The Queen Must Die and Other Affairs of Bees and Men

by William Longgood, Pamela Johnson (Illustrator)

"An engaging collection of observations about honeybees and their activities."― Publishers Weekly

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Animals, Biology, Environment

234 pages, Paperback

First published February 6, 1985

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. It is fascinating whether you are interested in bees or not, with astute observations about the natural world and our connections to it. Highly recommend!

[Anna Mussmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Longwood writes about bees. Really, though, his theme is bigger--he wants to inspire readers with wonder as we turn our myopic human eyes away from our own affairs long enough to observe nature.

Did you know that during the summer, the internal hive temperature must remain within a certain narrow range? If it gets too hot, field bees drop what they are doing to fetch mouthfuls of water. They give each load to house bees who spread it on the frames inside. Next, all of the bees fan their wings in synchronization so that the water is evaporated, cooling the hive, and the hot air is forced out the door. It turns out that bees are seriously amazing.

Reading these essay-like chapters was a delight. I have never been particularly fascinated by insects, but this author writes so compellingly that his interest made me interested. His writing does embrace a few quirks that initially annoyed me. The constant references to chance, evolution, and Mother Nature are almost deliberately blind when used to describe systems that seem to scream “design!”

However, over time I recognized that Longwood is using evolution and “Mother Nature” as literary devices. He switches freely between sounding somewhat scientific to full-on poetic, writing as if Mother Nature was an actual person with plans, whims, and intentions. In the end, I was willing to embrace Longwood’s musings even though I see a different hand at work than he does.

[Ruin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I've read in years: it sent me on a binge of similar books hoping they'll be as good. Longgood writes charmingly and affectionately, without shying away from the crueller sides of either bees or men. I found myself endeared to the bees even when they were being terrible. I found myself sobbing my eyes out at their suffering. I found myself looking up bee-keeping regulations in my city. I immediately recommended it to my mother and she too adores it.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, educational, delightful read on all things bees. I wish I'd read this before we had nests removed from our trees and pool rocks--as I would have left them alone and studied them instead. I loved the correlations to socialist society!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first found this book on my bookshelf I wondered, whatever possessed me to buy it? Had I mistaken it for a mystery? Whatever the reason, I glad to own this book which is one of the most interesting that I have read in a long while. The social life of bees and the life of the hive is fascinating. The fact that bees know their role in hive life and fulfill it with no training or other preparation is amazing and Mr. Longgood is vocal in his admiration for the honey bee. If you read this book I guarantee that your time will be well spent and you will join the author in his admiration for this very interesting insect.

[Claudia Michelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and engaging story of the honey bee. The author expresses such love and respect for the elusive bees, their complex and harmonious interactions and community of living. Their social network is unparalleled and pales by comparison to human society which is discordant and rooted in conflict. Bees have been around for 100 million years and are unsurpassed in their intelligence and cooperative adeptness.

[Carla Bull · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely beautiful book, and I love the way it is written. It's so interesting! I had a hankering to learn about bees, and this more than delivered. The author is an absolute wordsmith, and every page is filled with the true and loving insight only a beekeeper can provide. It is packed with wonderful observations on the fascinating world of bees, bits of folklore and so much more. Absolutely delightful and recommended!

[Rita]

I'm about halfway through and I find it a bit too anthropomorphic. Particularly the passages in Chapter 33 oncerning the bees coming and going from the hive and perhaps finding themselves in the wrong hive. Have researchers seen females returning to the wrong hive full of pollen and nectar and let in or been turned away?

[Faith Rens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great book for anyone who is interested in nonfiction and of course honeybees without wanting to be science-slammed. Comes from an experienced beekeeper with a lot of compassion and curiosity for both bees and society, not a scientist. Very sweet, eye opening, and endearing. Unlike any nonfiction book I've ever read.

[Ani Nercissian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read. You don't need to be a beekeeper to enjoy this book. Longgood is excellent at comparing human behavior with bee behavior. If you're even remotely interested in bees, pick up this quick read.

[Roxy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, and informative, piece on honey bees, their remarkable behaviors. Though anthropomorphized, makes for a numerous fun analogies to humans. Elicits wonder at bees - amazing specialization, communication, self sacrifice, interesting bio behaviors, etc.

[Marcia Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book about an elusive subject. Though it got repetitive at times, it seemed to cover all the basics of the lives of bees. The flow was satisfying and the writing entertaining. Highly recommend.

[Rebecca Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Bees are such amazing creatures and this book tells of some of those things.

[Lauren Jett · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library because I’m very interested in bees. I read until page 33 and then returned it before I left the library

[Caroline Horgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining & informative. I wonder how much more we've learned about bees since Longgood's observations as a beekeeper.

[NAGARAJA HEGDE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to understand some interesting 'culture' of honey bees. Honey bees are the real saviors of nature's balance.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book, but I may be biased in saying this due to my obsession with bees. It's very informative in terms of beekeeping, but it goes beyond that. Longgood not only writes about bees, but he also writes about us, humans. He compares the bee's actions to ours very insightfully. It's clear that Longgood loves bees in the way he writes about them, and I feel that his writing could make anyone love bees as much as I do. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn not only about these amazing insects, but about the world we live in.

