For Your Bookshelf
We take a look at some of the new books available for your interest and information
THE BUZZ ABOUT BEES HONEY HANDBOOK
Jürgen Tautz Kim Flottum
Springer, 2008, 284 pp, Quarry Books, 2009,
ISBN 978-3-540-78727-3, $39.95 168 pp, ISBN
IN THIS book, the entire bee colony is 978-1-84543-302-4,
likened to a single animal and this is $24.99 (another in the
not just the workers, drones and queen, 'Backyard' series)
but also the hive and its combs.
Through their evolution, bees have been able to develop IT’S ABOUT time we had
techniques not only to adapt to and control the a book that concerns
environment in which they live but also, under optimal honey. This book’s
conditions, to be a superorganism and become subtitle is ‘A Guide to
immortal. The author even suggests that because of
their pollination abilities, they can be considered by Creating, Harvesting and Cooking with Natural Honeys’.
beekeepers to be a domesticated animal. Now there is That certainly sums up the information you will receive.
an interesting suggestion! The book begins with the foraging habits of bees and their
There is detailed discussion of how bees interact with flowers, collection of nectar. You will find a guide to honey plants
finding and collecting nectar and pollen, gain further recruits to followed by how to harvest your honey. There are plans for
a specific crop and control the colony development according a honey house along with equipment needed. The book
to the varying seasons throughout the year. concludes with a chapter of recipes for many kinds of
The most interesting part of this book is where the author foods. At the end is a glossary and an index.
debates the largest organ of the bee colony – the The book is filled with photographs to help you every step
construction and function of the comb. As he says, ‘the of the way in producing honey and continues on to
properties of the comb are integral components of the marketing your crop.
superorganism that contribute to the sociophysiology of the This new book fills a definite gap in our beekeeping library
bee colony’. An exhaustive description is given of the ‘wax and it does a very good job of that. It is a book that
factory’, how bees know when and how to produce beeswax belongs in every beekeeper’s home, whether a beginning
and how to construct comb to ensure its ultimate resilience. beekeeper or one with many years of experience.
It is fascinating how the comb then acts as a telephone line It is a delight to read. And you will learn much.
communicating with the bees around the colony. As the
temperature of the wax rises, its mechanical resistance to Ann W Harman
oscillation decreases with the ideal temperature being The translation into English is excellent. It ‘flows’ well
around 34 °C. If the bees still have difficulty with when you are reading it and is easily understood provided
transmission, propolis is added to the edges of the cells. you have the patience to appreciate the concepts being
So, a bee standing with all six feet on a cell can detect the described.
vibration of the cell walls. A bee that has interpreted the Picking up this book from the shelf in a bookstore and
information given out by another doing its waggle dance, it flicking through it, a reader is immediately struck by the
will run towards her and join the ballet as a follower. exceptional quality of the pictures that must have taken a
The introduction to this book says ‘A bee colony – surely considerable amount of time and patience to obtain. You
nature’s most wonderful way of organizing matter and wonder how many images had to be discarded to obtain
energy in space and time’ and this volume certainly goes the ones published. So, if you wanted to buy this book
on to justify this statement with some interesting fresh just for the pictures alone, it would be a worthwhile
understanding about bee colonies and some exceptional investment. This title should be included on every
pictures by Helga R Heilmann. beekeeper’s library shelf. n
Bee Craft America May 2009 Page 29
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32