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.

The multi-million bestselling novel about a young girl's journey towards healing and the transforming power of love, from the award-winning author of The Invention of Wings and The Book of Longings Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted Black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina—a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of Black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

Filled with more than 150 beautiful, crystal-clear photos and bee fun facts, The Book of Bees is the ultimate guide for kids to explore the lives of these stunning insects and learn about their critical role in fostering a sustainable, healthy Earth. Did you know there are blue bees and green bees? Or that one species of bee nests in snail shells? Or that many bees don’t live in hives? With more than 20,000 species of bees worldwide, there’s more to bees than just honey! The Book of Bees gives curious kids a close-up view of busy buzzers from around the world. From the familiar Western honeybee to the extra-large Himalayan giant honeybee and Australia’s vibrant neon cuckoo bee, these pages are packed with detailed photos and fascinating facts on more than 50 species of bees. In-depth species profiles help you identify bees, learn about bee-havior, and find your favorites! And special features examine topics like hive life, nest cells, and other pollinators. The world of bees is exciting and surprising—and The Book of Bees will leave you buzzing!

"Bees first appeared on Earth an incredible 130 million years ago. Since the time of the dinosaurs, evolutions has taken these amazing creatures on a remarkable journey, and there are now 20,000 species on the planet. The Little Book of Bees is for apiarists, Queen Bees, nature-lovers, and bee enthusiasts everyshere. *Learn the Story of Bees, from Evolution to Identification. *Explore Types of and Uses for honey. *Dive Into the World of Beekeeping. *Discover New Ways to Support Our Bee Buddies." -- back cover

How honeybees make collective decisions—and what we can learn from this amazing democratic process Honeybees make decisions collectively—and democratically. Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honeybees stake everything on a process that includes collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building. In fact, as world-renowned animal behaviorist Thomas Seeley reveals, these incredible insects have much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective decision making. A remarkable and richly illustrated account of scientific discovery, Honeybee Democracy brings together, for the first time, decades of Seeley's pioneering research to tell the amazing story of house hunting and democratic debate among the honeybees. In the late spring and early summer, as a bee colony becomes overcrowded, a third of the hive stays behind and rears a new queen, while a swarm of thousands departs with the old queen to produce a daughter colony. Seeley describes how these bees evaluate potential nest sites, advertise their discoveries to one another, engage in open deliberation, choose a final site, and navigate together—as a swirling cloud of bees—to their new home. Seeley investigates how evolution has honed the decision-making methods of honeybees over millions of years, and he considers similarities between the ways that bee swarms and primate brains process information. He concludes that what works well for bees can also work well for people: any decision-making group should consist of individuals with shared interests and mutual respect, a leader's influence should be minimized, debate should be relied upon, diverse solutions should be sought, and the majority should be counted on for a dependable resolution. An impressive exploration of animal behavior, Honeybee Democracy shows that decision-making groups, whether honeybee or human, can be smarter than even the smartest individuals in them.

Listen to tiny tales from Buzzwing the hardworking honeybee. Combining nonfiction with a splash of fantasy, The Secret Life of Bees is a book to get lost in, time and again.

A lavishly illustrated exploration of the mysterious, hidden world of forest-dwelling wild honey bees—with new insights that promise to revolutionize conservation and beekeeping The honey bee, a key pollinator, is now an endangered species, threatened by human activity and loss of biodiversity. Because of this, understanding forest-dwelling wild honey bees—which are more resistant to diseases and parasites than honey bees kept by beekeepers—is more important than ever before. In this lavishly illustrated book, Ingo Arndt, one of the world’s best wildlife photographers, and Jürgen Tautz, one of the world’s leading bee experts, set out on the trail of wild honey bees, bringing back sensational photographs, some of which document behaviors never captured before, and new scientific insights that promise to revolutionize conservation and beekeeping. A remarkable number of wild honey bee colonies still exist, living in hollow trees inside the forest, largely unnoticed by humans. This book explores the fascinating secret world of wild honey bees, including the adaptations and behaviors they have acquired to survive and the new challenges they face today. Featuring incredible macro and wide-angle photographs, some taken from inside hives, Wild Honey Bees is a unique collaboration that documents a major research project and offers critical new insights about these essential creatures. A stunning photographic record that documents for the first time the original way of life of the endangered, forest-dwelling honey bee A unique collaboration between one of the world’s best wildlife photographers and one of its leading bee experts Features incredible macro and wide-angle photographs, some from inside the hive, depicting bees as never seen before Offers fascinating new insights into the mysterious, hidden world of the wild honey bee

