Common Sense Natural Beekeeping: sustainable, bee-friendly techniques to help your hives survive and thrive
Kim Flottum (with Stephanie Bruneau) 2021 128 pages Softcover. Published by Quarry Books (UK)
Many beekeepers want to prioritise the health and welfare of their bees. This colourful book, intended primarily for beekeepers in North America and therefore keeping honey bees of European, temperate-zone origin, presents the range of hives and practices currently in use. It serves well as an introduction to putting the bees’ needs first, discusses the advantages of various common beehive designs, and advocates for minimal interference without any use of introduced chemicals. Full of useful practical tips, and beautifully illustrated.
Honeybees Vision: recent discoveries
Adrian Horridge 2021 20 pages Softcover. Published by Northern Bee Books (UK)
This is a useful summary of the findings discussed in Professor Horridge’s ground-breaking book The Discovery of a Visual System - the honeybee (2019). It begins by settling the unanswered anomalies in von Hess’s and von Frisch’s experiments on bees’ perception of colour. Then it briefly explains what drove the evolution of worker bee vision and lists visual features that they do and do not recognise based on evidence from easily replicable experiments. An essential book for anyone who is interested in understanding how honey bees see the world, yet who does not have to delve into the history of how we know what we know on this subject.
The modified golden hive
David Heaf 2021 42 pages Softcover. Published by Northern Bee Books (UK)
The Golden Hive or Einraumbeute is a well-insulated, double-walled, horizontal hive, with 22 deep frames, covered with a deep quilt for insulation and a roof. It was developed by the Mellifera Association in Germany, as a very bee-friendly way to house bees. This useful book by David Heaf describes how to make the hive, and his experience of using it over six seasons in the UK. The main design features of the hive are its insulated cavity double walls, ceiling and roof, the entrance at one end – therefore at right angles to the combs (i.e., ‘warm way’), and with a solid floor. The bees build their combs naturally within the hive’s frames - which do not contain foundation. The deep combs allow for an uninterrupted, natural brood nest, and the crown of honey (as would happen if the bees were nesting in a tree cavity) – provides insulation and food during winter. This book is packed full of useful pictures and detail to help you get started with this interesting bee hive.
Bees and beekeeping
Tiffany Francis Baker 2021 64 pages Softcover. Published by Shire Publications (UK)
A well-presented introduction to beekeeping intended for people in UK, and an exploration of the intriguing relationship between bees and humans and what we can all do to protect bees. An easy-to-read text with beautiful photographs.
