New bee books

On the Keeping of Bees

By: John Whitaker (Feb 2011)
Publisher: Ulleskelf Publishing
ISBN-10: 0956799205

Beekeeping is the most fascinating and absorbing of pastimes. This book developed from the course that I have presented to new beekeepers at my local association for several years. One of the joys of beekeeping is the diversity of approach and this is to be celebrated. But there are two fundamental premises that govern my beekeeping and underpin the ethos behind the book. I believe that a sound knowledge of the natural history of honeybees is essential to being a good beekeeper and the first priority of the beekeeper is to keep the bees healthy. A colony of healthy bees will produce honey whether you want it or not. The book gives a complete guide for the beginner and is sufficiently detailed to help prepare a new beekeeper to the level required by the BBKA basic assessment.

Practical Queen Rearing

By: Frank Chapman Pellett (Sep 2011)
Publisher: X-STAR PUBLISHING COMPANY
ISBN-10: 1614760578

This book is a good overview of most of the popular queen rearing methods. This edition has all the original plates plus two additional plates on the Hopkins method from the Australasian Bee Manual, and a three page section about the author with two more plates of the author. It also has headings added for the items that were indexed and in place of the index a more complete Table of Contents that includes those headings. It has a table of figures. It is newly typeset, not an OCR and not a digital scan. It is a very easy to read font in 12 pt.

Carol Ann Duffy – the newest of the bee poets

By Alison Benjamin
Guardian - October 31, 2011
The poet laureate has joined Virgil and Sylvia Plath and plenty inbetween by celebrating the 'winged saviours' in verse. When Carol Ann Duffy's first collection of new poems as poet laureate was published this month, she joined a long list of acclaimed scribes dating back to Roman poet Virgil who have eulogised the honeybee in verse for their social organisation, honey-making abilities or pollination services, or employed them as a potent metaphor and symbol.
Link to article in the Guardian

BBKA Guide to Beekeeping

By Ivor Davis and Roger Cullum-Kenyon (May 2012)
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN-10: 1408154587

'The number of people interested and active in keeping bees has increased greatly over the past few years. Membership of the BBKA, the main association for amateur beekeepers (those with less than 40 hives) has grown by 65 per cent over the past couple of years. This guide, aimed at beginning beekeepers, provides an authoritative text, along with clear photographs and illustrations demonstrating the essential points. The first part of the book introduces the reader to beekeeping including the workings of the colony, the structure of a hive, how to acquire bees and keep them healthy and the structure of the beekeeping year, while the second part answers a number of frequently asked questions such as how to prevent swarming.'

Ivor Davis is a past president of the BBKA, a master Beekeeper and one of the few people to hold the National Diploma in Beekeping. Roger Cullum-Kenyon has been a beekeeper for more than 30 years and is managing director of BBKA enterprises. Both are westcountry beekeepers.

Unbeelievables:
Honeybee Poems and Paintings (Mar 2012)
By: Douglas Florian
Publisher: Beach Lane Books
Language English
ISBN-10: 1442426527

Egg to Bee (Life Cycles) (Mar 2012)
By: Camilla de la Bedoyere
Publisher: QED Publishing
ISBN-10: 1848355858

How does an acorn grow into a tree? What does a baby sea horse eat? You can discover the amazing stages of different life cycles and learn all about your favourite species with this stunning series. It features beautiful photography of development stages, and a bright, vibrant design. It covers varied range of life cycles.

Apis Through the Looking Glass (April 2011)
By Graham Royle
Publisher: BBNO
ISBN-10: 0905652800

This book is based on a lecture "Honeybee Anatomy"which was first given at the BBKA Spring Convention 2009 held at Stoneleigh. It provides a close up look at the external and internal structure of the honeybee. The majority of the excellent photos were taken with a digital camera mounted on a Trinocular dissection microscope.

The Bee-Kind Garden: Apian Wisdom for Your Garden
(10 Oct 2011)
By David Squire
Publisher: Green Books
ISBN-10: 085784024X

'Bees have been a major part of our lives for thousands of years because they are pollinators of both food and ornamental plants, and without them our ability to feed ourselves would be at great risk. In earlier centuries honey was the major provider of sweetness in food as well as creating mead, an age-old drink fermented with yeast from a mixture of honey and water. It is not surprising that bees and honey have become interwoven in many aspects of our lives, from honeymoons to telling bees about deaths and marriages in families. The Bee-Kind Garden gives a wealth of information about the intriguing lives of honeybees, and includes many amusing and illuminating stories about the role that they have played in human history. The book explains how crucial bees are to our food chain, and describes how you can attract them to your garden.'

Bees in the City: A year in the life of an urban beekeepers (August 14, 2011)
By: Brian McCallum and Alison Benjamin
Publisher: Guardian Books
ISBN-10: 0852652313

'A collection of compelling tales from the front line of urban beekeeping, from the authors of "A World Without Bees" and "Keeping Bees & Making Honey". Membership of British Beekeepers' Association has increased 40% over the past 5 years, and now has 17,000 members.'

