What do you think?
Rate this book
Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive
Being among bees is a full-body experience, Mark Winston writes from the low hum of tens of thousands of insects and the pungent smell of honey and beeswax, to the sight of workers flying back and forth between flowers and the hive. The experience of an apiary slows our sense of time, heightens our awareness, and inspires awe. Bee Time" presents Winston s reflections on three decades spent studying these creatures, and on the lessons they can teach about how humans might better interact with one another and the natural world.
Like us, honeybees represent a pinnacle of animal sociality. How they submerge individual needs into the colony collective provides a lens through which to ponder human societies. Winston explains how bees process information, structure work, and communicate, and examines how corporate boardrooms are using bee societies as a model to improve collaboration. He investigates how bees have altered our understanding of agricultural ecosystems and how urban planners are looking to bees in designing more nature-friendly cities.
The relationship between bees and people has not always been benign. Bee populations are diminishing due to human impact, and we cannot afford to ignore what the demise of bees tells us about our own tenuous affiliation with nature. Toxic interactions between pesticides and bee diseases have been particularly harmful, foreshadowing similar effects of pesticides on human health. There is much to learn from bees in how they respond to these challenges. In sustaining their societies, bees teach us ways to sustain our own."
Like us, honeybees represent a pinnacle of animal sociality. How they submerge individual needs into the colony collective provides a lens through which to ponder human societies. Winston explains how bees process information, structure work, and communicate, and examines how corporate boardrooms are using bee societies as a model to improve collaboration. He investigates how bees have altered our understanding of agricultural ecosystems and how urban planners are looking to bees in designing more nature-friendly cities.
The relationship between bees and people has not always been benign. Bee populations are diminishing due to human impact, and we cannot afford to ignore what the demise of bees tells us about our own tenuous affiliation with nature. Toxic interactions between pesticides and bee diseases have been particularly harmful, foreshadowing similar effects of pesticides on human health. There is much to learn from bees in how they respond to these challenges. In sustaining their societies, bees teach us ways to sustain our own."
296 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
57 people are currently reading
745 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
November 20, 2015
The Governor-General Award citation for this describes it as "exquisite". Which is one of those perfectly chosen words.
More reflective than scientific, more lyrical than didactic, Bee Time is a quiet reflection on the place of bees in the world and our relationship with them. There are subtle pointers to lessons they can teach us about organization, community, and diversity, but not in a professional-do-gooder-earnest-hit-you-over-the-head sort of way. The chapters on urban bees and communication within the hive are completely fascinating.
Definitely a great antidote to The Nest . Now excuse me while I go buy a hive.
More reflective than scientific, more lyrical than didactic, Bee Time is a quiet reflection on the place of bees in the world and our relationship with them. There are subtle pointers to lessons they can teach us about organization, community, and diversity, but not in a professional-do-gooder-earnest-hit-you-over-the-head sort of way. The chapters on urban bees and communication within the hive are completely fascinating.
Definitely a great antidote to The Nest . Now excuse me while I go buy a hive.
April 4, 2017
Professor Winston's book won Canada's Governor General's Award for Non Fiction, and indeed it is a mostly excellent book.
When discussing colony collapse he states: "Bee decline is not caused by a single factor... the precipitous drop in colony numbers in the last eight to ten years is attributed to a perfect storm of many factors. Pest and disease outbreaks are rampant, with mites, bacteria, viruses, and fungi decimating colonies. Their impact on honeybees is exacerbated by diminished immune responses caused by pesticides, both those spread externally in farmers' fields and those applied inside colonies as beekeepers attempt to chemically control the outbreaks." I agree!
Unfortunately, there are also passages like this: "Perhaps the most unusual group I encountered were the shamanic beekeepers who imagine a mystical presence in and around their hives." Hmmm. I am not really interested in the alleged mystical attributes of an insect.
Anyway, as a beekeeper, I found Winston's insights valuable and I think there is enough interesting stuff here to entertain the generalist.
When discussing colony collapse he states: "Bee decline is not caused by a single factor... the precipitous drop in colony numbers in the last eight to ten years is attributed to a perfect storm of many factors. Pest and disease outbreaks are rampant, with mites, bacteria, viruses, and fungi decimating colonies. Their impact on honeybees is exacerbated by diminished immune responses caused by pesticides, both those spread externally in farmers' fields and those applied inside colonies as beekeepers attempt to chemically control the outbreaks." I agree!
Unfortunately, there are also passages like this: "Perhaps the most unusual group I encountered were the shamanic beekeepers who imagine a mystical presence in and around their hives." Hmmm. I am not really interested in the alleged mystical attributes of an insect.
Anyway, as a beekeeper, I found Winston's insights valuable and I think there is enough interesting stuff here to entertain the generalist.
December 1, 2014
I got this book by mistake - I misremembered the title (The Bees) and bought Bee Time. Well, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. This book is not a fast read, but it covers so much ground that it was worth the time. It describes the honeybee colony collapse that is occurring right now, and discusses why and how important our feral bee colonies are to all of us. The use of pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides, as well as mono-agriculture, is setting us up for a potential catastrophe. In this respect, I thought this book a companion to The Omnivore's Dilemma.
The author gives a nice overview of bee society. He has studied bees for decades, and he offers us insights about how humans could better interact derived from his study of bees. In addition to being a professor of biological sciences, he is also the academic director of Centre for Dialogue at a university in British Columbia, an interesting combination of interests and skills.
