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Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > Domestic animals & pets > Insects as pets
Imagine scientists controlling the transmission of certain diseases through the genetic modification of mosquitoes. Eradicating harmful insects without the use of pesticides. Or increasing the fertility of some insects who in turn eat harmful arthropods or even a plant pathogen. Those are just a few of the real-world applications of insect transgenesis, which offers substantial benefits to humankind-whether it be in improving agricultural productivity or reducing the spread of insect-vectored diseases. Insect Transgenesis: Methods and Applications is the first publication to describe in a comprehensive manner the various methodologies available, possible applications, and the risk assessment and regulatory issues involved in this fascinating area of research. Divided into several areas of interest, the book starts with an overview of the history and methodology of insect gene transfer. The book then examines gene targeting by homologous recombination and recombination systems, and systems for transgenic selection, including visible eye color markers, chemical resistance, and fluorescent proteins. Other sections consider the use of various vector systems to integrate DNA into a host genome or to express foreign genes in a host organism. The work concludes with strategies for the use of transgenic insects, including examples for agricultural pests and vectors of disease. Of particular interest are the final chapters that discuss risk assessment considerations and governmental regulatory procedures for the transport and release of transgenic insects.
Honey. Drizzled over a slice of fresh bread or eaten directly from
the spoon is one of life s great pleasures. And with beehives on
urban rooftops, in next door s back garden even schemes for
adopting bees or renting hives becoming a honey producer seems
possible. So how easy is it and what s involved? By sharing the
journey of young beekeeper Orren Fox, you ll discover that keeping
your own honeybees is easier than you think. Find out: -How and
where to set up your hive -The tools and equipment you need to get
started -The job of inspecting the hive -How and when to harvest
your honey. With delicious honey-based recipes shared by talented
and resourceful chefs and cooks, including Honey and Co., you ll
learn all about bees and their inspiring world of work and honey
production. And may even be tempted to buy your first bee suit.
This indispensable beekeeping reference-packed with helpful
diagrams, color photos, and easy-to-follow yet thorough
instruction-gently guides you through setting up and caring for
your first colonies. Are you an absolute beginner when it comes to
keeping bees? With First Time Beekeeping, help is at hand.
Featuring the sage advice of Bee Culture editor emeritus and
best-selling author of The Backyard Beekeeper Kim Flottum, this is
your step-by-step guide to healthy, happy, and productive hives.
This complete resource features expert beginner advice for: Setting
up and caring for your own colonies Selecting the best location to
place your new bee colonies for their safety and yours The most
practical and nontoxic ways to care for your bees Harvesting the
products of a beehive and collecting and using honey Bee problems
and treatments By following this advice, your colony or two of
honey bees can pollinate the vegetables in your garden; produce
wonderful honey and other beneficial products; and help your local
ecosystem thrive. What could be sweeter? Each book in the First
Time series distills how-to guidance and advice from an expert on a
specific topic into targeted step-by-step instruction geared toward
the absolute beginner.
" Honey bees--and the qualities associated with them--have
quietly influenced American values for four centuries. During every
major period in the country's history, bees and beekeepers have
represented order and stability in a country without a national
religion, political party, or language. Bees in America is an
enlightening cultural history of bees and beekeeping in the United
States. Tammy Horn, herself a beekeeper, offers a varied social and
technological history from the colonial period, when the British
first introduced bees to the New World, to the present, when bees
are being used by the American military to detect bombs. Early
European colonists introduced bees to the New World as part of an
agrarian philosophy borrowed from the Greeks and Romans. Their
legacy was intended to provide sustenance and a livelihood for
immigrants in search of new opportunities, and the honey bee became
a sign of colonization, alerting Native Americans to settlers'
westward advance. Colonists imagined their own endeavors in terms
of bees' hallmark traits of industry and thrift and the image of
the busy and growing hive soon shaped American ideals about work,
family, community, and leisure. The image of the hive continued to
be popular in the eighteenth century, symbolizing a society working
together for the common good and reflecting Enlightenment
principles of order and balance. Less than a half-century later,
Mormons settling Utah (where the bee is the state symbol) adopted
the hive as a metaphor for their protected and close-knit culture
that revolved around industry, harmony, frugality, and cooperation.
In the Great Depression, beehives provided food and bartering goods
for many farm families, and during World War II, the War Food
Administration urged beekeepers to conserve every ounce of beeswax
their bees provided, as more than a million pounds a year were
being used in the manufacture of war products ranging from
waterproofing products to tape. The bee remains a bellwether in
modern America. Like so many other insects and animals, the bee
population was decimated by the growing use of chemical pesticides
in the 1970s. Nevertheless, beekeeping has experienced a revival as
natural products containing honey and beeswax have increased the
visibility and desirability of the honey bee. Still a powerful
representation of success, the industrious honey bee continues to
serve both as a source of income and a metaphor for globalization
as America emerges as a leader in the Information Age.
In these talks Steiner describes in fascinating details the
unconscious wisdom of the beehive, and how this relates to our
human experience of health, civilization, and the cosmos.
The elemental imagery and its relationship to human society so
inspired the influential avante garde artist Joseph Beuys that he
used it in his groundbreaking sculptures, drawings, installations,
and performance art pieces.
A beautifully illustrated and thoroughly engaging cultural history
of beekeeping - packed with anecdote, humour and enriching
historical detail. The perfect gift. "A charming look at the
history of beekeeping, from myth and folklore to our practical
relationship with bees" Gardens Illustrated "An entertaining
collation of bee trivia across the millennia" Daily Telegraph *
Sweden's Gardening Book of the Year 2019 * Shortlisted for the
August Prize 2019 * Winner of the Swedish Book Design Award for
2019 Beekeeper and garden historian Lotte Moeller explores the
activities inside and outside the hive while charting the bees'
natural order and habits. With a light touch she uses her
encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject to shed light on humanity's
understanding of bees and bee lore from antiquity to the present. A
humorous debunking of the myths that have held for centuries is
matched by a wry exploration of how and when they were replaced by
fact. In her travels Moeller encounters a trigger-happy Californian
beekeeper raging against both killer bees and bee politics, warring
beekeepers on the Danish island of Laeso, and Brother Adam of
Buckfast Abbey, breeder of the Buckfast queen now popular
throughout Europe and beyond, as well a host of others as
passionate as she about the complex world of apiculture both past
and present. Translated from the Swedish by Frank Perry
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