Did you know that...

  • ...about 90 U.S. crops depend on bees for pollination?
  • ...many hives are trucked from region to region for pollination purposes?
  • ...honeybee health is threatened by, among other things, mites?

Friday, April 25, 2008

Bees Besieged!

Great name for a great book!

"Bill Mares travels the U.S. interviewing hobby, sideline and commercial beekeepers, honey packers and importers, honey bee researchers and scientists and many others related to the beekeeping industry to identify the status of beekeeping in the U.S. and looks for answers to questions on varroa and tracheal mites, resistant diseases, cheap imported honey prices, research problems, the economics of American agriculture, and the decline in the number of beekeepers in America.

During this odyssey, Bill captures the beekeeping industry in its glory and in its wisdom, in its innocence, and with its pants down. He paints the whole picture as no one has done before. He examines, too, the common aspects of the beekeeping industry...its past, the present and even the future, the many personalities, and the diverse parts and pieces and places that make up this tiny, esoteric, but critical cog of modern agriculture.

This snapshot, developed from the perspective of someone who needs honey bees in his life, makes our understanding easier and, perhaps, the troubles less threatening."

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who has even the remotest interest in the state of the honeybee today!

If you're interested, click on the link at the left for The Best Bee Space. At the bottom of the page you'll find a link to Beekeeping Books. It's in there.

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