The author gives a nice overview of bee society. He has studied bees for decades, and he offers us insights about how humans could better interact derived from his study of bees. In addition to being a professor of biological sciences, he is also the academic director of Centre for Dialogue at a university in British Columbia, an interesting combination of interests and skills.
September 7, 2019
Molto carino, senza dubbio, anche nelle posizioni dell'autore a proposito di collaborazione e scelte collettive fra gli esseri umani, trasversali al ceto sociale (in confronto al dominante mito dell'individualismo suona quasi rivoluzionario). Smonta, inoltre, qualche importante mito sull'operosità instancabile delle api, prese a modello di indefesso lavoratore, il che risulta sempre, piacevolmente, in contrasto con l'odiosa etica dell'infinito sacrificio della persona di successo.
La mia idea era di dargli quattro stelle, però... però è ripetitivo, assai, soprattutto sull'argomento miele e apicoltura, interessante ma merita così tanto spazio nell'economia generale del libro, e qualche pagina in meno sarebbe comunque stato un gran tributo (speravo che qualcosina di più sulle api selvatiche, ad esempio, rubasse un po' di spazio al dolcissimo soggetto).
E niente, quindi carino, anche molto, ma si perde in chiacchiere a tratti soporifere, già detto, già dettoooo plz stahp
La mia idea era di dargli quattro stelle, però... però è ripetitivo, assai, soprattutto sull'argomento miele e apicoltura, interessante ma merita così tanto spazio nell'economia generale del libro, e qualche pagina in meno sarebbe comunque stato un gran tributo (speravo che qualcosina di più sulle api selvatiche, ad esempio, rubasse un po' di spazio al dolcissimo soggetto).
E niente, quindi carino, anche molto, ma si perde in chiacchiere a tratti soporifere, già detto, già dettoooo plz stahp
May 10, 2016
There are not enough stars to rate how wonderful this book is.
I've been fascinated by bees for a long time, so that plus my interest in sustainability issues made me pre-disposed to love this book. But it's so much more than that. Yes, it highlights the various environmental issues threatening bees (and, by association, agriculture, and humanity). But it also draws parallels between bee and human societies, and simply and elegantly illustrates, as the title suggests, what we can learn from bees.
Winston currently wears the hat director for the Centre for Dialogue in Vancouver, and he's a remarkable man with a gift for bringing out the best in people. That comes across in this book.
I've been fascinated by bees for a long time, so that plus my interest in sustainability issues made me pre-disposed to love this book. But it's so much more than that. Yes, it highlights the various environmental issues threatening bees (and, by association, agriculture, and humanity). But it also draws parallels between bee and human societies, and simply and elegantly illustrates, as the title suggests, what we can learn from bees.
Winston currently wears the hat director for the Centre for Dialogue in Vancouver, and he's a remarkable man with a gift for bringing out the best in people. That comes across in this book.
April 15, 2021
I really can't get enough of bees. They are so fascinating! I have mostly read about bumblebees and native bees so this was the first book I've read that mainly focused on honeybees. I used it as a "before bed" book that I chipped away at over the past several months so it's tough to review as a whole because I started it a long time ago, but overall it was very interesting. The last couple chapters where it got into sentiments like "bees can teach us how to be better humans" were reaching a bit I thought, but I enjoyed the book and would recommend it if you are interested in bees!
Looking forward to reading Dave Goulson's latest, as he is my favourite "bee author", but this was a neat one from a Canadian perspective. Part scientific memoir and part pop-science. I will continue to steadily remove sections of my lawn to plant for pollinators. Glad to see an article lately too that some of the research described in this book on making farmland better for pollinators is still advancing and allegedly being well-received by the participating farmers.
Looking forward to reading Dave Goulson's latest, as he is my favourite "bee author", but this was a neat one from a Canadian perspective. Part scientific memoir and part pop-science. I will continue to steadily remove sections of my lawn to plant for pollinators. Glad to see an article lately too that some of the research described in this book on making farmland better for pollinators is still advancing and allegedly being well-received by the participating farmers.
August 23, 2018
I really enjoyed this look at the different ways bees have had an impact on humanity, and our unique relationship with these insects. Winston balances his dire environmental warnings with possible solutions, and later chapters focus on how bees have influenced art, culture and even how we communicate with one another. I don't think you have to know a lot about bees to enjoy the book, but I'm not the best person to make that statement! ;-)
March 10, 2021
Recensione semiseria anche sul mio blog:
http://pleaseanotherbook.tumblr.com/p...
