What we never knew about bees
Did you know that the lives of bees and
man have been intricately intertwined for thousands of years?
That cave paintings on several continents (like the one reproduced
here) depict epic journeys to rob honey from wild bees?
Did you know that a species of giant bee in Asia builds unprotected
combs on the undersides of tree branches --- combs that are six feet long (shown below)?
People harvest these massive combs in the wild with rope ladders, woven
buckets, and knives carved from bone since mythology suggests that the
bees are angered by metal.
In Mexico, the Maya took care of stingless
bees. They carted home inhabited logs then reached in with their
unprotected hand to yank the honey out at intervals. These
stingless bees are still cultivated, though they have lost ground to
the introduced honey bee which has the downside of stinging but the
upside of producing more honey per colony.
As you can tell, Letters
from the Hive was right up my alley --- a field entomologist's
rivetting tale of the relationship between people and bees.
Really good non-fiction like this is a lot like really good science
fiction --- it takes you to a world beyond your imagination.
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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