1. Introduction
2. Bee bits and pieces
   1. Wing clipping, some thoughts
      1. The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness
   2. Honey Brewing
   3. May pollen
   4. Magnetic sense in honeybees
   5. Bearding bees
   6. A winter’s mystery
   7. Natural Thoughts
      1. Conclusions
   8. An alternative slant on honeybee history
   9. Honey magic
      1. The Power of Osmosis
      2. Low pH for Health
      3. Hydrogen Peroxide
      4. H₂O₂ and Honey
      5. Varying Antibacterial Potential
      6. Phytochemical Factors
      7. Which Honeys Have More Antibacterial Activity?
      8. The Power of Manuka
      9. The Properties of Manuka
      10. The Testing Criteria
      11. Medical Grade Manuka
      12. Deodorization
      13. Wound Debridement
      14. Honey: The Downsides
3. Insects abound - the order of things!
4. It is all in the name
5. Not quite the right buzz
6. The A Bee C
7. Entomology, etymology, the honeybee and words
8. How not to get lost
   1. So what does the bee use to navigate by?
9. Which side of the fence do we sit?
10. Number 30, the bee’s special number?
    1. Timing is of importance
    2. Disease Methology
11. An alternative use of old wings
12. Who will be the bees advocate?
13. Record Breaking
14. Revenge?
15. Slovenian Beekeeping
16. Granola and honey
17. An opportunity to see in ultra violet!
    1. Understanding Colour Vision in Humans
    2. The Colour Vision in Bees
    3. Human and bee comparative colour chart
18. At sleep or just resting?
19. Plants
    1. Leading the way
    2. The Hollyhock’s spiky secret
    3. Pollen showers
       1. For the budding microscopist
    4. A multipurpose plant
    5. Oregano, the joy of the mountain
    6. Cooking tips
    7. Mahonia, a bargain plant for all creatures
    8. Tilia and the bees
    9. Polling results in!
       1. Honey pollen 2018 (taken in early June and July)
    10. Honey and Pollen Coefficients
        1. Establishing Pollen Coefficient Values
        2. Tireless work
        3. In summary
        4. The English contribution
    11. Pollen abound
    12. Daffodil camouflage
    13. Ivy, food for all
20. Out & about; challenges
    1. Observations
    2. Noseama, microsporidian or fungus?
       1. Causes
    3. Wanted, some better PR! Wasps of the British Isles
       1. The Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
       2. The German Wasp (Vespula germanica)
       3. The Red Wasp (Vespula rufa)
       4. The Norwegian Wasp (Dolichovespula norwegica)
       5. The Cuckoo Wasps (Dolichovespula adulterina and austriaca)
       6. The Tree Wasp (Dolichovespula sylvestris)
       7. The Saxon Wasp (Dolichovespula saxonica)
       8. The Hornet, (Vespa crabro) a quick visual guide
    4. Woodlice, opportunists in the hive
    5. Uninvited guests
    6. What the Microscopist DIDN’T want to see!
    7. Imposter!
    8. Viruses and the Honeybee
       1. Diagrammatic view of how a virus infects a cell
       2. Honeybee Viruses
       3. Summary
    9. Frischy tales!
    10. Let us hear it for the Wax Moth
    11. Earwigging
    12. Fermentation blues
        1. Why does honey ferment?
        2. Know the signs of fermentation
21. How about some honeydew?
22. Natural trapping!
23. Drone congregation areas
24. Honey bee genetics: The drone’s role
    1. Mutations and their effects
25. Feral identity parade
26. Morphometry or Morphology?
    1. Measurable characteristics
    2. Dave Cushman’s data chart
27. Martyrs to the cause
28. The bee’s knees
29. A Hive Portcullis, natural gatekeeping

• References
• Acknowledgements

REVIEW BY CAROL HRUSOVSZKY THE BEEKEEPERS QUARTERLY No.145, SEPTEMBER 2021

Welcome to a collection of articles devoted to our favourite insect, the honey bee. Author Graham Kingham has put together "Honeybees: A Hive of Information," a book which covers a wide range of topics, all in small bites so we can gain information on specific subjects in just minutes. It's like taking mini-classes on in-depth areas of beekeeping that we may not otherwise delve into. I would think everyone, including the most experienced beekeeper, will find new information in this book. Seriously, no matter your level of bee keeping knowledge, haven't you occasionally wondered if bees actually do have knees? Luckily, this book will tell you.

Kingham provides us with his knowledge and opinions gathered as a hobby beekeeper in Devon, England. He has a microscope, so expect some science - and since many articles did include scientific names, I found it very helpful that there was even an article explaining how those terms came to be. I, being a typical human, enjoyed the articles that most agreed with my opinions, but· found that those that had different viewpoints were well worth reading, too. Respectfully written, they provided me with plenty of new ideas to ponder. None of the articles were judgmental or overly opinionated, but instead were indepth and interesting.

As we all know, all knowledge gained is priceless. After reading the book, I am now aware that drone congregation areas might be determined by local magnetic anomalies, and that drones of different races fly at different heights. If drone data isn't your thing, maybe you will instead enjoy some etymology. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, there's a record of the words "honey bee" being used as early as 1566. Originating from the Old Norse "hunung," which in Old German was "honing," it forwarded into the Old English hunig.” Eventually it just turned into the easy to pronounce "honey."

If your preference is history, however, you will find satisfaction in knowing that Napoleon used bees in his emblem during his reign. He felt they were a symbol of resurrection, immortality, and royal authority. Whether you consider him a good guy or bad, we can all agree to give him points for being smart enough to recognize the importance of the bee.

Of course, if a book is too easy to read, it can become boring. Thankfully the author threw in some facts to exercise our gray matter. Most of us don't walk around throwing out terms like "binominal nomenclature," but after reading this book, you will be able to easily use it in conversation - you know, just in case it should ever come up. I can tell you that it is the system of using two names to create a scientific name. For example Apis mellifera denotes the genus (Apis) and the species (mellifera) of the honey bee. The articles with simple explanations like these are informative without being too hard to mentally digest.

Sometimes a book builds information from start to finish, requiring a person to stick with it from page to page if they wish to progress. This book instead allows the reader to browse through at their leisure, reading everything or only those pages that contain material that suits their taste. Each new section is a separate article, ranging from the simplicity of bee-related terminology (i.e., busy bee) to the scientifically advanced nano Tesla (a variation in magnetism). Overall, it was enjoyable to read while learning so many different aspects concerning the wideranging world of honey bees. I found it to be, you know - a hive of information.