Il tempo delle api di Mark L. Winston edito da Il Saggiatore mi ha insegnato tantissimo su quello che ormai considero il mio spirito guida. Mark L. Winston è un professore che ha lavorato per tanti anni all’università di Vancouver facendo ricerca su questi insetti impollinatori e ha raccolto conversazioni e esperienze durante gli anni da ricercatore e le ha inserite in questo volume parlando di quello che definisce appunto “il tempo delle api” un momento da prendere per approfondire quanto questi insetti possono darci in termini di esperienza, di esempio, di consigli. Il linguaggio utilizzato è alla portata anche di chi non è esperto di apicoltura e il ritmo serrato lo rendono un ottimo saggio divulgativo. Ogni capitolo esamina un aspetto particolare legato dalle api. Si parla sia di aspetti legati alla vita negli alveari sia di aspetti più frivoli, come il rapporto delle api con arte e letteratura. I primi capitoli sono più tecnici, si analizzano infatti le cause della cosiddetta “Sindrome da spopolamento degli alveari”. Questa sindrome ha decimato tantissime colonie di api, spopolando letteralmente le arnie da un momento ad un altro. Probabilmente non c’è una causa specifica che si può addurre per la morte degli impollinatori, ma probabilmente è l’effetto combinato di pesticidi, veleni e parassiti che colpiscono le colonie, decimandole in pochissimo tempo. La cosa interessante che emerge dalle pagine è che anche noi esseri umani potremmo essere colpiti dall’effetto combinato e potenziato di sostanze nocive. Sono quasi inesistenti gli studi che analizzano gli effetti di due sostanze illegali che agiscono contemporaneamente. Anche se prese singolarmente non hanno effetti, insieme possono anche essere letali. E pensate con quante sostanze veniamo a contatto ogni giorno. Anche la riduzione dei fiori prediletti dalle api, di ambienti in cui la flora selvatica si può diffondere in libertà, rispetto alla predilezione delle monoculture estensive, campi e campi in cui si scorgono solo granturco o grano o girasoli. Winston cerca di approfondire anche le truffe legate alla vendita di miele, prodotto industrialmente in cui vengono introdotte quantità di agenti chimici. Ma soprattutto la quantità di informazioni che riesce a trasmettere Winston è impressionante, non solo su quello che riguarda le api, ma anche a tantissimi temi correlati, di biologia, arte, agricoltura, e anche sociologia. Quello che affascina di questi insetti che si sono evoluti dalle vespe 125 milioni di anni fa è che mostrano un carattere forte anche se la loro vita non supera in totale più di un mese. Le api svolgono una infinità di compiti nell’arco della loro vita prima di diventare bottinatrici (raccoglitrici di polline) e soprattutto vivono in una società sì gerarchica ma che dipende dalle scelte indipendenti di ognuna. La regina, emette i propri feromoni e permette alla colonia di vivere e andare avanti (se dovesse morire l’alveare si attiva subito per sostituirla) ma di fatto non prende le decisioni per mandare avanti tutto il gruppo. Sono le singole api che reagendo agli stimoli esterni che captano a decretare in che direzione andare e cosa fare per sopravvivere: per esempio se le larve sono affamate, le bottinatrici si attivano per andare a cercare il polline. Super affascinante è anche il linguaggio che utilizzano per comunicare, i ronzii hanno una loro decodifica particolare e anche il loro tipico volo a forma di otto che a seconda dell’inclinazione e della grandezza indica quanto è distante e in che direzione si trova il polline migliore e più abbondante. Winston affascina e incanta ad ogni pagina, ma soprattutto fa immergere il lettore in aspetti a cui solitamente non si pensa, cercando di sfatare anche una serie di luoghi comuni.
E ora vado ad afferrare il prossimo libro sulle api, giusto per non smentirmi.
http://pleaseanotherbook.tumblr.com/p...
Il tempo delle api di Mark L. Winston edito da Il Saggiatore mi ha insegnato tantissimo su quello che ormai considero il mio spirito guida. Mark L. Winston è un professore che ha lavorato per tanti anni all’università di Vancouver facendo ricerca su questi insetti impollinatori e ha raccolto conversazioni e esperienze durante gli anni da ricercatore e le ha inserite in questo volume parlando di quello che definisce appunto “il tempo delle api” un momento da prendere per approfondire quanto questi insetti possono darci in termini di esperienza, di esempio, di consigli. Il linguaggio utilizzato è alla portata anche di chi non è esperto di apicoltura e il ritmo serrato lo rendono un ottimo saggio divulgativo. Ogni capitolo esamina un aspetto particolare legato dalle api. Si parla sia di aspetti legati alla vita negli alveari sia di aspetti più frivoli, come il rapporto delle api con arte e letteratura. I primi capitoli sono più tecnici, si analizzano infatti le cause della cosiddetta “Sindrome da spopolamento degli alveari”. Questa sindrome ha decimato tantissime colonie di api, spopolando letteralmente le arnie da un momento ad un altro. Probabilmente non c’è una causa specifica che si può addurre per la morte degli impollinatori, ma probabilmente è l’effetto combinato di pesticidi, veleni e parassiti che colpiscono le colonie, decimandole in pochissimo tempo. La cosa interessante che emerge dalle pagine è che anche noi esseri umani potremmo essere colpiti dall’effetto combinato e potenziato di sostanze nocive. Sono quasi inesistenti gli studi che analizzano gli effetti di due sostanze illegali che agiscono contemporaneamente. Anche se prese singolarmente non hanno effetti, insieme possono anche essere letali. E pensate con quante sostanze veniamo a contatto ogni giorno. Anche la riduzione dei fiori prediletti dalle api, di ambienti in cui la flora selvatica si può diffondere in libertà, rispetto alla predilezione delle monoculture estensive, campi e campi in cui si scorgono solo granturco o grano o girasoli. Winston cerca di approfondire anche le truffe legate alla vendita di miele, prodotto industrialmente in cui vengono introdotte quantità di agenti chimici. Ma soprattutto la quantità di informazioni che riesce a trasmettere Winston è impressionante, non solo su quello che riguarda le api, ma anche a tantissimi temi correlati, di biologia, arte, agricoltura, e anche sociologia. Quello che affascina di questi insetti che si sono evoluti dalle vespe 125 milioni di anni fa è che mostrano un carattere forte anche se la loro vita non supera in totale più di un mese. Le api svolgono una infinità di compiti nell’arco della loro vita prima di diventare bottinatrici (raccoglitrici di polline) e soprattutto vivono in una società sì gerarchica ma che dipende dalle scelte indipendenti di ognuna. La regina, emette i propri feromoni e permette alla colonia di vivere e andare avanti (se dovesse morire l’alveare si attiva subito per sostituirla) ma di fatto non prende le decisioni per mandare avanti tutto il gruppo. Sono le singole api che reagendo agli stimoli esterni che captano a decretare in che direzione andare e cosa fare per sopravvivere: per esempio se le larve sono affamate, le bottinatrici si attivano per andare a cercare il polline. Super affascinante è anche il linguaggio che utilizzano per comunicare, i ronzii hanno una loro decodifica particolare e anche il loro tipico volo a forma di otto che a seconda dell’inclinazione e della grandezza indica quanto è distante e in che direzione si trova il polline migliore e più abbondante. Winston affascina e incanta ad ogni pagina, ma soprattutto fa immergere il lettore in aspetti a cui solitamente non si pensa, cercando di sfatare anche una serie di luoghi comuni.
