We all know that bees make honey. They mystery for most of us is what happens between the time when those bees are buzzing around our garden and when we stick our knife in the jar. Based on careful observation and years of experience, Michael Weiler reveals the secret life of bees. He looks at all aspects of a bee's life and work and vividly describes their remarkable world. Did you know, for example, that it takes approximately 12,000 bee hours to produce a single jar of honey? If bees earned minimum wages, one jar would cost almost $100,000 (plus retail markup). Bees and Honey is a fascinating book for anyone interested in the intricacies of nature and the life of these fascinating insects.

As seen on PBS's American Spring LIVE, the award-winning author of The Triumph of Seeds and Feathers presents a natural and cultural history of bees: the buzzing wee beasties that make the world go round. Bees are like oxygen: ubiquitous, essential, and, for the most part, unseen. While we might overlook them, they lie at the heart of relationships that bind the human and natural worlds. In Buzz, the beloved Thor Hanson takes us on a journey that begins 125 million years ago, when a wasp first dared to feed pollen to its young. From honeybees and bumbles to lesser-known diggers, miners, leafcutters, and masons, bees have long been central to our harvests, our mythologies, and our very existence. They've given us sweetness and light, the beauty of flowers, and as much as a third of the foodstuffs we eat. And, alarmingly, they are at risk of disappearing. As informative and enchanting as the waggle dance of a honeybee, Buzz shows us why all bees are wonders to celebrate and protect. Read this book and you'll never overlook them again.

A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings begins as Helen Jukes is entering her thirties and struggling to settle into her new job and home. Then friends gift her a colony of honeybees—a gift that, according to folklore, brings good luck—and Jukes embarks on the rewarding, perilous journey of becoming a beekeeper. Jukes writes about what it means to "keep" wild creatures and to live alongside beings whose laws of life are so different from our own. She delves into the history of beekeeping, exploring the ancient—and sometimes disturbing—relationship between keeper and bee, human and wild thing. And as her colony grows, the very act of beekeeping seems to open new perspectives, making her world come alive again. A beautifully wrought meditation on uncertainty and hope, feelings of restlessness and home, and how we might better know ourselves, A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings shows us how to be alert to these small creatures flitting among us that are yet so vital a force for the continuation of life.

Seeley, a world authority on honey bees, sheds light on why wild honey bees are still thriving while those living in managed colonies are in crisis. Drawing on the latest science as well as insights from his own pioneering fieldwork, he describes in extraordinary detail how honey bees live in nature and shows how this differs significantly from their lives under the management of beekeepers. Seeley presents an entirely new approach to beekeeping--Darwinian Beekeeping--which enables honey bees to use the toolkit of survival skills their species has acquired over the past thirty million years, and to evolve solutions to the new challenges they face today. He shows beekeepers how to use the principles of natural selection to guide their practices, and he offers a new vision of how beekeeping can better align with the natural habits of honey bees.

Looks at the life cycle of honeybees, their funcion, and their impact on the environment, along with information on beekeeping and the collection of honey.

“As a world authority on insect anatomy, Snodgrass has given us this book a brilliant account of the anatomy of the honey bee and how it relates to the way that bees develop and how and why they function as they do in their interesting communal life. This book should be in the library of every student of the honey bee and bee behaviour—beekeepers as well as scientists. The book is delightfully written and is enjoyable reading.”—American Bee Journal “This is not just a technical reference book on honey bee anatomy. It is far more, it is essentially a treatise on entomology, using one species as an example, and including a discussion of the fundamentals of embryology, development, and metamorphosis as well as anatomy. The subject of each chapter is approached from the broadest evolutionary point of view, and its horizon includes all the arthropods and beyond, so that the bee really typifies animal life in general. Finally, the language of the book is such that it can be read straight through with pleasure....It is a delight to follow the author through this complete examination of one insect: how it develops, how it grows, and how it operates.”—Entomological News

Do you want to be a beekeeper and need help on how to start? Charlotte Ekker Wiggins has written the definitive guide to beginning beekeeping. This diary will guide you on how to start, troubleshoot and successfully develop basic beekeeping skills and practices.The information in this easy to use guide, with handy check lists and tips, will answer your beginning beekeeping questions including: How to naturally feed your honey bees.Best beekeeping equipment. Where to set up your hives. How to get honey bees.How to manage pests and diseases.Plus much more! This diary continues to be used in Charlotte's beekeeping classes. It is approved for use with Great Plains Master Beekeeping Program classes.

According to Egyptian mythology, when the ancient Egyptian sun god Re cried, his tears turned into honey bees upon touching the ground. For this reason, the honey bee was sacrosanct in ancient Egyptian culture. From the art depicting bees on temple walls to the usage of beeswax as a healing ointment, the honey bee was a pervasive cultural motif in ancient Egypt because of its connection to the sun god Re. Gene Kritsky delivers a concise introduction of the relationship between the honey bee and ancient Egyptian culture, through the lenses of linguistics, archeology, religion, health, and economics. Kritsky delves into ancient Egypt's multifaceted society, and traces the importance of the honey bee in everything from death rituals to trade. In doing so, Kritsky brings new evidence to light of how advanced and fascinating the ancient Egyptians were. This richly illustrated work appeals to a broad range of interests. For archeology lovers, Kritsky delves into the archeological evidence of Egyptian beekeeping and discusses newly discovered tombs, as well as evidence of manmade hives. Linguists will be fascinated by Kritsky's discussion of the first documented written evidence of the honeybee hieroglyph. And anyone interested in ancient Egypt or ancient cultures in general will be intrigued by Kritsky's treatment of the first documented beekeepers. This book provides a unique social commentary of a community so far removed from modern humans chronologically speaking, and yet so fascinating because of the stunning advances their society made. Beekeeping is the latest evidence of how ahead of their times the Egyptians were, and the ensuing narrative is as captivating as every other aspect of ancient Egyptian culture.

How sweet it is. Thousands of bees visited more than one million flowers to gather the nectar that went into that one-pound jar of honey. Here's the buzz on how these remarkable insects work together to create this amazing food.