Beesfor Development Journal 93
AVAILABLE FROM Bf D NOW AT WWW.BEESFORDEVELOPMENT.ORG
BOOK SHELF
MANAGEMENT OF NATIVE BEES TRIGONA SPP APIS CERANA, APIS DORSATA
Cleofas R Cervancia, Raymundo M Lucero, Analinda C Manila-Fajardo, Alejandro C Fajardo Jr 2009 73 pages Price to be announced
For over 20 years a team of scientists from University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) (the authors of this book) have researched the indigenous honey bee species of the country, Apis cerana and Apis dorsata, and stingless bees Trigona spp. The team have concentrated on evaluating the bees as sources of livelihoods, their potential in pollination and in developing technologies to ensure their conservation. This handbook looks in detail at the mass production of Trigona spp, transferring wild colonies of Apis cerana to frame hives, and the harvesting and processing of honey from Apis dorsata. Colour pictures, line drawings and concise text make this an easy to read textbook for all interested readers.
BUCKETS OF HONEY FROM BOXES OF BEES
Ken Pickles 2009 101 pages £13 (€19.50) Code P900
The author wrote this book with the welfare of bees in mind. He has made it appropriate for all: those who are thinking of taking up beekeeping, novices and experienced practitioners. He recognises that to fully understand bees takes a beekeeper a long time, and requires much observational study. In the UK where the beekeeping season is short and most beekeepers keep only one or two colonies, the understanding of bees must therefore be gleaned from visiting apiaries, talking with others, and learning from their triumphs (and perhaps disasters). To assist in this process, Ken Pickles has written about his long-term involvement with bees: his experience of small- and large-scale beekeeping, and relating anecdotes from visiting beekeepers local to his home in Wharfedale in the north of the UK and far away while visiting a bee farm in Canada. Not a textbook or particularly scientific, but an enjoyable read.
MEAD – MAKING, EXHIBITING AND JUDGING
Harry H R Riches 2009 reprint 80 pages £11 (€16.50) Code R205
Harry Riches has drawn on more than 25 years experience of making, exhibiting and judging mead to write this useful guide. Dr Riches is happy to admit having made every possible mistake, and therefore claims understanding of all the problems mead makers encounter. He has received countless awards for his own mead, and therefore this is the book to read if you are looking for a master class.
HOW TO KEEP BEES WITHOUT FINDING THE QUEEN
Paul Mann 2008 71 pages £6 (€9) Code M900
Many beekeeping books emphasise that finding the queen in a honey bee colony to be of paramount importance in good beekeeping practice. Paul Mann suggests that many beekeepers have trouble finding the queen, it can be a time consuming practice, and not looking for the queen in a colony means you will enjoy beekeeping more. If a technique goes wrong he attempts to do two things: firstly to put it right, and secondly to investigate what can be changed to prevent the problem reoccurring. Subjects discussed include colony production, keeping bees inside, queen rearing, swarming, and there is even a chapter on “Actually finding the queen”.
INSECT POLLINATION OF CROPS
The International Pollinators Initiative, FAO, and Barbara Herren have arranged for the 1993 edition of this invaluable encyclopaedia by Professor John Free to be available online Go to www.internationalpollinatorsinitiative.org/ Click on Pollination Information Management System (PIMS) (upper right of the screen) Click 2nd bullet point What is the current understanding of managing the pollination of a particular crop? This information compiled by John Free over 15 years ago, remains amazingly thorough and useful. Peter Kevan, International Commission on Plant-Bee Relations 16