E ora vado ad afferrare il prossimo libro sulle api, giusto per non smentirmi.
August 5, 2017
I don't think I've spent time with anyone in the last couple of weeks without bringing bees into the conversation. Like most people, I was aware of the crises over the last decade and more regarding the bee population, but that awareness was more or less the extent of my knowledge. A closer look at CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder) and its causes (a concerning synergy of human-induced factors) was disturbing and relevant. As I'm already concerned about the ways in which we are living on this planet, it wasn't brand new information; but the science was pertinent and revealing. And I have to admit that during reading, I was teary on several occasions. There are positive ways in which people are working with nature instead of trying to manage it with toxicity (an approach that is really not working well for us): the family growing weeds amidst their almonds, the canola/rapeseed findings, the group using bees and plants to heal mine-scarred land.
Winston also spent a few of his chapters looking at bees and art and spirituality and rhapsodized somewhat. Although I love art (not to mention rhapsodizing), it was a bit much for me. My reading slowed down quite a lot. However, in the end, he picked up into science again. Although I'm not any more fascinated with bees than the next person, I found the aspects of bee communication interesting. Winston got to be a bit redundant in the 'we can learn from bees' rhetoric, but despite these flaws, five stars. Made me think and I made a life-decision (albeit a small one): I will never buy honey from a grocery store again.
Winston also spent a few of his chapters looking at bees and art and spirituality and rhapsodized somewhat. Although I love art (not to mention rhapsodizing), it was a bit much for me. My reading slowed down quite a lot. However, in the end, he picked up into science again. Although I'm not any more fascinated with bees than the next person, I found the aspects of bee communication interesting. Winston got to be a bit redundant in the 'we can learn from bees' rhetoric, but despite these flaws, five stars. Made me think and I made a life-decision (albeit a small one): I will never buy honey from a grocery store again.
December 3, 2015
I was stung by this book, in a good way with the pun intended.
It's a fascinating, eye-opening read about an insect that we directly depend on for our livelihood. There is decline in honeybees due in large part to human intervention but there is also possible solution to combat the doom scenario.
My favourite chapter was Being Social which gave me insights into bees that I didn't know and tickled my brain cells, which was a good sign that this was a good read. Apparently, the expression busy bee is not true, rather the opposite and bees have been crowd sourcing from the beginning of their existence and humans only caught on in last decade, and so much other gems-packed information are found in the chapter and through out this book.
I also felt a lot of love from the author for his subject and it show through the tone of the writing, which was accessible and can I say soothing and calming in a good way.
P.S. Honey has no expiry date, hence it is going into my doomsday-dystopia-end-of-the-world supply bag. Trust me cardboard will taste and go down better with a little help from honey.
It's a fascinating, eye-opening read about an insect that we directly depend on for our livelihood. There is decline in honeybees due in large part to human intervention but there is also possible solution to combat the doom scenario.
My favourite chapter was Being Social which gave me insights into bees that I didn't know and tickled my brain cells, which was a good sign that this was a good read. Apparently, the expression busy bee is not true, rather the opposite and bees have been crowd sourcing from the beginning of their existence and humans only caught on in last decade, and so much other gems-packed information are found in the chapter and through out this book.
I also felt a lot of love from the author for his subject and it show through the tone of the writing, which was accessible and can I say soothing and calming in a good way.
P.S. Honey has no expiry date, hence it is going into my doomsday-dystopia-end-of-the-world supply bag. Trust me cardboard will taste and go down better with a little help from honey.
May 23, 2015
A book for those who love bees and hives made even better by the comparison to people and society. Apiary biology honeyed with philosophy, religion, the arts, work,communication...well,life!.
