Book Shelf

BOOKSHELF

Pollination - the enduring relationship between plant and pollinator

Timothy Walker 2020 223 pages Hardcover

Every page of this stunning book bursts with colour and detail, displaying one of the most astonishing marvels of the natural world in all its glory. Pollination is essential to the survival of most plants on earth, and without it the world would revert to the state it was in 350 million years ago. Whoever picks up this book will be drawn in by the beauty of the phenomenon, astonished by the variety of its manifestations and inspired to do all they can to safeguard it. While this is pitched as an introduction to the subject, and it is an excellent one, you should not overlook it even if you do know a thing or two about how plants enrol animals to achieve sexual reproduction. Timothy Walker writes with passion and clarity, and his wide-ranging knowledge means that on each page there is probably something that you did not know - even if you consider yourself an expert.

Giacomo Ciriello

Italian Apiculture: A Journey Through History and Honey Diversity

Edited by Ignazio Floris 2020 463 pages Hardcover

Across many regions of Italy long-used styles of beekeeping persisted well into the 20th century, side-by-side with some of the world’s most innovative beekeeping firms whose influence (and bees!) would transform beekeeping well beyond the ‘Bel Paese’. Collecting contributions from academic beekeepers across the country, this hefty tome beautifully illustrates some of the richness and diversity of apiculture in Italy. It focuses on its history and honey varieties, setting out to complement two of the most revered classic reference books of the late Eva Crane, whose visit to Turin in 1986 is fondly remembered. Chapters on how the honey bee featured in Roman and Pre-Roman cultures give way to region by region retrospectives. Mountains of information about techniques and customs, innovative beekeepers and projects, bee products and their uses are accompanied by an expansive gallery of photos that bring it all to life. The 19 beekeeping museums across the country are briefly described, and all beekeeping journals and magazines published since 1868 are listed. The final 100+ pages are dedicated to descriptions of monofloral and polyfloral honey varieties characteristic of different areas, including melissopalynological spectra pictures. Despite there being so much in this book, it is clear the many contributors had much more to say and quite possibly this will become a first edition – with even more comprehensive ones to follow.

Giacomo Ciriello

Plant Trees, Sow Seeds, Save The Bees: Simple ways to bee-friendly

Nicola Bradbear 2021 166 pages Softcover

Loss of biodiversity is a crisis we have to address. This book offers guidelines to enable everyone to begin to make life choices to support insect populations, to differentiate between the stripey insects that they see, and to take steps to feed and protect them. Available on our webstore: www.shop.beesfordevelopment.org

WAYS TO PAY

• Secure order and payment at www.beesfordevelopment.org

• PayPal to store@beesfordevelopment.org

• Credit/Debit card: We need card number, name on card, valid from and expiry dates, card issue number (if given), security number on back of card.

• Cheque/bank draft in GBP payable to Bees for Development