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.

What's the buzz about the growing popularity of backyard beekeeping? Providing habitat for bees, pollinating your garden, and producing honey for your family are some of the compelling reasons for taking up this exciting hobby. But conventional beekeeping requires a significant investment and has a steep learning curve. The alternative? Consider beekeeping outside the box. The Thinking Beekeeper is the definitive do-it-yourself guide to natural beekeeping in top bar hives. Based on the concept of understanding and working with bees' natural systems as opposed to trying to subvert them, the advantages of this approach include: * Simplicity, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness * Increased safety due to less heavy lifting and hive manipulation * Chemical-free colonies and healthy hives Top bar hives can be located anywhere bees have access to forage, and they make ideal urban hives due to their small footprint. Emphasizing the intimate connection between our food systems, bees, and the well-being of the planet, The Thinking Beekeeper will appeal to the new breed of beekeeper who is less focused on maximizing honey yield, and more on ensuring the viability of the bee population now and in the coming years. Christy Hemenway is the owner and founder of Gold Star Honeybees, a complete resource for all things related to beekeeping in top-bar hives. A passionate bee-vangelist and advocate for natural, chemical-free beekeeping, Christy is a highly sought-after speaker, helping audiences to understand the integral connection between bees, food, human health, and the future of the planet.

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.

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.

" 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.