April 8, 2015
I love this book - easy to read and a thorough explanation of honey bees! I have recently become interested in the food supply chain and this was a great book to pick up and read. Originally I thought this book dealt more with the honey bee social structure and was pleasantly surprised when I began reading that it rather focused on the food supply chain and the extent to which honey bees play a role. Apparently the importation of honey into the United States is quite restricted, so some companies resort to mislabeling their honey as molasses or corn syrup or another type of sugar to try to import this into the US and to then be sold and labeled as honey in the US market. Honey is shipped in large vats so it is a bit difficult to look inside to figure out if the vat is full of honey or corn syrup. If a port rejects the tainted honey (the US restricts which fertilizers and pesticides can be used on the flowers where the pollen is collected), the company sometimes takes the rejected honey on a world tour to obtain other country documents - the research shows that many honey bottles sold by large businesses in the US are either tainted (much of this comes from China as there are less environmental restrictions), or the origin is mislabeled (due to the world-tour the "honey" went on in order to be imported into the US). When the honey was analyzed, they found that many of the honey bottles did not contain any pollen within them - honey is made from pollen, so if there is no pollen within the honey being sold, this indicates that the honey was filtered so extensively (very expensive) for removal of the pollen which implies the honey originated from an 'illegal' source. The source of honey can be determined by the pollen within the honey, hence the need for heavy filtration if the product was not originally supposed to enter the US market.
Long story short: globally we have a problem that needs to be addressed.
The book is broken down into the following chapters:
Chapter 1: Beginning with Bees
Chapter 2: Honey
Chapter 3: Killer Bees
Chapter 4: A Thousand Little Cuts
Chapter 5: Valuing Nature
Chapter 6: Bees in the City
Chapter 7: There's Something Bigger than Phil
Chapter 8: Art and Culture
Chapter 9: Being Social
Chapter 10: Conversing
Chapter 11: Lessons from the Hive
Epilogue: Walking out of the Apiary
My favorite section from the book was from Chapter 9, dealing with the social structure of bees:
"We share with bees another facet of governance, the tragedy of chaos when events upend the peaceful order of a well-functioning society. Human history is more than replete with war and violence, considerably more so than the honeybee world, but even the placid world of the honeybee colony can descend into conflict if the queen dies suddenly. The workers sense her loss within minutes due to diminished queen odors in the hive and begin rearing a new queen within hours. Occasionally they fail, and the beekeeper's phrase for that situation says it all: the colony becomes hopelessly queen less.
The hive will dwindle and die within a few months, but as it declines worker bees become highly aggressive toward each other and any unfortunate beekeepers who might open the nest. Some of the workers develop their ovaries and lay eggs, which develop into male drones since they are not fertilized. Vicious fights break out between workers trying to become dominant egg layers, heartbreaking acts of desperation because, dominant or not, their demise and that of the colony are inevitable without the rearing of new female workers.
This underlying potential for conflict is all the more remarkable considering the harmony that usually reigns within the hive. It's a reminder that the most cooperative of societies, even that of honeybees, can collapse into disorder and violence given the right circumstances." (pages 194-195)
Notes to self:
page 23 - Brian Fredrickson, Ames Farm, master of honey terroir, bought farmland in Minnesota where the orchard variety Honey Crisp was first planted commercially (developed at U. of Minnesota's Horticultural Research Center 1991); each jar of honey tells a unique story extracted from individual hives every few weeks from spring to fall, & customers can go to his website to match a number on their bottle with the hive, apiary location, and season from which that jar's honey originated
page 25 - Mountain Honey "Best Honey in the World", run by Virginia Webb and husband Carl
page 34 - author produced "Heavenly Honey" with his graduate students out of Fraser Valley
page 40 - author part of "killer bee team" when he was a grad student at U. of Kansas; the killer bees were brought from southern Africa (Angola, South Africa, and Tanzania) to Brazil in the hopes of breeding the aggressive African bees with the docile Brazilian honeybees with hopes that the resulting bees would produce the sweet honey that the African bees are known for; Brazilian geneticist Warwick Kerr US NAS
page 71 - accumulated effects of pesticides on the bee population was computed by grad student Wanyi Zhu (Penn State) using life table analysis, a research tool developed in 1662 by John Graunt (English Haberdasher); his model applied birth, fertility, life expectancy, and death data to predict population size and age structure; possible cause of CCD Colony Collapse Disorder;
page 72 - "Zhu's model focuses on the impacts associated with the pesticide and disease synergies identified in previous research. These subtle effects can include slightly reduced nectar and pollen collection due to disoriented foragers failing to return to the hive, shortened life spans in workers who begin to forage a day or two earlier than they normally would, and small increases in larval mortality, which result in a downstream reduction of the adult worker population.
