Bees: A Natural History

by Christopher O'Toole

The vital role of bees in human ecology is underlined by the estimate that every third mouthful of human food is dependent on the pollinating services of bees. Only recently have biologists discovered that human survival is inextricably linked to the survival of insects, specifically, bees. Today the 16-20,000 species of bee continue to play vital roles in human ecology. We survive only by grace of the life-sustaining network of bee-plant relationships. Bees immerses readers in the world of a group of insects whose diversity of form and behavior is eloquent testimony to the fine-tuning of natural selection. Written by a world-leading entomologist and specialist in bees, the book's topics
Bees can be found throughout history in roles poetic and military, in medicine and agriculture, in the kitchen and in the kit of a traditional healer. They have played a bigger role in human existence than is often recognized. This beautifully illustrated, appreciative tribute will be welcomed by entomologists, students and all naturalist readers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 12, 2013

Reviews

[Lewis Szymanski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like bees. I like watching them, photographing them and looking at pictures of them. This book has a lot of information about bees worldwide and their behavior. It is very readable and has beautiful pictures. I do like the fact that it isn't just focused on honeybees. There are a lot of other interesting types of bees, most of which are solitary, others which are social to different extents. I had no idea that there were so many different species and it was fascinating to have them described and pictured throughout the book.

[Yvensong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing resource of over 20,000 species of bees. (Yes, I said over 20,000 species!) The writing is concise and easy to understand, and it is accompanied by wonderful pictures of several of the different species.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed looking at all the color pictures of bees. I learn new things from every book I read about bees. The chapter I enjoyed the most was the conservation and management of bees because I like reading about the different types of bees that are used for pollination of food crops. I was surprised to learn about the Australian bee Amegilla asserta that may be able to used in Australia for pollinating tomatoes in Australia.
I thought there was a lot of great information in this book. I thought its a coffee table book. Its so big that when you are done reading it you can use it for you coffee table. All you need is some legs under the book to get it off the ground.
I think its worth a read if you are interesting in Bees.

[Jennifer Heise]

This is one of the many books we checked out in our search for information about solitary bees and to go along with our Mason Bee house project.

This glossy color volume is what you might expect from a Firefly Press imprint-- a wide variety of information sorted less by bee type and more by categories of information, but beautifully illustrated.
We were able to find more information on solitary bees, and especially mason bees, in this text than some other adult books we tried. Still, it's more of a browsing text than one intended either for reading straight through or using as a reference book.

Warning: not for those who are easily grossed out by larva or insect close-ups.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book- it is an amazing source of information. I felt a sense of excitement and wonder as I learned how bees and flowers evolved together, and learned specific examples. I knew it was important to not just focus all of our energy on honeybees, but I had no idea that there were so many different species and it was fascinating to have them described and pictured throughout the book.

[Audrey Sauble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a solid introduction to bees--and especially all the solitary bees that usually get overlooked by authors focusing on the more familiar honey bees and bumblebees. It's a text book, rather than a story, but still fairly readable and a fascinating look at many unusual species of bees around the world.

[Clay Ravin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, lovely photos! Shame about the many typos.
I do like the fact that it isn't just focused on honeybees. There are a lot of other interesting types of bees, some of which are solitary, others which create communities to various different extents.

[Cathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful coffee table book about all things bee, including social and solitary bees.

[Gabby Rockhill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the organization and sentence structure awkward which made the material difficult to absorb.

[Sergio Gómez Senovilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for beginner students, maintaining a good balance between simplicity and technicalities, explaining the facts in a practical and effective way, accompanied by the extraordinary quality of the macro-photographs.

It contains general information about the biology of bees and some biological phenomena related to them. It does not forget to dedicate its space to phylogeny and evolution.
It explains the difference between solitary and social bees, details of the structure of the nests, construction materials used and special organs related to their construction.
It dedicates a specific space to males; their territorial behaviour, hilltoping and clustering.
It addresses the mutualistic relationship between bees and plants, expanding on the morphological aspects of both, as well as pollination.
It even dedicates a section to folklore.
The section dedicated to “dance” seemed a bit short to me, and could have been covered more in depth.
Contains some good and rare photographs of the juvenile development of a solitary mining bee.

I recommend it to anyone interested in learning about pollinator ecology.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is reason enough to read this given this one sentence in the introduction of this book: "And do honeybees actually have something to tell us about the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI)?"

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows the significance of bees and the food we eat. Although many bee species are mentioned this book focuses on the honey bee. Beautiful color photos and drawings and very readable to all audiences.

[Trunatrschild · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loads of information about bees worldwide and their behavior. Very readable with beautiful pictures.

[Ranger Orric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written book which I enjoyed reading. The authors passion for bees really comes through in the text. The language isn't overly jargonistic which makes it open to al to read.

[Mark]

QL 568 .A6 O858 2013 COCC Had for a couple months but returned. Hope to get to someday.

[Karen Soanes]

Fascinating history and explanations about the different types of bees. Incredible pictures. I was hoping it would help identify some of the bees in my yard but no such luck.