A HIVE OF BEES

by John Crompton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 26, 1958

The author of this latest addition to the shelves of bee- lore, admitting that there are already a good many books on bees, remarks that another one can do no actual harm and no one is forced to read it; his account of bees in his English garden must charm many readers who know only that bees can sting. Hating bees himself when he bought his first hive to insure fertilization of fruit blossoms, the author became entranced by them and began to study them; here he tells of the whole life of the hive: their intricate internal arrangements, the secluded queen and her nurses and guards, the swaggering drones and the ""fanners"" who ventilate the hives with their wings, robber bees and bee- battles, the elaborate preparations for swarming; he also tells of the ravages of a parasitic mite in the 1920's and how the bee- population of the world was saved from decimation. Less romantic and more accurate than Maeterlinck's volume, less scientifically detailed than Fabre's, this joyous book by a semi amateur of bees who is also a master of English should appeal to bee-haters as well as to bee-enthusiasts and apiarists, to students of natural history and the out-doors, and to those who enjoy well- written books without reference to summit-talks and missiles. For public and lending libraries, it should also be an addition to the natural history shelvea of school and college libraries.

Pub Date: Nov. 26, 1958

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1958

Categories: NONFICTION