The results of these subtle impacts is to destabilize the age structure that characterizes a healthy colony, disrupting the well-functioning balance of eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of various ages. The most significant factor may be precocious foraging by adult worker bees, which is caused by some pesticides and diseases that interfere with a hormone that regulates the ages at which bees begin to forage. Early foraging removes younger bees from in-hive tasks such as feeding the young, resulting in higher brood mortality and other cascading effects in a downward spiral of colony decline."
page 93 - bee pollinator researchers: Claire Kremen at Berkeley, and Neal Williams at Davis
page 115 - number of bee species per city: Vancouver (56), NYC (200+), Berlin (262), Sao Paolo (133), Boulder (88), Berkeley (74)
page 121 - Vancouver hotel Fairmont Waterfront offers in-house honey from the hives it keeps on the rooftop garden, they produce more than 600+ pounds of honey per year; other Fairmont hotels have similar beekeeping practices across Canada, San Francisco, Washington DC, Newport Beach, Dallas, Seattle, and Boston. Other hotels include: NY's Waldorf-Astoria, Paris's Eiffel Tower Hotel, and London's Royal Lancaster
page 126 - Hives for Humanity in Vancouver, Canada; sells beeswax candles and honey, founded by mother-daughter duo Julia and Sarah Common
page 144 - New Zealand manuka honey supposedly the best honey antiseptic, however many honeys sold online claiming to be manuka are *not*
page 154-155 - most famous honeybee artwork by Canadian artist Aganetha Dyck = most famous piece of "Glass Dress: Lady in Waiting" a comb-encrusted wedding dress and accompanying handbag, shoes, and necklace, now on display in Canada's National Gallery
page 200 - bee conversation is chemical, passing queen pheromones around the nest
page 201 - queen right: "her absence is obvious within 15-30 minutes as a sense of disarray and increasing nervousness that permeates the nest. The colony's challenge is that only a few of the twenty- to fifty-thousand worker bees in the hive actually encounter the queen, leaving the others dependent on good communication to broadcast the queen right message. There is a premium not only in knowing that the queen is extant but also in rapidly spreading the knowledge of her demise."
page 209 - "bees carry a positive electrical charge, while flowers tend to be negatively charged, although both charges are slight. When a bee visits a flower, it triggers the flower to change its charge to positive within seconds. Subsequent bee visitors detect this subtle difference in electrical field and avoid the flower, which is unlikely to have a nectar or pollen reward as it was just visited by another bee."
page 221 - Dave Hackenberg is the commercial beekeeper from Pennsylvania who was first to report sudden colony collapse disorder
page 222 - "The way beekeepers describe they experiences seems more appropriate for a yoga class or the study of Zen Buddhism than being around an insect that could sting the living daylights out of you. Yet, a tacit understanding exists between beekeeper and colony; if you're calm around honeybees, they will be calm as well, creating a dynamic that feels to the beekeeper like a relationship."
page 225 - "everything is connected."
page 239 - author closed his lab in 2006 at Simon Fraser University (SFU) to establish and direct Centre for Dialogue
Long story short: globally we have a problem that needs to be addressed.
The book is broken down into the following chapters:
Chapter 1: Beginning with Bees
Chapter 2: Honey
Chapter 3: Killer Bees
Chapter 4: A Thousand Little Cuts
Chapter 5: Valuing Nature
Chapter 6: Bees in the City
Chapter 7: There's Something Bigger than Phil
Chapter 8: Art and Culture
Chapter 9: Being Social
Chapter 10: Conversing
Chapter 11: Lessons from the Hive
Epilogue: Walking out of the Apiary
My favorite section from the book was from Chapter 9, dealing with the social structure of bees:
"We share with bees another facet of governance, the tragedy of chaos when events upend the peaceful order of a well-functioning society. Human history is more than replete with war and violence, considerably more so than the honeybee world, but even the placid world of the honeybee colony can descend into conflict if the queen dies suddenly. The workers sense her loss within minutes due to diminished queen odors in the hive and begin rearing a new queen within hours. Occasionally they fail, and the beekeeper's phrase for that situation says it all: the colony becomes hopelessly queen less.
The hive will dwindle and die within a few months, but as it declines worker bees become highly aggressive toward each other and any unfortunate beekeepers who might open the nest. Some of the workers develop their ovaries and lay eggs, which develop into male drones since they are not fertilized. Vicious fights break out between workers trying to become dominant egg layers, heartbreaking acts of desperation because, dominant or not, their demise and that of the colony are inevitable without the rearing of new female workers.
This underlying potential for conflict is all the more remarkable considering the harmony that usually reigns within the hive. It's a reminder that the most cooperative of societies, even that of honeybees, can collapse into disorder and violence given the right circumstances." (pages 194-195)
Notes to self:
page 23 - Brian Fredrickson, Ames Farm, master of honey terroir, bought farmland in Minnesota where the orchard variety Honey Crisp was first planted commercially (developed at U. of Minnesota's Horticultural Research Center 1991); each jar of honey tells a unique story extracted from individual hives every few weeks from spring to fall, & customers can go to his website to match a number on their bottle with the hive, apiary location, and season from which that jar's honey originated
page 25 - Mountain Honey "Best Honey in the World", run by Virginia Webb and husband Carl
page 34 - author produced "Heavenly Honey" with his graduate students out of Fraser Valley
page 40 - author part of "killer bee team" when he was a grad student at U. of Kansas; the killer bees were brought from southern Africa (Angola, South Africa, and Tanzania) to Brazil in the hopes of breeding the aggressive African bees with the docile Brazilian honeybees with hopes that the resulting bees would produce the sweet honey that the African bees are known for; Brazilian geneticist Warwick Kerr US NAS
page 71 - accumulated effects of pesticides on the bee population was computed by grad student Wanyi Zhu (Penn State) using life table analysis, a research tool developed in 1662 by John Graunt (English Haberdasher); his model applied birth, fertility, life expectancy, and death data to predict population size and age structure; possible cause of CCD Colony Collapse Disorder;
page 72 - "Zhu's model focuses on the impacts associated with the pesticide and disease synergies identified in previous research. These subtle effects can include slightly reduced nectar and pollen collection due to disoriented foragers failing to return to the hive, shortened life spans in workers who begin to forage a day or two earlier than they normally would, and small increases in larval mortality, which result in a downstream reduction of the adult worker population.
