The first descriptive treatise of modern bee management, this influential guide explains and illustrates techniques still employed today. Reader-friendly and enthusiastic in tone, it addresses every aspect of beekeeping. 25 plates.

In Honey Bees: Letters From the Hive, bee expert Stephen Buchmann takes readers on an incredible tour. Enter a beehive--one part nursery, one part honey factory, one part queen bee sanctum--then fly through backyard gardens, open fields, and deserts where wildflowers bloom. It's fascinating--and delicious! Hailed for their hard work and harmonious society, bees make possible life on earth as we know it. This fundamental link between bees and humans reaches beyond biology to our environment and our culture: bees have long played important roles in art, religion, literature, and medicine--and, of course, in the kitchen. For honey fanatics and all who have a sweet tooth, this book not only entertains and enlightens but also reminds us of the fragility of humanity's relationship with nature. Includes illustrations and photographs throughout.

“One of the most informative picture books about honey bees, this is surely among the most beautiful as well.” —Booklist (starred review) A tiny honey bee emerges from the hive for the first time. Using sunlight, landmarks, and scents to remember the path, she goes in search of pollen and nectar to share with the thousands of other bees in her hive. She uses her powerful sense of smell to locate the flowers that sustain her, avoids birds that might eat her, and returns home to share her finds with her many sisters. Nature lovers and scientists-to-be are invited to explore the fascinating life of a honey bee. Back matter includes information about protecting bees and an index.

This book describes and illustrates the results of more than fifteen years of elegant experimental studies conducted by the author to investigate how a colony of bees is organized to gather its resources. The results of his research--including studies of the shaking signal, tremble dance, and waggle dance--offer the clearest, most detailed picture available of how a highly integrated animal society works.

More than 150 years after L.L. Langstroth invented the movable-comb hive and brought beekeeping into the modern age, we can still learn from this historic book. The original book, preserved in its original text and illustrations, is updated and annotated by one of the foremost researchers in apiculture, Dr. Roger Hoopingarner. This book keeps alive, for future generations, beekeeping techniques from the past and offers many lessons for modern beekeepers. Dr. Roger Hoopingarner, Michigan State University Professor Emeritus of Entomology, has specialized in Apiculture for 65 years. His teaching, Cooperative Extension, and research interests in the biology and management of the honey bee include seminal work in pollination of orchard crops. He has been the author, or co-author, of numerous research articles on bee diseases, varroa population dynamics and control, pollination systems, and more.