New books about beekeeping and related subjects

Plan Bee: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Hardest Working Creatures on the Planet
(March 1, 2010)
By: Susan Brackney
Publisher: Hay House UK Ltd
ISBN-10: 1848501935

Apiarist and nature writer Susan Brackney is passionate about bees how they live, work and think, as well as what they can teach us. Discover why honeybees are disappearing and what we can do about it; the beekeeper s trade and its fantastic benefits (honey, pollen, wax, royal jelly and mead); and gardening tips to attract and support honeybees. Plan Bee will appeal to anyone who s ever been curious about the mysterious and always-buzzing world of bees.

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(Teach Yourself) Get Started in Beekeeping
(March 26, 2010)
By Adrian and Claire Waring
Publisher: Teach Yourself
ISBN-10: 1444101188

This is an updated edition of the original publication 'Teach Yourself Beekeeping'. It contains new material on bee diseases and Varroa control and a month-by-month bee calendar.

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The Collins Beekeeper's Bible:
Bees, Honey, Recipes and Other Home Uses (March 4, 2010)
By: Phillip McCabe et al
Publisher: Collins
ISBN-10: 0007279892

Contents Include: History of honey and beekeeping, Building a beehive & staying safe, Caring for your bees - pests & diseases, Growing flowers for bees, Collecting your honey, Household uses for honey and beeswax, Homeopathic, medicinal and cosmetic uses for honey and pollen, Home crafts, Recipes for home-made food and drinks featuring honey.

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There's no such thing as a boring beekeeper
By Chris Koenig
Oxford Times - April 15, 2010
They say there is no such thing as a boring beekeeper, and the beautifully produced Collins Beekeepers’ Bible (£30), complete with its old-fashioned honey-coloured cover, suggests that there never has been such a person throughout the thousands of years that humans have had a close relationship with honey bees. Like the best cookery books — and indeed this bible contains more than 100 honey recipes — this is far more than a lavishly illustrated practical guide. It’s packed full of facts, anecdotes and myths about bees and honey; and about by-products such as beeswax and mead, the alcoholic drink made since time immemorial from honey.
Link to article on Oxford Times

Why Do Bees Buzz?: Fascinating Answers to Questions About Bees (March 15, 2010)
By Elizabeth Capaldi Evans and Carol Butler
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN-10: 0813547210

Examines the lives of honey bees, as well as other species such as orchid bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees. Accessible to readers on every level, and including the latest research and theory for the more sophisticated reader, the authors reveal more than one hundred critical answers to questions about the lives of bees.

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Wisdom of the Bees: Principles for Biodynamic Beekeeping (March 30,2010)
by Erik Berrevoets
Publisher: Steinerbooks
ISBN-10: 088010709X

While the benefits of Steiner’s research into agriculture and education are increasingly recognized, his research into the nature of bees has had limited impact on beekeeping practices and on our general understanding of nature. Wisdom of the Bees examines Steiner’s insights and research into the nature of bees and their implications for the future of beekeeping.

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Urban Beekeeping (March 31, 2010)
By Craig Hughes
Publisher: The Good Life Press Ltd
ISBN-10: 1904871690

Keeping bees isn't just for a hobby for country folk and with the Honey Bee in serious decline more and more attention is being turned to putting hives in back gardens, on allotments and even on the top of municipal buildings. Aimed at anyone considering keeping bees Urban Beekeeping takes you through bee keeping, season by season.

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New Flora of the British Isles (March 31,2010)
By: Clive Stace
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN-10: 0521707722

This new edition includes the addition of more than 160 species, so that 4,800 taxa are now covered in varying degrees of detail. It also incorporates the new molecular system of classification based on DNA sequences. Furthermore, it includes 1600 species illustrations, rewritten distributions and an overhaul of the designation of degrees of rarity, with the introduction of a third, less rare, category. These revisions should ensure that this third edition remains the essential reference source for all taxonomists, ecologists, conservationists, plant hunters and biogeographers, whether they be researchers, teachers, students or amateurs.

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The Quest for the Perfect Hive: A History of Innovation in Bee Culture (April 2010)
By: Gene Kritsky
Publisher: OUP USA
ISBN-10: 0195385446

If beekeeping is to survive, Kritsky argues, we must start inventing again. We must find the perfect hive for our times. For thousands of years, the honey bee has been a vital part of human culture. The Quest for the Perfect Hive not only offers a colorful account of this long history, but also provides a guide for ensuring its continuation into the future.

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Bee (Garden Minibeasts Up Close) (April 2010)
By John Woodward
Publisher: Chelsea House Publications
ISBN-10: 1604139013

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The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe (Scientists in the Field) (May 3, 2010)
By: Loree Griffin Burns
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN-10: 0547152310

In The Hive Detectives, Loree Griffin Burns profiles bee wranglers and bee scientists who have been working to understand colony collapse disorder, or CCD. In this dramatic and enlightening story, readers explore the lives of the fuzzy, buzzy insects and learn what might happen to us if they were gone.

