Bookshelf

BEEKEEPING AND CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY OF HONEYBEES

HONEYBEES edited by Marco Lodesani and Cecilia Costa 2005 180 pages AS soft cover £11 (€16.50) Code L305

This new title reports the work of six bee laboratories in Europe who have participated in the Beekeeping and Apis Biodiversity in Europe or BABE project. In the first part Beekeeping for maintaining biodiversity Dt Robin Moritz introduces the most important beneficial insect - the honeybee. A vital part of any ecosystem, the honeybee is not a domesticated animal, but is wild, kept by humans in artificial nest sites (hives) which allow access to the honeybees' resources. Chapters in the first part of the book are: EU research network on the impact of beekeeping on honeybee diversity; Biogeography of European honeybees: Selection theory and effective population size; Requirements for local population conservation and breeding; and Practical aspects of bee breeding for biodiversity aims. Part 2 reports on special projects including a case study of the honeybee conservation on Laesg Island in Denmark.

MELISSOPALYNOLOGY VENEZUELA

Patricia Vit 2005 205 pages soft cover £11.90 (€17.90) Code V010

Patricia Vit explains that her motivation to write this book was the outcome of an investigation into the medicinal properties of stingless bee honey. Data on honey analysis in Venezuela was scarce. Yet pollen analysis (melissopalynology) of honey is necessary to apply precise standards for its quality control. As well as floral resources, there is a description of how the pollen reference collection was prepared. Palynological measurements are described, and terms included in the glossary. This useful book provides descriptions and microphotographs of pollen grains from 140 species in 58 plant families. The author hopes that the book will encourage support for beekeeping.

THE MONK AND THE HONEYBEE

David Taylor, York Films 2005 90 minutes £20 (€30) Code VID35

This film on DVD is an engaging blend of science, natural history, adventure and biography telling the remarkable story of Brother Adam, who spent a lifetime trying to breed the perfect honeybee. From the Benedictine Abbey in Buckfast, UK, Brother Adam directed an incredible enterprise. He searched Europe, the Middle East and Africa for genetic material from which he planned to ‘synthesise’ the Buckfast strain. This culminated in an extraordinary expedition, undertaken in his 90th year, to hunt the elusive black bee of Kilimanjaro. Filmed in the Buckfast apiaries, the German Alps and the mountains of Tanzania, this is a fascinating insight into the workings of the honeybee colony and the genius of a great bee master.

Brother Adam died on 1 September 1996, aged 98. The Monk and the Honeybee is a tribute to his extraordinary life.

BEEKEEPING IN LAOS

Horst Wendorf 2005 45 minutes £29.40 (€44.10) Code VID36 English and Lao language

Regular readers will recall our reviews of the films Horst Wendorf has prepared on beekeeping in Zambia and in the Philippines. This new DVD describes the five year beekeeping project by the Provincial Agriculture & Forestry Office in Oudomxay Province in Laos partnered by German Agro- Action with the assistance of DED. The aims were the sustainable use of natural resources and an increase in productivity which would lead to greater income and improved living standards for the local population. The film is honest about the outcomes of the project and the ways to move forward Top-bar hives were introduced to local beekeepers who had been using log hives. These were not a success: beekeepers found it difficult to manage the bees in the new hives and wasps and other predators became a problem. More training will be provided and the good news is there is no evidence of a decline in the number of bees in the area. Not only educational, this is an entertaining film for all bee enthusiasts.

STATE OF THE WORLD'S FORE STS

FA02005 £20.50 (€30.75) Code VID37

While forests and woodlands are now recognised as essential for human life, their benefits and services are valued differently by different people. This CD is ac compilation of six biannual reports from FAQ since 1995. The reports focus on the status of the world's forests, recent major policy and institutiona developments and key issues concerning the forest sector. This is current, reliable and policy-relevant information to facilitate informed discussion and decision making with regard to the world's forests.

POLLEN IDENTIFICATION FOR BEEKEEPERS

John Chandler and Dave Rennison 2005 £15 (€22.50) Code VID38 Harrogate

John Chandler and Dave Rennison credit pollen expert Rex Sawyer as the inspiration for this new work presented on CD. In his book Pollen identification published in 1981, Sawyer referred to the likely future use of computer technology for production of an illustrated key, to replace the set of punched cards that accompanied his book at that time. The micro slides were photographed using a 'x 40 lens' - the level of magnification that most beekeeping microscopists use - explain the authors, who are members of the Harrogate & Ripon Beekeepers’ Association, UK. There is a step by step user guide, and ‘Sawyer's spreadsheet’, a pollen identification key plus the common and scientific names of 151 plant species.

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