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lirael83's review
5.0
Straightforward but brimful of information. Beautifully laid out and with great infographics. A really pleasurable read.
amynbell's review
5.0
This is a really beautiful, full-color book by the DK company about bees, keeping bees, and using their wax and honey. While I've become thoroughly convinced that it's far too much trouble and too time-consuming to keep bees, I did learn quite a lot of interesting information while reading this book:
1. It's thought that flowers trick bees into coming back for more and more pollen because "caffeine, nicotine, and a host of other chemicals are found in small quantities in the nectar of certain plants, and the result is similar to the human response to these substances: the bees are stimulated to think they're getting a bigger reward than they actually are. This keeps them coming back for hit after hit..."
2. It's thought that bees originated from their "wasp ancestors [who] kept eating beetles covered in pollen and eventually developed a taste for the pollen instead of beetles."
3. Females are the only bees that sting because "the sting is a modification of the egg-laying apparatus."
4. The male drones have no fathers. They exist to mate with queens from different colonies for genetic diversity (and die after a few seconds of mating). Within a hive, there are workers whose sole job is to destroy any eggs not carrying their own queen's scent. That makes more sense than a totally incestual hive.
5. Queen bees can sting repeatedly, but they only do so to murder competitor queens. "When a virgin queen emerges from her cell, the first thing she is likely to do is kill her rivals for the throne. she does this by stinging the unemerged queens through their cells."
6. A bee's waggle dance indicates where food is found in relationship to the sun. If the dance is a clock, the sun would be at 12 o'clock and the waggle part is done at the angle of the food from the sun. A slow dance means the food is far away. A quick dance means it's close by.
So whether you're curious about bees or want to start to keep bees, this is a good starter book.
1. It's thought that flowers trick bees into coming back for more and more pollen because "caffeine, nicotine, and a host of other chemicals are found in small quantities in the nectar of certain plants, and the result is similar to the human response to these substances: the bees are stimulated to think they're getting a bigger reward than they actually are. This keeps them coming back for hit after hit..."
2. It's thought that bees originated from their "wasp ancestors [who] kept eating beetles covered in pollen and eventually developed a taste for the pollen instead of beetles."
3. Females are the only bees that sting because "the sting is a modification of the egg-laying apparatus."
4. The male drones have no fathers. They exist to mate with queens from different colonies for genetic diversity (and die after a few seconds of mating). Within a hive, there are workers whose sole job is to destroy any eggs not carrying their own queen's scent. That makes more sense than a totally incestual hive.
5. Queen bees can sting repeatedly, but they only do so to murder competitor queens. "When a virgin queen emerges from her cell, the first thing she is likely to do is kill her rivals for the throne. she does this by stinging the unemerged queens through their cells."
6. A bee's waggle dance indicates where food is found in relationship to the sun. If the dance is a clock, the sun would be at 12 o'clock and the waggle part is done at the angle of the food from the sun. A slow dance means the food is far away. A quick dance means it's close by.
So whether you're curious about bees or want to start to keep bees, this is a good starter book.
biblioholicbeth's review
5.0
Bees have been a hot topic for a few years now, primarily due to the mysterious deaths of entire colonies and the ensuing research to try and figure out what was going wrong. However, bees have been vital to our lives and our economy for many, many years before that. This humble insect pollinates a majority of our food sources, along with providing honey and wax for a variety of things, and those flowers and plants that they depend on are becoming harder and harder to find. The Bee Book takes an in-depth look at the bee, including its history as we know it, the science behind the insect, how to grow a pollinator garden, or even how to keep bees, and ideas of things to make with honey and beeswax.
DK often puts out high-quality materials, but this might be the best-looking DK book I've seen. It's quality paper, and lovely hardcover, and many colorful images throughout. Honestly, this isn't necessarily meant to be read like a novel, but that's exactly what I did when it arrived. It was so full of facts and information that I had never heard before (Did you know there is a bee just about the size of the small letter "o" you just looked at? There is!), and complementary artwork, that I really didn't want to put it down.
Most people who get this book aren't necessarily going to read it like I did, but instead will use it for the practical information. The section on the best plants for a pollinator garden was terrific and accompanied by color pictures. Since I've been thinking about doing something like this in the back yard, it will certainly come in handy. The recipes in the back I'm also looking forward to trying, such as that for Honey & Lavender Soap and Soothing Sunburn Lotion. Though be aware - the soap recipe is a cold-process recipe.
Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised at how wonderful this book is. I really had wondered how they could do a full-length, hardcover book on bees, but - they more than managed. It would make an excellent addition to any classroom, particularly when studying pollinators. It also has excellent information for anyone contemplating having their own hives. It's a terrific resource and yet pretty enough to be a coffee-table book.
DK often puts out high-quality materials, but this might be the best-looking DK book I've seen. It's quality paper, and lovely hardcover, and many colorful images throughout. Honestly, this isn't necessarily meant to be read like a novel, but that's exactly what I did when it arrived. It was so full of facts and information that I had never heard before (Did you know there is a bee just about the size of the small letter "o" you just looked at? There is!), and complementary artwork, that I really didn't want to put it down.
Most people who get this book aren't necessarily going to read it like I did, but instead will use it for the practical information. The section on the best plants for a pollinator garden was terrific and accompanied by color pictures. Since I've been thinking about doing something like this in the back yard, it will certainly come in handy. The recipes in the back I'm also looking forward to trying, such as that for Honey & Lavender Soap and Soothing Sunburn Lotion. Though be aware - the soap recipe is a cold-process recipe.
Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised at how wonderful this book is. I really had wondered how they could do a full-length, hardcover book on bees, but - they more than managed. It would make an excellent addition to any classroom, particularly when studying pollinators. It also has excellent information for anyone contemplating having their own hives. It's a terrific resource and yet pretty enough to be a coffee-table book.
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