AudioFile Magazine
"William Hope narrates this highly informed work with a sharp focus on its scientific language. His clear, frank style helps the listener follow the author's deep dive into the lives of wild honey bees in their natural colonies, as opposed to those raised and kept by beekeepers. . . . This intriguing scientific study . . . elucidates the distinctive methodology of the entomologist and has much to teach."
From the Publisher
Finalist for the PROSE Award in Popular Science and Popular Mathematics, Association of American Publishers
The Washington Book Review
"Tells you everything about honeybees that has not been told . . . . The Lives of Bees is well-researched and one of the most authentic works on honeybees."
An Beachaire
"This is a wonderful and original book about honey bees, unlike the numerous 'hand books' which are the staple fare of beekeepers. Professor Seeley has turned the idea of keeping bees on its head, pointing out the many indications that our current methods of exploiting honey bees may be quite harmful to them, or at best, not helpful. . . . so well-researched and presented that I feel it should be basic and essential reading for all beekeepers"
Kirkus Reviews
2019-02-14
This examination of how wild honeybee colonies thrive in nature offers insight on how to improve beekeeping.
Seeley (Biology/Cornell Univ.; Following the Wild Bees: The Craft and Science of Bee Hunting, 2016, etc.) delivers a scholarly account of the behavior, social lives, and ecology of bees, focusing on colonies in the "deciduous forests of the northeastern United States, a place where they have thrived as an introduced species for nearly 400 years." An expert on honeybees, the author has spent decades researching how these wild colonies are able to survive without pesticides and how this knowledge can be applied to managed beekeeping. In densely written chapters, the author reviews his extensive research into nest architecture, annual cycles, reproduction, collection of food, control of temperature, and defense of the colony. He also looks at the cultural history of beekeeping, examining how it has disrupted the natural lives of bees. Although each chapter opens with accessible quotes—from Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, Henry David Thoreau, Wendell Berry, etc.—the text is largely technical and laden with academic jargon, requiring close attention by readers. For many, the most memorable message from the book will come from the concluding chapter, "Darwinian Beekeeping," also known as natural or bee-friendly beekeeping. Here, Seeley illustrates the many ways in which managed beekeeping stresses the lives of bees and suggests ways that beekeepers can change their practices, putting the needs of the bees before those of the beekeeper. The author helpfully describes the 21 ways in which wild colonies differ from managed colonies and then offers 14 practical suggestions for ways in which the beekeeper can help their colonies live better lives ("1. Work with bees that are adapted to your location").
A wealth of information about honeybees based on decades of scientific research. The book will be valuable to beekeepers and of interest to fellow entomologists but likely information overload for general readers.