[Kara Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Longgood is, in my opinion, the world's best beekeeper. He is also a talented author who can take the subject of bees and discourse relationships of all kinds using bees. The reader is taken completely into the world of bees - with very little human intervention at all, save for his presence as our guide - and yet suddenly so many things about life's interactions are revealed. I have read this book three times in my life (although after having amnesia, the second read was as new to me as the first. I recorded it read aloud for myself and my sons as I often reference the bees when giving advice to my sons. I don't have to become a beekeeper, now, to know about bees; but if I were, I am certain that any advice I have given to my sons would have been given out around the hives. I'm sort of an old guy that way, and my mother, Bunny, was sort of an old beekeeper's daughter in that way. She'd watch the bees and listen, intently, to the beekeeper's explanations about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

There is so much wisdom in this book; reading it is like being let in on a secret. I recommend it - even to those who've never owned a hive (and I haven't). Thanks to this book, I have given great advice to my boys like, 'if you do catch up with the Queen, for God's sakes keep going!' William Longgood in any lifetime remains one of my favorite authors. Some people know so much about bees.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before reading this book, I thought bees were cool, and I liked the taste of honey. I knew about queens and workers and bee dances, I knew about swarming and I knew how a beehive is constructed. I'm not a beekeeper, but my dad is, and I have enough curiosity that I've picked up some of the basics.

Mr Longgood's quiet little thirty-year-old book, though, is a kind of meditation on beeness: an exploration of the motivations, desires, and attitudes of the simple honeybee as she goes about her business. The questions he raises range from the unknowable (do drones know that successful copulation will mean their death?) to things that science may eventually give us the answers to (how does a colony decide when to swarm?) but each is considered so thoughtfully and with such genuine affection for the bees that you are infected.

He examines the contrasts between honeybee and human societies, marvels at the completeness of nature's design where the bee is concerned, and writes with gripping drama about the most exciting moments in the hive, which typically pass unheeded by beekeepers (with the exception of swarming, which is rarely missed).

A fine piece of literature, which I recommend highly whether you are interested in bees or not.

[JamiG4 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of dry humor and witty reflection on both bees and human beings. I love the way William perfectly captures the essence of cultural ideas making them clear in a concise and often blunt way. The egocentricity of humans is constantly on the chopping block. Yet his constant questioning, rather than making statements, brings a level of openness that allows the reader to contemplate his own perspectives in line with the information presented.

The only criticism I would have is on his ability to discuss the ways bees deal with death in a practical way while seeming more attached or judgmental in his discussion of the fatal nature of their procreation and how drones may be unfairly treated. But perhaps that is my own sexist leaning...

Overall, I forgive any criticisms as his writing style and practical philosophy regarding the place of humans in this Universe are so full of insight and humility.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the early books I chose to read on beekeeping a couple of years ago. I found it a great introduction to bee facts, bee lore and that strange breed, beekeepers. But it was the philosophical aspect that I loved most.
How does a colony survive? What is justified for the good of the whole? What are our imperatives? What is the value of an individual? What is the value of life spent in unrelenting toil?
Yikes, this makes it sound deathly serious, which it certainly isn't. It is the captivating tale of Longgood's introduction to beekeeping and the understanding he has developed of bees. I love his mantra that once you think you know all about bees and their behaviour, and how we can control it, they'll just go right along and do the opposite. He is much given to reflection, and asks us to question our role in the natural order.

[Sjancourtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those wonderful books that helps us see how interrelated we are with all of nature. I'm not a beekeeper, but was still fascinated by his fluent, even at times romantic descriptions of how the bees selflessly devote their brief little lives to the welfare of the hive. It's beautifully written. For those of you who enjoy a good, contemplative read, that makes you look up and view all the plants and creatures around us with more understanding and wonder, definitely, read this book. I'm not a particularly spiritual or philosophical person, but still, it made me appreciate these little animals, and even as an atheist to see, perhaps, the hand of Providence in the whole thing.

[JoAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable description of the lives of honeybees for the general public from the perspective of a beeloving beekeeper. One statement about propolis in the book is not correct. Recent research (unknown to the author) has discovered the extreme importance of the propolis bees make from plant resins to coat and seal their hive. It is their communal immune system and they actually gather different plant resins to make it, depending on what pathogens they are exposed to- kind of like getting the right medicine for what ails you.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely enjoyed this and read it start to finish without a break. It was alluded to in another book I read so I picked it up and am so glad I did. Not my usual sort of book but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The author's fascination with bees is both interesting and contagious. Beekeeping sounds like something I'd enjoy.

I agree with the other reviewers, poor drones...Male readers might want to skip that chapter, it is rather traumatic!

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little tedious at times, but a pretty good read. There were interesting tips about beekeeping that haven't appeared in any of the other books I've read. I do wish there were more shades of The King Must Die. It was too self-conscious (or not self-conscious enough) for that kind of literary exploration. I wouldn't read it unless you're interested in beekeeping.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic book of essays about the life of bees and their keepers. First published in the 80s, it doesn't have anything about the recent mysterious diseases attacking our insect friends but it is full of the idylic rapsodies that beekeepers love to write about their neighbors, the bees. Plenty of other practical information, too.

[Coby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Longgood, a journalist and beekeeper, has written a wonderful observational tour of the life of bees and a philosophical study of bees and men. It is neither a how-to book on beekeeping nor a scientific study of bees. It is a loving view of bees, their activities, work ethic, dedication to the hive often in comparison to the same areas in the human world.

[Heather]

I'm having fun reading this book. it talk about the bee society but it is almost more like a novel. It does heavily promote the evultionary (can't spell it!) theory of the world. so if you don't like that...

[William Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and informative. Could be read as anthropomorphic about bees (uncool) or apiomorphic about people - or maybe just allegorical. In any case, a readable, if dated, introduction to bee biology and beekeeping.

[Robin Heim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, really enjoyed reading this book. Though at first glance it doesn't look like something that everyone could relate to, it most certainly does. I highly recommend reading it -- just because. You may be surprised to "relate" as much as you will to it.