Listen to tiny tales from Buzzwing the hardworking honeybee. Combining nonfiction with a splash of fantasy, The Secret Life of Bees is a book to get lost in, time and again.
The multi-million bestselling novel about a young girl's journey towards healing and the transforming power of love, from the award-winning author of The Invention of Wings and The Book of Longings Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted Black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina—a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of Black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.
In an extraordinary exposition, Lorenzen – an expert beekeeper and student of contemporary spiritual science – describes the ‘Logos mysteries’, based at the ancient temple of Artemis in Ephesus, where priestesses were known as ‘Melissas’ (‘honeybees’) and the sacrificial priests were called ‘Essenes’ (or ‘bee-kings’). These cultic mysteries, he says, bore remarkable parallels to the workings of a bee colony – specifically in the relationship between the queen and worker bees to the spiritual ‘group-soul’ of the bees. Lorenzen commences his unique study with a discussion of flowers and insects, exploring their common origins. He then describes the beginnings of the honeybee, its connection with the fig wasp, and the subsequent controlled transformation of the latter that took place in pre-historic mystery-centres. Breeding the honeybee from the fig wasp – a sacred deed performed at consecrated sanctuaries – was part of the ‘Fig-tree mysteries’. The initiates behind this task developed the ability to commune with the bees’ group-soul and to work consciously on the mutual development of the hive and humanity. This concise but rich work features an illuminating foreword by Heidi Herrmann of the Natural Beekeeping Trust as well as a lucid introduction by translator Paul King that explains the anthroposophical concepts employed by Lorenzen in his text.
In Honey Bees: Letters From the Hive, bee expert Stephen Buchmann takes readers on an incredible tour. Enter a beehive--one part nursery, one part honey factory, one part queen bee sanctum--then fly through backyard gardens, open fields, and deserts where wildflowers bloom. It's fascinating--and delicious! Hailed for their hard work and harmonious society, bees make possible life on earth as we know it. This fundamental link between bees and humans reaches beyond biology to our environment and our culture: bees have long played important roles in art, religion, literature, and medicine--and, of course, in the kitchen. For honey fanatics and all who have a sweet tooth, this book not only entertains and enlightens but also reminds us of the fragility of humanity's relationship with nature. Includes illustrations and photographs throughout.
“Spotlights a ‘dream team’ of scientists as they work to determine what is threatening bee colonies and (by extension) agriculture . . . fascinating.”—Booklist (starred review) Without honey bees the world would be a different place. There would be no honey, no beeswax for candles, and—worst of all—barely a fruit, nut, or vegetable to eat. So imagine beekeeper Dave Hackenburg’s horror when he discovered twenty million of his charges had vanished. Those missing bees became the first casualties of a mysterious scourge that continues to plague honey bee populations today. In The Hive Detectives, Loree Griffin Burns profiles bee wranglers and bee scientists who have been working to understand colony collapse disorder, or CCD. In this dramatic and enlightening story, readers explore the lives of the fuzzy, buzzy insects and learn what might happen to us if they were gone. “Throughout the presentation, readers learn about the anatomy, development, and social behavior of honey bees, and observe the process of scientific investigation and its vital, real-world application.”—Booklist (starred review) “An appendix adds varied fascinating facts about bees—again using the format of an illustrated research journal. Harasimowicz’s clear, beautifully reproduced photographs support and extend the text. Readers . . . will be well served by this example of a scientific mystery still unsolved.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Clear color photographs of beekeepers, scientists, equipment, close-ups of bees, hives, etc., complement the text on every page. Youngsters concerned with the environment will find this meticulously researched title a valuable resource.”—School Library Journal
Well-documented study of bees, hives, and beekeepers, along with rare illustrations as they appear in ancient paintings, sculpture, on coins, jewelry, and Mayan glyphs.
Maria knew about guilt. It was a stubborn, pervasive and toxic emotion, and incredibly difficult to shake. Especially if really, deep down, you didn't think you deserved to let it go. Maria spends her days tending to the bees of Honeybee Haven and creating wonderful honey products to fund children in need. A former nun, Maria's life has long been shaped by a shadowy secret and her own self-imposed penance for events in her past. The arrival of two letters, one pink, from nearby Noosa Heads, and one marked with a government crest, herald the shattering of Maria's peaceful existence. Before they were married, Tansy made a very serious deal with her husband, Dougall. With their elegant apartment and beachside lifestyle in Noosa, they have everything they agreed they wanted in life, so Tansy is going to ignore the feelings that might suggest she has changed her mind. On top of those not-really-there feelings, Dougall wants to move to Canada! Surprising and intriguing, The Beekeeper's Secret is an exploration of family in all its facets, and the astounding secrets we keep from those we love.
An introduction to the roughly 4000 different bee species found in the United States and Canada, dispelling common myths about bees while offering essential tips for telling them apart in the field