1993) 398 pages. Hardback. In Chinese. £52.00

The information contained in this encyclopaedia is less accessible to non-Chinese readers than the plant book described

above. However it is included here as it is obviously major guide to Chinese beekeeping and bee science. There is an index in English and a list of Latin- Chinese biological terms. There are 131 colour and 347 black and white illustrations.

Proceedings of the Beenet Asia Workshop on Priorities in R&D on Beekeeping in Tropical Asia

Beenet Asia, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia (1993) 149 pages. Paperback. Available from Beenet Asia, Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia.

The Proceedings of a meeting which took place at Universiti Pertanian Malaysia in August 1992 (reported in Beekeeping & Development 25). It contains up-to-date reports on the status of bee research in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Also included are the texts of five proposals for research within the region, and the resolutions from the meeting

These Proceedings have been published very quickly and have not been stringently edited.

English-Hindi-Chinese Dictionary of Beekeeping Terms

published by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal, (1993) 193 pages. Paperback. £5.50

5.50 Professor Verma was awarded special Gold Medal for his work to produce this Dictionary in time for the Apimondia Congress. It is a valuable addition to this series of dictionaries published by various organisations since the series was started by the Bee Research Association in 1951.

The Asian hive bee Apis cerana as pollinator in vegetable seed production

by L R Verma and U Partap.

ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal (1993) 52 pages. Paperback £4.50

This publication is subtitled “An Awareness Handbook” and indeed it is true handbook, usefully summarising general scientific principles in using Apis cerana to pollinate crop plants. It gives useful introductory information on pollination and how to use colonies to best effect, gives research results on the pollination of some different crops by Apis cerana and gives balanced description of the Apis cerana/Apis mellifera controversy. Information is also given pesticides and how to prevent bee poisoning. A useful publication for crop growers and extension workers.

Beekeeping and the law

by Frimston and D Smith.

Bee Books New and Old, Bridgwater, UK (1993) 60 pages. Paperback. £12.50

Técoics e Practica de Apicultura

by J B Feeburg.

Casa da Abelha, Porto Alegre, Brazil (1986) 144 pages. Paperback. In Portuguese.

A beekeeping text describing the modern, frame-hive beekeeping methods currently used in Brazil. Many clear black and white drawings and photographs.

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