Bookshelf

The natural history of bumblebees: a source book for investigations

Carol A Kearns and James D Thomson

2001 130 pages £27.30 (€40.95) Code K110

A neat book that will provide both amateurs and professionals with the knowledge required to observe and investigate these insects. Chapters on life cycle, foraging behaviour, predators and parasites, conservation, raising bumblebees, and research projects are followed by three appendices. Appendices and 1 2 give brief details of sources of information and suppliers. Appendix 3 is a full colour photographic field guide to assist in the identification of 50 bumblebees species of North America.

Enfermedades de las abejas: nociones prdcticas

Susana Beatriz Bruno

2003 104 pages £25.20 (€37.80} Code B510

A practical guide in the Spanish language to bee diseases and pests. Larval diseases are discussed first, with observations on diagnosis, treatment and the differences in the disease situation in the Americas and in Europe. Information on Nosema and Acarapis are followed by a comprehensive chapter on Varroa. More problems are covered in the next chapter including wax moth, hereditary defects, and half moon syndrome. Tables for defining problems and treatments and suggestions for prevention are given, as well as a bibliography. Colour photographs accompany the text.

Apiculture en Bas-Congo

Projet Développement Integré de I'Armée du Salut, DR Congo

(edited by Paul Latham)

2003 46 pages £7.20 (€10.80) Code L120

An A5 booklet in French that provides an enjoyable introduction to the beekeeping of Bas-Congo. Full colour, cartoon illustrations and brief text make an easy to-read manual describing working with top-bar hives and all aspects of honey and beeswax harvesting.

What good are bugs? Insects in the web of life

Gilbert Waldbauer

2003 366 pages Hardback £21.60 (€32.40) Code W005

Many people are completely unaware of our dependence upon them, but without insects (bugs) the world would be an impossible place for humans to survive. This is the first book to catalogue ecologically important insects by their roles: how they work in ecosystems, what they do, how they live and how they make our life possible. The book is in six sections: Macrocosm, Helping plants (the first chapter here is 'pollinating'), Helping animals, Limiting population growth, Cleaning up, and Microcosm.

Full of interesting facts and statistics and accompanied by black and white drawings, there is an appendix of selected reading and an index with plenty of bee-related entries.

Bees and rural livelihoods

Nicola Bradbear

2003 16 pages Code B485 £5 €7.50

Available free of charge to beekeepers and projects in developing countries A new publication from Bees for Development: explaining why beekeeping is such a great activity.

Apis & Osiris

Violette Le Quéré, Gérard Arnold and Joseph Cady

1997 32 pages Hardback £15.80 (€23.70) Code Q100

This colour cartoon book is in French and uses a mystery story with a question and answer section between. Gérard Arnold and the friendly cartoon robot SAM, to provide an introduction to the honeybee. Not your usual textbook format but fun!

CD

Dictionary of beekeeping terms

Apimondia FIITEA

2003 Price to be confirmed Code VID27

A useful new addition to reference works about apiculture. Seconds after you hit the search key - the dictionary has 1036

entries ranging from abdomen to worker bee - you find the translation of the term you seek in 23 different languages. The information is stored as an Access database and makes the accessibility easy and effective.

Video Shelf

Beetle versus bee: the dramatic story of a cunning parasite

Produced by Gerald Kastberger and Otmar Winder

2003 28 minutes

PAL/VHS £34.80 (€52.20) Code VID28

NTSC £43.40 (€65.10) Code VID28A

This film won Gold Medal for videos at the Apimondia Congress in Ljubljana, Slovenia in August. It provides an excellent review of the devastation caused by the unintentional importation of the Small Hive Beetle Aethina tumida into the USA. Everyone thought Varroa was terrible, but in most American states beekeepers will tell you this infestation is far worse: within three years the beekeeper who first found the beetles in his hives has lost 500 colonies.

The small hive beetle originates from Africa where it creates a nuisance for African bees but does not kill the colony. The beetle larvae feed voraciously on pollen stores and brood cells. Guard bees chase some beetles away, but when there are too many beetles, African bees have developed the defensive mechanism of ‘moving on' ie absconding from the nest, leaving behind their brood. European honeybees Apis mellifera present in the USA do not have this defence and will remain in hives even when there are thousands of beetle larvae destroying the combs. Female beetles lay their eggs in cells. Within one day the larvae hatch and begin eating. Honey stores are damaged and the honey drips from the comb and is lost.

There is no successful treatment. The only chance is to break the beetle's life cycle by preventing larvae pupating and infesting more hives. Good, clean management and hygiene are necessary to ensure this process. The beetle originated as a tropical animal and may not tolerate cold conditions - although safe and warm in the middle of a hive, beetles have now been reported in Canada.

The film ends with thoughts of the inevitability of the beetle being brought into Europe. The film producers state that there is need to enforce strict laws to prevent the importation of bees and queens to reduce the risk. Even then, the sombre conclusion is that the beetle will soon be present in Europe.

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