Phil Lester's first book, The Vulgar Wasp, was about one of the
world's most hated insects. His second is about just the opposite--the
honey bee, arguably one of our best-loved six-legged creatures. People
have revered honey bees for centuries. Today we celebrate them with
toys, postage stamps, and campaigns to raise awareness; we dress up in
large bee suits to protest the use of pesticides; we've even sent bees
into space and watched as they adjusted to microgravity. Bees are one of
the world's most efficient pollinators. Their work is vital to the
success of many food crops, and hence to the world's economy. So we need
to take seriously any threats to their health-- including parasites,
pathogens, predators and pesticides--and, guided by evidence at every
turn, find a way to minimise harm and keep bees thriving. As Healthy
Bee, Sick Bee shows, this is no small task. In this book, entomologist
Phil Lester explores the wonderfully complex and sometimes brutally
efficient life history of honey bees, and the problems they face in New
Zealand and around the globe. What causes a beehive to collapse? Are
pesticides as big a problem as they appear? What can we do to improve
the health of our honey bees? With intelligence, insight and
entomologist jokes, Healthy Bee, Sick Bee tells the story of this
much-loved little insect and offers new ways of thinking about how to
ensure they will stick around in the future.