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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping (May 4, 2010)
by Dean Stiglitz, Laurie Herboldsheimer
Publisher: Alpha Books
ISBN-10: 1615640118

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The Bad Beekeeper's Club: How I Stumbled into the Curious World of Bees - and Became (perhaps) a Better Person (May 20, 2010)
by: Bill Turnbull
Publisher: Sphere
ISBN-10: 1847443982

'Hello. My name is Bill and I'm a bad beekeeper. A really bad beekeeper.' So begins Bill Turnbull's charming account of how he stumbled into the mysterious world of beekeeping (sometimes literally). Despite many setbacks - including being stung in the head (twice) on his first day of training - beekeeping somehow taught Bill a great deal about himself and the world around him.

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Honey Prescription: The Amazing Power of Honey as Medicine (May 15, 2010)
by Nathaniel Altman
Publisher: Healing Arts Press
ISBN-10: 1594773467

Although widely regarded as a delicious natural sweetener, honey is also one of humanity’s oldest medicines. Honey was used by the ancient Egyptians to treat skin infections and burns, while early Greek physicians prescribed honey to heal stomach problems, insomnia, sore throats, colds and other maladies. Honey remained a popular folk remedy until well into the twentieth century.

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Bees and Bee Keeping Explained (England's Living History) (May 20, 2010)
by: Gerard Baker
Publisher: Countryside Books
ISBN-10: 1846742005

An easy to follow introduction to the basics of the world of bees, how a hive works and the steps and the equipment needed to become a beekeeper. Illustrated in colour.

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Bee (May 20, 2010)
By Rose-Lynn Fisher
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
ISBN-10: 156898944X

Melding art and science, photographer Rose-Lynn Fisher puts this modern tool to creative use in order to reveal the microscopic majesty of these natural wonders. BEE presents sixty astonishing photographs of honeybee anatomy in magnifications ranging from 10x to 5000x. Rendered in stunning detail, Fisher's photographs uncover the strange beauty of the honeybee's pattern, form, and structure.

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Bees, Wasps and Ants (June 1, 2010)
By Eric Grissel
Publisher: Timber Press
ISBN-10: 0881929883

Few insects are more important than bees, wasps, and ants. They maintain the garden's biological balance, fertilize vegetables, fruits, and flowers, and recycle nutrients within the soil. It's no exaggeration to say that a garden can't be understood without an understanding of its insects. "Bees, Wasps, and Ants" explores the importance of the Hymenoptera and explains how gardeners can encourage (or discourage) them in the garden. Part One includes a summary of their biology and a tour of what role they play in each part of the garden. Part Two takes a closer look at the individual groups within the order, including sawflies, horntails, woodwasps, parasitic wasps, predatory wasps, bees, and ants.

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Keeping Healthy Honey Bees (July 15, 2010)
By David Aston and Sally Bucknall
Publisher: Northern Bee; Large type edition edition
ISBN-10: 1904846548

'Honeybees are under threat worldwide because of virulent viruses against which they have no natural defences. Nearly all colonies in the wild have died out and without beekeepers to care for them, honeybees could disappear in a few years.' Guardian.co.uk

The natural history of the honey bee colony, colony reproduction, honey bee nutrition, approaches to bee health management, honey bee diseases and conditions; organisms affecting honey bee health, the essentials of good bee husbandry, caring for the queen, the management of swarming, keeping honey bees healthy through the year, useful techniques & selected reading.

Six-Legged Soldiers (July 22, 2010)
By: Jeffery Lockwood
Publisher: OUP
Language English
ISBN-10: 0199733538

In Six-Legged Soldiers, Jeffrey A. Lockwood paints a brilliant portrait of the many weirdly creative, truly frightening, and ultimately powerful ways in which insects have been used as weapons of war, terror, and torture.

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Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees (5 Sep 2010)
by Malcolm T. Sanford, Richard E Bonney
Publisher: Storey Publishing
ISBN-10: 1603425500

'...will be the single resource sought by beekeepers in all settings. Malcolm T. Sanford presents a thorough overview of these industrious and critically important insects. With this book as their guide, beekeepers will understand how to plan a hive, acquire bees, install a colony, keep bees healthy, maintain a healthy hive, understand and prevent new diseases, and harvest honey crops. The book also provides an overview of the honey bee nest and colony life, insights into honey bee anatomy and behavior, an exploration of apiary equipment and tools, season-by-season beekeeper responsibilities, instructions for harvesting honey, and detailed, up-to-date information about diseases and other potential risks to bees.'

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Bees: A Practical Guide to Beekeeping (25 Oct 2010)
Alice Mackenzie
Publisher: Arcturus Publishing Ltd
ISBN-10: 1848377517

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