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Books > Professional & Technical > Agriculture & farming > Animal husbandry > Apiculture (beekeeping)
'A must-read' Daily Mail "'Hello. My name is Bill and I'm a bad
beekeeper. A really bad beekeeper." So begins the charming and
often hilarious account of how Bill Turnbull - the much-loved and
much-missed TV presenter - stumbled into the world of beekeeping
(sometimes literally). Despite many setbacks - including being
stung (twice) on his first day of training - beekeeping somehow
taught Bill a great deal about himself, and the world around him.
The Bad Beekeeper's Club also highlights the very real threats to
Britain's bee population. One in every three tablespoons of food
derives directly from the pollinating process of the humble bumble
bee. But hives are collapsing at an accelerating rate with
significant environmental consequences. Fascinating and extremely
funny, The Bad Beekeeper's Club is a universally appealing story
about a very singular passion.
This book will help beekeepers understand the fundamentals of
beekeeping science. Written in plain and accessible language by
actual researchers, it should be part of every beekeeper's library.
The respective chapters not only present raw data; they also
explain how to read and understand the most common figures. With
topics ranging from honeybee nutrition to strains of Varroa
resistant bees, from the effects of pesticide chemicals to
understanding diseases, and including a discussion of venom
allergies, the book provides essential "knowhow" that beekeepers
will benefit from every time they inspect their hives. Further,
each chapter ends with the author explaining how beekeepers can (or
cannot) directly utilize the information to enhance their
beekeeping operation. The text is structured to facilitate ease of
use, with each author addressing the same four issues: 1) What are
the specific purposes or goals of these experiments? Or more
simply: what have these studies taught us? 2) How should a
non-scientist read the data generated? 3) What are the key points
in relation to practicing beekeepers' goals? 4) How can the data or
techniques discussed be applied by beekeepers in their own
apiaries? This approach allows readers to look up specific
information quickly, understand it and even put it to use without
having to read entire chapters. Further, the chapters are highly
readable and concise. As such, the book offers a valuable guide and
faithful companion for all beekeepers, one they can use day in and
day out.
Bees, both commercially managed honey bees and wild bees, play an
important role in global food production. In the United States
alone, the value of insect pollination to U.S. agricultural
production is estimated at $16 billion annually, of which about
three-fourths is attributable to honey bees. Worldwide, the
contribution of bees and other insects to global crop production
for human food is valued at about $190 billion. Given the
importance of bees and other types of pollinators to food
production, many have expressed concern about whether a pollinator
crisis has been occurring in recent decades. Worldwide reports
indicate that populations of both managed honey bees and native
bees have been declining, with colony losses in some cases
described as severe or unusual. In Europe, managed honey bee colony
numbers have been declining since the mid-1960s, and individual
beekeepers have reported unusual weakening and mortality in
colonies, particularly during the period spanning winter through
spring. According to the United Nations, many insect pollinator
species may be becoming rarer, causing some to question whether
this is a sign of an overall global biodiversity decline. This book
examines selected U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies
bee-related monitoring, research and outreach, as well as
conservation efforts, and The Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) efforts to protect bees through its regulation of pesticides.
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