Varroa – Still a problem in the 21st Century? (2011)

Edited by Norman Carreck.
Publisher: IBRA
ISBN: 978-0-86098-268-5

This book has been published as a result of an IBRA conference held earlier in 2011. The eight chapters have been written by an international team of bee scientists who cover the varroa problem in depth: Dr Stephen Martin outlines the current knowledge about the biology of the mite, while Dr Joachim de Miranda discusses its interaction with other viruses and Dr Max Watkins focuses upon the problems of chemical resistance. The key note speaker Prof. Keith Delaplane provides a balanced account of Integrated Pest Management, while Dr Dave Chandler and Norman Carreck discuss control methods, whether chemical, Biological, biotechnical or by bee breeding. To conclude Dr Jochen Plugfelder suggests solutions to enable beekeepers to live with the mite in the 21st century.

Honey Recipes from a Welsh Kitchen (2011)

By J Jones
Publisher IBRA 2011
ISBN:978-0-86098-268-5

Inspired by the versatility and potential of honey as a cooking ingredient, Jane has produced over 100 delicious recipes in this attractive book. With step by step instructions and colour photographs throughout, cooking with honey is easy! For convenience the recipes are grouped into the following chapters: Meat / Fish / Vegetarian and Salads / Desserts / Cakes / Biscuits / Christmas. The dishes range from spicy beef medallions to mouth watering Glamorgan sausages, and from traditional Welsh cakes to fabulous honey walnut biscuits. This book is aimed at those who want to use one of the oldest ingredients in the world! A product that is so versatile it should not be ignored in the kitchen! It is a book for expert and novice alike with a page of ‘Useful tips for cooking with honey’ to help you on your way.

Better Beekeeping: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Stronger Colonies and Healthier, More Productive Bees (Aug 2011)

By Kim Flottum
Publisher: Quarry Books
ISBN-10: 1592536522

'Our Backyard Beekeeper series has created the need in the market for this book: how do beekeepers take the next step towards mastering colony management, marketing, making money from their hobby, and more? The core themes of this intermediate beekeeping book are: managing and growing your workforce, making sure your queens always get the royal treatment, how to keep bees seasonally, how to build a better colony, and how to grow that colony.'

The Beekeeper's Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America (May 24, 2011)

By: Hannah Nordhaus
Publisher: HarperPerennial
ISBN-10: 006187325X

'The honey bee is a miracle. It is the cupid of the natural world. It pollinates crops; making plants bear fruit and helping farmers make money. But in this age of vast industrial agribusiness, never before has so much been asked of such a small wonder. And never before has its survival been so unclear - and the future of our food supply so acutely challenged.'

Keeping Bees (Green Guides Series) (May 9, 2011)

Pam Gregory, Claire Waring, Paul Peacock
Publisher: Flame Tree Publishing
ISBN-10: 1847869858

'Beekeeping is a fascinating and rewarding activity and is hugely important to the survival of our declining bee population, as much covered recently by the media. This attractive book offers practical and informative advice on how to get started, how to achieve and collect good harvests, beekeeping through the seasons, troubleshooting, queen rearing and more. It even suggests ways of encouraging bees for 'non-beekeepers'. Written by well respected experts Pam Gregory and Claire Waring, it provides accurate and reliable information on this increasingly popular pastime and is the ideal giftbook for the budding beekeeper.'

Beekeeping: A Seasonal Guide (April 21, 2011)
By: Ron Brown
Publisher: Batsford
ISBN-10: 1906388970

'A charming and practical guide for anyone wishing to keep bees, accompanying the would-be beekeeper through every season of the bee-keeping year. From spring awakening and summer swarms to the autumn honey harvest and providing winter protection, this essential resource guides you each step of the way. There is extensive advice for beekeeping beginners, from siting and smoking your hives to rearing a queen and controlling your swarm. There is also in-depth information for improvers and more experienced apiarists who wish to experiment with different hive-management and queen-rearing techniques. Troubleshooting tips on protecting your hives and keeping your bees healthy are also covered. The book is also packed with practical advice on using beeswax, as well as, of course, extracting and making the tastiest honey.'

The Bee Garden:
How to create or adapt a gardent to attract and nurture bees. (March 25, 2011)
By Maureen Little
Publisher: Spring Hill
ISBN-10: 1905862598

'Bees play a vital and irreplaceable role in pollinating our flowers, fruits and vegetables. The more bees in your garden the healthier, more productive and more pleasant a place it will be. Yet bees are declining rapidly and many people, even if they do not wish to keep bees themselves, are asking what can be done on an individual basis to help the bee. This book is a response to that request. It will demonstrate in one accessible volume how each of us can play our part in providing a bee-friendly environment, no matter how much gardening space and/or time we may have.'