The results of these subtle impacts is to destabilize the age structure that characterizes a healthy colony, disrupting the well-functioning balance of eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of various ages. The most significant factor may be precocious foraging by adult worker bees, which is caused by some pesticides and diseases that interfere with a hormone that regulates the ages at which bees begin to forage. Early foraging removes younger bees from in-hive tasks such as feeding the young, resulting in higher brood mortality and other cascading effects in a downward spiral of colony decline."
page 93 - bee pollinator researchers: Claire Kremen at Berkeley, and Neal Williams at Davis
page 115 - number of bee species per city: Vancouver (56), NYC (200+), Berlin (262), Sao Paolo (133), Boulder (88), Berkeley (74)
page 121 - Vancouver hotel Fairmont Waterfront offers in-house honey from the hives it keeps on the rooftop garden, they produce more than 600+ pounds of honey per year; other Fairmont hotels have similar beekeeping practices across Canada, San Francisco, Washington DC, Newport Beach, Dallas, Seattle, and Boston. Other hotels include: NY's Waldorf-Astoria, Paris's Eiffel Tower Hotel, and London's Royal Lancaster
page 126 - Hives for Humanity in Vancouver, Canada; sells beeswax candles and honey, founded by mother-daughter duo Julia and Sarah Common
page 144 - New Zealand manuka honey supposedly the best honey antiseptic, however many honeys sold online claiming to be manuka are *not*
page 154-155 - most famous honeybee artwork by Canadian artist Aganetha Dyck = most famous piece of "Glass Dress: Lady in Waiting" a comb-encrusted wedding dress and accompanying handbag, shoes, and necklace, now on display in Canada's National Gallery
page 200 - bee conversation is chemical, passing queen pheromones around the nest
page 201 - queen right: "her absence is obvious within 15-30 minutes as a sense of disarray and increasing nervousness that permeates the nest. The colony's challenge is that only a few of the twenty- to fifty-thousand worker bees in the hive actually encounter the queen, leaving the others dependent on good communication to broadcast the queen right message. There is a premium not only in knowing that the queen is extant but also in rapidly spreading the knowledge of her demise."
page 209 - "bees carry a positive electrical charge, while flowers tend to be negatively charged, although both charges are slight. When a bee visits a flower, it triggers the flower to change its charge to positive within seconds. Subsequent bee visitors detect this subtle difference in electrical field and avoid the flower, which is unlikely to have a nectar or pollen reward as it was just visited by another bee."
page 221 - Dave Hackenberg is the commercial beekeeper from Pennsylvania who was first to report sudden colony collapse disorder
page 222 - "The way beekeepers describe they experiences seems more appropriate for a yoga class or the study of Zen Buddhism than being around an insect that could sting the living daylights out of you. Yet, a tacit understanding exists between beekeeper and colony; if you're calm around honeybees, they will be calm as well, creating a dynamic that feels to the beekeeper like a relationship."
page 225 - "everything is connected."
page 239 - author closed his lab in 2006 at Simon Fraser University (SFU) to establish and direct Centre for Dialogue
July 7, 2018
This is an excellent work of non-fiction. I have no direct knowledge of bees, except the obvious, i.e. a few encounters with angry ones.
‘Bee Time’ does an excellent job of discussing bees as social insects and how individual bees fit into that social context. Winston spends many pages, enthralling pages, describing the effects of bee behaviour on bee keepers. The tremendous sophistication in how bees live and operate comes through clearly. Winston’s thoughts are expressed in what can honestly be described as admiration and humility.
“Bee Time” also gives a good deal of distressing detail on the plight facing bees in the world as they find it today. Their problems almost all arise from our command and control approach to farming and agriculture. It doesn’t make for pleasant reading, but the silver lining is the adaptability of bees and the slowly changing approaches to farming. But there’s a long way to go.
Finally, a good deal of time is spent at various places in the book on the success of bees as social animals and what people can learn from them. This is in some ways the most interesting area covered by the book.
I found “Bee Time” to be an easy read, but it was also relaxing thought provoking, and packed full of information.
‘Bee Time’ does an excellent job of discussing bees as social insects and how individual bees fit into that social context. Winston spends many pages, enthralling pages, describing the effects of bee behaviour on bee keepers. The tremendous sophistication in how bees live and operate comes through clearly. Winston’s thoughts are expressed in what can honestly be described as admiration and humility.
“Bee Time” also gives a good deal of distressing detail on the plight facing bees in the world as they find it today. Their problems almost all arise from our command and control approach to farming and agriculture. It doesn’t make for pleasant reading, but the silver lining is the adaptability of bees and the slowly changing approaches to farming. But there’s a long way to go.
Finally, a good deal of time is spent at various places in the book on the success of bees as social animals and what people can learn from them. This is in some ways the most interesting area covered by the book.
I found “Bee Time” to be an easy read, but it was also relaxing thought provoking, and packed full of information.
June 30, 2018
This uniquely describe that we have the capability of action but always with the wrong priority.
