The honey bee has had an intimate and continuous association with
mankind for thousands of years, and remains of vital importance today,
both for humanity and for all life on Earth.
This timely addition to the New Naturalist series will aim to explore
the natural history of honey bees, firstly as individuals, and then to
consider them in the wider context as part of a complex society of
perhaps 50,000 individuals without any kind of 'leader'. The enormous
economic importance of honey bees needs to be considered in terms of the
pollination of economically important crops and of wild plants, and the
production of hive products with their ever increasing uses, not least
in the field of human medicine. Recent declines in honey bee populations
around the world have drawn attention to their pests and diseases, and
have focused attention on the breeding of 'superior' strains of bees,
better adapted to modern conditions. The honey bee has also played an
important part in art, literature and folklore throughout the world from
its depiction in prehistoric cave paintings, through its important
symbolism of industry in heraldry, yet it has now become a creature to
be feared in certain modern low budget Hollywood films. Finally the
conservation of honey bees will be considered in the light of the major
changes in land use that have occurred throughout the world over recent
decades and the ever increasing international trade of bees and hive
products.