A how-to book on an exhilarating outdoor activity and a unique meditation on the pleasures of the natural world Following the Wild Bees is a delightful foray into the pastime of bee hunting, an exhilarating outdoor activity that used to be practiced widely but which few people know about today. Weaving informative discussions of bee biology with colorful anecdotes, personal insights, and beautiful photos, Thomas Seeley describes the history and science behind this lost pastime and how anyone can do it. The bee hunter’s reward is a thrilling encounter with nature that challenges mind and body while also giving insights into the remarkable behavior of honey bees living in the wild. Whether you’re a bee enthusiast or just curious about the natural world, this book is the ideal companion for newcomers to bee hunting and a rare treat for armchair naturalists.

A transcendent tale of a woman's self-discovery—the New York Times–bestselling second work of fiction by the author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Book of Longings Inside the church of a Benedictine monastery on Egret Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, resides a beautiful and mysterious chair ornately carved with mermaids and dedicated to a saint who, legend claims, was a mermaid before her conversion. When Jessie Sullivan is summoned home to the island to cope with her eccentric mother’s seemingly inexplicable behavior, she is living a conventional life with her husband, Hugh, a life “molded to the smallest space possible.” Jessie loves Hugh, but once on the island, she finds herself drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk about to take his final vows. Amid a rich community of unforgettable island women and the exotic beauty of marshlands, tidal creeks, and majestic egrets, Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, with a freedom that feels overwhelmingly right, and with the immutable force of home and marriage. Is the power of the mermaid chair only a myth? Or will it alter the course of Jessie’s life? What happens will unlock the roots of her mother’s tormented past, but most of all, it will allow Jessie to discover selfhood and a place of belonging as she explores the thin line between the spiritual and the erotic.

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER! A Good Morning America BUZZ PICK | A Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick | IndieNext Pick | LibraryReads Pick | Recommended by People ∙ The Washington Post ∙ Woman's World ∙ NY Post ∙ BookRiot ∙ Bookish ∙ Christian Science Monitor ∙ Nerd Daily ∙ The Tempest ∙ Midwestness ∙ The Coil ∙ Read It Forward ∙ and more! “An exquisite debut that combines a moving tale of friendship with a fascinating primer on bees.”--People “This heartwarming, uplifting story will make you want to call your own friends, not to mention grab some honey.”--Good Housekeeping Three lonely strangers in a rural Oregon town, each working through grief and life's curveballs, are brought together by happenstance on a local honeybee farm where they find surprising friendship, healing--and maybe even a second chance--just when they least expect it. Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn't turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren't helping her feel better these days. In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with Jake--a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River County--while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck. Charmed by Jake's sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm. And then there's Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to Alice's ad for part-time farm help, he's shocked to find himself hired. As an unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must unite for the sake of the bees--and in the process, they just might forge a new future for themselves. Beautifully moving, warm, and uplifting, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over (at any age) when things don't turn out the way you expect. “A hopeful, uplifting story about the power of chosen family and newfound home and beginning again . . . but it’s the bees, with all their wonder and intricacy and intrigue, that make this story sing.” --Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is "Eileen Garvin's debut novel is uplifting, funny, bold, and inspirational. The Music of Bees sings!" --Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author