Bio mimicry is a big field we rarely pay attention to, especially since many percentage of our population afraid of insects, while so much we could learn from insects. Bee is by far one of the most fascinating creature.
This book describes how bee cope with our misdemeanor along the years, from the invasive species up to how they teach us something about taking care of colonies, namely our biosphere.
There is another book that could go along with this, it's "To Be of not To Bee" by John Penberthy
Bio mimicry is a big field we rarely pay attention to, especially since many percentage of our population afraid of insects, while so much we could learn from insects. Bee is by far one of the most fascinating creature.
This book describes how bee cope with our misdemeanor along the years, from the invasive species up to how they teach us something about taking care of colonies, namely our biosphere.
There is another book that could go along with this, it's "To Be of not To Bee" by John Penberthy
January 11, 2025
It's one of the most comprehensive and engaging bee books I've read! Delightful writing throughout, which felt like a slap in the face at times while you read it. He would lull you into a poetic and magical story about bee connection only to follow it up with "science disagrees". Both my scientific and artistic sides enjoyed this, and the general feel of the book. The book is heavily dosed with lovely moments and truly inspired me to think about my bee aspirations.
Only downfall was the ending portion where the focus shifted from all things bee to his own work and politics which was a stretch and he knows it.
Only downfall was the ending portion where the focus shifted from all things bee to his own work and politics which was a stretch and he knows it.
August 21, 2019
Bee Time offered an all around good read covering many elements of bee and human interactions, from shared food and ecology to social representations and meaning. While I liked the mixture of science and social, at times I felt like the science was a little biased or possibly just not presented well. The info could have been presented with a stronger evidence based approach with more research. (Says the research fanatic).
September 9, 2022
An interesting and well researched book about bees; their importance to human survival and what we can learn from studying them. I was keen to learn more about bees but especially keen given that the author is a Canadian biologist and writer. He is a professor of apiculture and social insects at Simon Fraser University in my city. I highly recommend this book.
November 25, 2017
I read this over the summer and I couldn't put it down!! Absolutely fantastic book about bees and humanity. Each chapter focuses on a different part about bee life. And he ends each chapter with a recommendation of what we can do in the future.
December 23, 2019
Fantastic book!
Even if you don't care for bees, it takes the world of bees and uses them as examples for human behavior and helps to shed light on the current state of affairs of the planet. Moves along almost like a novel... not really a page turner, but super compelling.
Even if you don't care for bees, it takes the world of bees and uses them as examples for human behavior and helps to shed light on the current state of affairs of the planet. Moves along almost like a novel... not really a page turner, but super compelling.
October 3, 2020
This book opened my eyes to the importance of bees. How invasive species got introduced to certain ecosystems (im looking at you Africanized honey bees) and much more.
My greatest takeaway though was the questioning of chemicals and their impacts on bees and why we as humans should also consider the implications pesticides and other chemicals used in the food supply may have on our long term healths...
My greatest takeaway though was the questioning of chemicals and their impacts on bees and why we as humans should also consider the implications pesticides and other chemicals used in the food supply may have on our long term healths...
February 3, 2023
A fascinating glimpse into the world of bees and beekeeping, and their connections with agriculture and our own health, on a societal and an individual level. Winston's engaging writing draws you in with stories of individuals that encompass the larger issues.
September 20, 2024
I think this book was very informative. I learned a lot outside of what I normally read for books about bees. It is a bit dense though, it should be paired with fiction book to keep up the energy/ excitement.
December 28, 2017
It was ok. I expected more though.
March 22, 2018
Not every chapter will be interesting to everyone, but some chapters are fascinating. Interesting knowledge about bees, lessons transferrable to us as humans, and well written.
March 27, 2018
Review forthcoming.
November 2, 2018
A really lovely m book about bees that goes far beyond biology and ecology and looks at what bees can teach us about social organization and knowledge sharing.
January 24, 2019
excellent book on an incredibly complex animal. we humans could learn a lot in the arenas of communication and social structure. it almost made me want to become a bee!
April 24, 2020
Really informative read that explores all aspects of bees, honey, nature and the environment. Great detail and research was put into the construction of this piece.
March 22, 2025
What a thought provoking read! Gets me any to dive into my colonies as we come out-of winter. And gives me lots to keep in mind as I do so this spring.
January 6, 2017
Книга так хороша, что мне захотелось завести улей :)
В ней есть и триллер с "пчёлами-убийцами", и детектив с подмененным мёдом, и мистические путешествия шаманов-пчельников, и статистика, и аналитика, и размышления об этике, эстетике, экономике и символизме. И просто - куча любопытных фактов. Например, что пчела вовсе не трудится не покладая крылышек весь день, а отдыхает две трети своей жизни... и это как бы намекает нам на то, что людям для выполнения своей задачи тоже неплохо бы отдыхать почаще :) В общем, такой нонфикшн я люблю!
В ней есть и триллер с "пчёлами-убийцами", и детектив с подмененным мёдом, и мистические путешествия шаманов-пчельников, и статистика, и аналитика, и размышления об этике, эстетике, экономике и символизме. И просто - куча любопытных фактов. Например, что пчела вовсе не трудится не покладая крылышек весь день, а отдыхает две трети своей жизни... и это как бы намекает нам на то, что людям для выполнения своей задачи тоже неплохо бы отдыхать почаще :) В общем, такой нонфикшн я люблю!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews