Wild Honey Bees: An Intimate Portrait

by Ingo Arndt, J�rgen Tautz, Thomas D. Seeley (Foreword)

A lavishly illustrated exploration of the mysterious, hidden world of forest-dwelling wild honey bees―with new insights that promise to revolutionize conservation and beekeeping

The honey bee, a key pollinator, is now an endangered species, threatened by human activity and loss of biodiversity. Because of this, understanding forest-dwelling wild honey bees―which are more resistant to diseases and parasites than honey bees kept by beekeepers―is more important than ever before. In this lavishly illustrated book, Ingo Arndt, one of the world’s best wildlife photographers, and Jürgen Tautz, one of the world’s leading bee experts, set out on the trail of wild honey bees, bringing back sensational photographs, some of which document behaviors never captured before, and new scientific insights that promise to revolutionize conservation and beekeeping.

A remarkable number of wild honey bee colonies still exist, living in hollow trees inside the forest, largely unnoticed by humans. This book explores the fascinating secret world of wild honey bees, including the adaptations and behaviors they have acquired to survive and the new challenges they face today. Featuring incredible macro and wide-angle photographs, some taken from inside hives, Wild Honey Bees is a unique collaboration that documents a major research project and offers critical new insights about these essential creatures.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Photography

192 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2022

Reviews

[Wilder Leavitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a beekeeper who has witnessed the wonder of honey bees every time I visited my hives, I was left in awe of Apis mellifera once again after reading this wonderfully written and photographed book. The images are stunning and the explanation of how bees live in the wild was illuminating. I have always thought that my bees never needed very much from me except to help them deal with the artificial constraints that I placed on them by keeping them in my man-made hives. Sitting back and watching them as the authors painstakingly have in order to compile this wonderful book always left me in a state of wonder. "Wild Honey Bees" taught me many new things, especially introducing me to the book scorpion and its role in the wild at checking varroa mite proliferation in wild honey bee colonies. Fascinating. The honey bees remind us again of the intricacies and wildly multifaceted aspects of nature of which we only have a fleeting comprehension.

[Gloria Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photographs in this book were spectacular. This felt like watching a BBC nature documentary on honeybees (but in a book).

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible photography, and excellent text as well

[Dorotea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing photos and groundbreaking research presented in a very clear fashion to the general public. Want to learn more.

[Trey Emerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This shit was dope don't @ me

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed, fascinating look at the life of wild honeybees. Photographs were amazing.

[Peter Sandwall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vivid and informative photography by Ingo Arndt, complimented with text by Jürgen Tautz. Not as detailed as some of Jürgen's other work, yet beautiful and valuable in its own right.

[Keg Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

great pictures

[Marjorie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Great photography and very interesting. Now I am not worried about my bees that swarmed to a tree knot recently, I know they can survive.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely full of beautiful photographs, this book gives us a glimpse in the inner world of wild honey bees. It required untold dedication and persistence from the authors.