Bees are a symbol of nature conservation. People all over the world are studying their fate and the threats posed to them by human activity and biodiversity loss. This is a stunning photographic record captures for the first time the unique way of life of the, forest-dwelling honey bee. A lavish, picture-led book, this is a unique collaboration between Germany's leading bee expert, Prof. Dr Jurgen Tautz, and one of the world's top nature photographers Ingo Arndt, which documents a major research project into the mysterious, hidden world of the honey bee.

Jurgen Tautz, renowned German bee researcher explains how bees communicate. Exciting and surprising new insights on communication between bees. During the history of bee research, scientists have peered deep into the inner life of bee colonies and learned much about the behaviour of these insects. Above all, the bee waggle dance has become a famous and extensively discussed phenomenon. Nevertheless, recent insights reveal that while bees are social insects inside the hive they also communicate with one another outside the hive. In this book, Jurgen Tautz, renowned German bee researcher, provides an entertaining, fresh and enlightened account for lay and professional readers, not only about the fascinating dance language but also about additional remarkable phenomena concerning information exchange between bees. From the author of the bestseller "The Buzz about Bees". "The Language of Bees" assembles, for the first time, a complete overview of how bees understand one another. Although communication biology research on bees has so far concentrated largely on events within the hive, this book directs attention as well, to how bees communicate in the field outside the hive. The reader learns which steps new bee recruits take to reach the feeder a dancing forager has advertised. The book analyses the status of work on the bee dance published over the last 100 years and orders the essential findings as building blocks into a coherent new concept of how bees find their target. In addition, the historical survey of research on the "Bee Language" explains how several contradictory and incomplete hypotheses can still survive. A fresh point of view on one of the most remarkable behavioural performances in the animal kingdom. Observation from a different viewpoint leads to previously unknown insights. Such new perspectives clearly reveal both how large the gaps in our knowledge still are in relation to the language of bees and in which direction research must take to complete the picture of one of the most impressive behavioural accomplishments in animals. Prof. Dr. Jurgen Tautz is an expert on bees, sociobiologist, animal behaviourist and emeritus professor at the Biozentrum, University of Wurzburg. He is a bestseller author and recipient of many awards of excellence for his successful communication of science to a wide public.

Every day, all over the world, animals and insects set about the purposeful tasks of designing their homes, catching their prey, and attracting their mates. In the process they create gorgeous nests, shelters, and habitats. Capturing 120 of these wonders in all their beauty and complexity, Animal Architecture presents a visually arresting tribute to the intersection of nature, science, function, and design. Ingo Arndt's stunning studio photographs and vibrant in-situ shots of nests, forests, and wetlands provide close-up details of these designs, as well as the animals who created them. These compelling images are com bined with an abundance of fascinating facts about the evolution of animals and insects, as well as their survival methods, mating habits, genetic dispositions, and more.

Bee hives. They might look at first glance like seething anarchy, but the bees know exactly what they are doing. With astounding skill, precise expertise and impressive teamwork they carry out their plans. The Honey Factory plunges the reader into the life of a colony of bees and takes them on a tour of their 'factory'. This is a world inhabited by headstrong individuals with clever methods and an amazing set of rules. Why aren't male bees allowed to stay in their colony just as it is getting cosy? What lies behind the sexual excesses of a young queen bee? And how do all the bees in a hive come to collective decisions? The Honey Factory answers these questions and more. Combining the most fascinating discoveries and greatest secrets in bee research, it ultimately shows readers why bees are so precious and why humans and bees cannot survive without each other.

Der Faszination, die von dem "PhAnomen Honigbiene" ausgeht, kann man sich kaum entziehen. Und die Honigbienen enthA1/4llen uns ihre Geheimnisse so dosiert, dass man sA1/4chtig nach ihnen werden kann. Alte AnsAtze, frische Blickwinkel und neue Untersuchungsmethoden lassen das Bild eines Superorganismus entstehen, der zu den erstaunlichsten GeschApfen der Erde zAhlt. Die hochorganisierte Staatenbildung der Bienen und ihre A1/4berragende Bedeutung fA1/4r die BiodiversitAt vieler Biotope wie auch fA1/4r die ErtrAge der Landwirtschaft machen sie zu einem bedeutenden Gegenstand des Interesses von Experten wie Nichtfachleuten. Was sind die Erfolgsgeheimnisse dieses Superorganismus? Was macht seine einsame Sonderstellung aus? Im letzten Jahrzehnt sind - insbesondere in der Arbeitsgruppe um Professor JA1/4rgen Tautz - viele Daten und Erkenntnisse zusammengetragen worden, die ein in vielen Aspekten gAnzlich neues Bild der Honigbiene entstehen lassen. Der ansprechend gestaltete Text-Bild-Band wird erstmals diese "Neue Biene" in verstAndlicher und unterhaltsamer Weise einem breiten Publikum vorstellen. Die Texte und die beeindruckenden Fotografien von Helga R. Heilmann fA1/4hren dem Leser und Betrachter die A"sthetik, die KomplexitAt und die atemberaubenden Errungenschaften des "PhAnomens Honigbiene" im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes vor Augen. So finden hier auch die berA1/4hmten Werke von Karl von Frisch ein kongeniales Update.