Bookshelf

A SPRING WITHOUT BEES - HOW COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER HAS ENDANGERED OUR FOOD SUPPLY

Michael Schacker

2008 292 pages Hardback £14.99 (€22.50) $300

Michael Schacker is a science writer who has taken it upon himself to make a full investigation of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In this highly readable text he looks at all the current theories, such as mobile phones, and quickly dismisses some of them. The insecticide imidacloprid certainly looks the most likely culprit, and Schacker gives an excellent account of how this story has unfolded in Europe and North America. He goes on to propose solutions to the CCD problems, amongst them a plea for organic golf courses: surely a suggestion that bears our support!

An enjoyable read on a serious topic.

BEE POLLINATION IN AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEMS

edited by Rosalind R James and Theresa L Pitts-Singer

2008 231 pages Hardback £41 (€61.60) J450

Recent increases in problems for Apis mellifera honey bees have brought pollination to the forefront. This text It is written by authorities in this field and reviews these topics: Bees in nature and on the farm; Crop pollination services from wild bees; Crop pollination in greenhouses; Pollinating bees crucial to farming wildflower seed for US habitat restoration; Honey bees, Bumble bees and Bio control; three Chapters on managing solitary bees, and five Chapters on environmental risks associated with bees; Environmental impact of exotic bees introduced for crop pollination; Invasive exotic plant-bee interactions; Estimating the potential for bee-mediated gene flow in genetically modified crops; Genetically modified crops effects on bees and pollination; The future of agricultural pollination.

This text is required reading for students, practitioners and policy makers.

THE HONEY HANDBOOK

Kim Flottum

2009 168 pages £12.99 (€19.50) F100

This beautifully illustrated and published book is enough to make anyone feel keen to take up beekeeping. However it is not written for the complete beginner™, rather it is for the beekeeper who has largely succeeded at maintaining healthy honey bee colonies, and now aims to harvest specific crops of artisan and varietal honeys Descriptions of honey plants and beekeeping practices relate particularly to North America, but much of the advice on harvesting, handling and using honey will be of interest to beekeepers everywhere.

Another useful and new text for the beekeeper’s library.

*In this case you need Complete and easy guide to beekeeping by the same author

NATURAL BEEKEEPING - ORGANIC APPROACHES TO MODERN APICULTURE

Ross Conrad

2007 240 pages £26.50 (€39.00) C300

Motivated by the wider organic principles of fairness and care with regard to our common environment, Ross Conrad has proved to himself and others that it is possible to keep honey bees in the USA without relying on dangerous, synthetic chemical compounds. Much of the practical ‘how to do’ information comes directly from his own experience of running an organic apiary in Vermont. This valuable book brings together numerous organic techniques that can be used by beekeepers. Successful application of these techniques, however, depends on the beekeeper having good knowledge of the bees and their environment, and as with all things natural and ecological, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution.