NORTHERN BEE BOOKS

These notes are of use for beekeepers contemplating entering the BBKA Basic Certificate, SBKA Basic Beemasters Certificate and the FIBKA Preliminary Certificate. Each part of the syllabus for the exams are addressed and the notes, should cover everything that the Examiner is likely to ask the Candidate

‘This is an excellent guide for hobby beekeepers who wish to keep bees using top-bar hives. Drawing on his more than thirty years of beekeeping experience in New Mexico, author Les Crowder describes in detail the special comb-management techniques that this low-cost, but relatively intense, form of beekeeping requires. Top- Bar Beekeeping also provides an eloquent appeal for beekeepers to make care, respect, and reverence the foundation of their relationships with the bees.’ – Thomas Seeley, Cornell University

Established along with European settlers, honey bees are an essential part of the landscape. Yet, how do we define a honey bee? And how does the honey bee accomplish the many tasks that aid not only the survival of the colony but our own as well? In Honey-Maker:

• How honey bees set up house, manage a vegetarian lifestyle, and make a beeline
• What honey bees do to warm and cool the beehive
• How honey bees make beeswax, honey, and bee bread
• Why honey bees are in our gardens and how they tell other bees the way to get there
• How the honey bee is related to other insects-and to us

“I didn’t think there was another way to write a book about bees …. This one should be on your shelf.” – Kim Flottum, Editor, Bee Culture Magazine

The BRAVE (Bee Research And Virology in Europe) project report was selected from the call for proposals by the EU where one of the objectives was the Assessment of the level of risk and the likely consequences for bees and other closely related pollinators of the introduction of bee viruses to Europe. BRAVE was aimed at knowledge transfer between expert with a broad range of skills in insect virology, diagnosis, immunology, epidemiology, international trade and risk management, along with scientists involved in fundamental and applied research on bees and related pollinator species. More than 60 world experts exchanged their knowledge during a preliminary meeting in Sophia-Antipolis (France) in April 2005. Following this first meeting, a smaller panel of experts gathered in Tourtour (Les Treilles Foundation – France) in September 2005 and produced this book which, in addition to being an overview of current virology status of the honey bee, also proposes a framework for future research programmes on virology and the honey bee.

This recent title suggests reasons why there has been a recent dramatic reduction in honey bees throughout the world. John Harding presents a very convincing argument in which he thinks out of the box.

This booklet is intended to raise awareness and promote beekeeping, among people and organisations involved in supporting small-scale farming as a successful diversification enterprise that small-scale farmers in rural, urban and urban centres can integrate into their farming systems easily. This publication is by the Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division of The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and is particularly intended for their clients.

A review of the lessons learned, the practices adopted, and the equipment used by a 40-colony spare time beekeeper in diverse parts of England.

This volume, the sub title of which is Discovering the Medicinal Benefits of Honey deals with honey and its health giving benefits from ancient civilizations until the advent of antibiotics together with the uses of honey in wound care. The book is intended as a guide to its benefits, based on historical research and the published results of laboratory experiments, case studies and clinical trials. The author is not a medical practitioner and thus this volume is nor intended as a manual for medical self treatment.

This book is a reliable and fascinating guide to one o f Borneo’s natural wonders – the diversity o f honey bees, their intriguing societies and their adaptations to the complex tropical environment. The admirable harmony of their social life , the precision of their combs and the richness of their honey stores are described, as well as the honey bee’s defence strategies against strong bears, fast flying birds and minute mites.
An array of unique, spectacular photographs allows the reader to visit the giant honey bees (Apis dorsata) in the canopy of the highest Koompassia trees and witness painful bee stings penetrating deeper and deeper into the skin. Unique in the animal kingdom are magnificent assemblies of thousands of drone s which, far from the safety of their nests, circle high in the air waiting for the arrival of a single virgin queen. The out standing taste and quality of honey of indigenous Asian bees is acknowledged and its unjustified degrading by honey standards of the western Apis mellifera is exposed. Sustainable keeping of indigenous bees for honey production in Asia must gain more momentum! The knowledge and aware ness disseminated by this book will undoubtedly help to protect native honey bees and their habitats in Borneo and elsewhere!