The number of urban beekeepers has escalated with more than 25 percent increases year over year in the United States and the United Kingdom. From a go-to authority on beekeeping and backyard farming, The Rooftop Beekeeper is the first handbook to explore the ease and charm of keeping bees in an urban environment. This useful manual--at once a good read and a pretty object--features a relatable first-person narrative, checklists, numbered how-tos,...

Albert Honig's most constant companions have always been his bees. A never-married octogenarian, still residing in the house in which he was born, Albert makes a modest living as a beekeeper, just has his father and his father's father had done before him. Deeply acquainted with the ways and workings of the hives, he knows that bees dislike wool clothing and foul language; that the sweetest honey is made from the blooms of the eucalyptus; and that...

Polly Waterford flees to the Cornish coast to escape a ruined relationship. To keep her mind off her troubles, she throws herself into her favorite hobby: making bread. But her relaxing weekend diversion quickly develops into a passion. As she pours her emotions into kneading and pounding the dough, each loaf becomes better than the last. Soon, Polly is working her magic with nuts and seeds, chocolate and sugar, and the local honey--courtesy of a...

Covers the physical structure of honeybees and how they live in colonies, as well as how they produce honey and are managed by beekeepers.

Eyes with more than 6,000 separate lenses; bodies so hairy that they attract pollen by static; the ability to communicate by dancing... bee stats are endlessly engrossing. And the bee is as important to the production of human food as any machine; without the bees to pollinate them, most of our crops would be dead in the field. So how did this furry little workaholic come to be so crucial to the planet? “The Bee: A Natural History” answers that...

"Bee populations are plummeting. The solution? Give them what they need to live naturally, and they'll handle the rest. Susan Knilans and Jacqueline Freeman are in love with bees. So in love that they observe their bees-their work, communication, seasonal activity, and more-for hours each day. And with observation came realization: when bees are allowed to live as they would in nature (with smaller hives, no chemicals, freedom to swarm, and little-to-no...

"Thomas Seeley has spent his career unraveling the mysteries of honey bee behavior. His goal has been to understand how the 30,000 or so bees in a colony work together as a unit to accomplish such things as finding and occupying a snug nest cavity, furnishing it with beeswax combs, filling these combs with brood and food, and keeping themselves well nourished, comfortably warm, and safe from intruders. In this book, Seeley's goal is to illuminate...

A wounded veteran discovers the healing power of nature in this classic American novel by the author of A Girl of the Limberlost. Wounded in World War I, Jamie McFarlane is looking for a peaceful place to spend his final days. After escaping the grim confines of a California military hospital, he finds himself at the seaside home of the Bee Master. There, with the help of an impish eleven-year-old called Little Scout, Jamie tends to the hives and...

"From building a hive to harvesting honey, a top urban beekeeper shares how to care for bees the simple, mindful way. Global bee populations have been rapidly declining for years, and it's not just our honey supply that's at stake: the contribution of bees to the pollination of crops is essential to human survival. But even in industrial apiaries, bees are in distress, hiving in synthetic and hostile environments. Enter idle beekeeping: the grassroots,...

Mason Bee Revolution explores the facts (and fictions) of pollination and food production, with a focus on how mason bees can help everyday gardeners get more from their own fruit trees, berry patches, and vegetable beds. Raising these hardworking bees is a fun, simple hobby for gardeners, conservationists, foodies, and families alike. Learn all the detailed, easy-to-follow information you need to keep both mason and leafcutter bees.