Get ready! A new quarterly magazine about bees and other pollinators is about to emerge from mailboxes across the country, fully formed and ready to fly. 2 Million Blossoms: protecting our pollinators is the newest creation from bee scientist and advocate Dr. Kirsten Traynor, former editor of American Bee Journal and IBRA’s Bee World. Instead […] Read more
Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees by Thor Hanson. Basic Books, New York. Copyright © 2018 by Thor Hanson. This review refers to the hardcover edition. If you have read other books by Thor Hanson, you know how user-friendly his prose can be. Buzz is no exception. The book is a clean, easy-to-read tale […] Read more
Buzzled!: Bee-themed Junior Puzzle Book. Copyright © 2017 by Gumfish Publishing. Paperbound. For ages 7-12. When I saw this book advertised, I decided to buy a copy as a gift. I love puzzles myself, and I thought it might be good for a smart six-year-old. And wouldn’t you know, I like it so much I (almost) […] Read more
Splits and Varroa: An introduction to splitting hives as part of Varroa control by William Hesbach. Copyright © 2016. Northern Bee Books, West Yorkshire, UK. Paperbound. When a colony is without a laying queen long enough that no open brood is left in the hive, varroa mites have no place to reproduce. This lack of […] Read more
100 Plants to Feed the Bees by The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Storey Publishing, Massachusetts. Copyright © 2016 by The Xerces Society. This review refers to the softcover edition. Do you need some guidance on what to plant to attract bees? 100 Plants to Feed the Bees is a reference handbook that will help […] Read more
After my last post, I received inquiries about good honey bee biology books. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found what I consider the perfect book on bee biology, although some are quite helpful. Below is a list of seven books I often refer to when I have a biology question. Bees, Biology & Management Bees, Biology […] Read more
Simple, Smart Beekeeping by Kirsten S. Traynor, PhD and Michael J. Traynor. Copyright © 2015. Image Design Publishing, Middletown, MD. No beekeeping book is harder to write than the beginner book. Where do you start? What do you include? And perhaps the most difficult decision, what do you leave out? To write a solid guide, […] Read more