Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Lives of Bees
- The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild
- Narrated by: William Hope
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
The Lives of Bees
Buy Now for £15.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
How the lives of wild honey bees offer vital lessons for saving the world’s managed bee colonies
Humans have kept honey bees in hives for millennia, yet only in recent decades have biologists begun to investigate how these industrious insects live in the wild. The Lives of Bees is Thomas Seeley’s captivating story of what scientists are learning about the behavior, social life, and survival strategies of honey bees living outside the beekeeper’s hive - and how wild honey bees may hold the key to reversing the alarming die-off of the planet’s managed honey bee populations.
Seeley, a world authority on honey bees, sheds light on why wild honey bees are still thriving while those living in managed colonies are in crisis. Drawing on the latest science, as well as insights from his own pioneering fieldwork, he describes in extraordinary detail how honey bees live in nature and reveals how this differs significantly from their lives under the management of beekeepers. Seeley presents an entirely new approach to beekeeping - Darwinian Beekeeping - which enables honey bees to use the toolkit of survival skills their species has acquired over the past 30 million years, and to evolve solutions to the new challenges they face today. He tells beekeepers how to use the principles of natural selection to guide their practices, and he offers a new vision of how beekeeping can better align with the natural habits of honey bees.
Engaging and deeply personal, The Lives of Bees reveals how we can become better custodians of honey bees and make use of their resources in ways that enrich their lives, as well as our own.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Critic reviews
"A wealth of information about honeybees based on decades of scientific research." (Kirkus)
More from the same
What listeners say about The Lives of Bees
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- SteveN
- 15-10-21
Beekeeping as nature intended
Thomas D Seeley has published a well thought out and narrated book on how our hunger for honey has inadvertently placed our beloved Bees in danger.
This is therefore a must read for all natural or Darwinian beekeepers or those aspiring to improve their buzzing friends survival rate.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 21-05-23
Interesting and informative
I found it very informative as a newly engaged beekeeper eagerly trying to find relevant information about caring for my hives.
I will definitely plan differently for coming hives and relocating current hives as soon as suitable.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Severn
- 21-07-20
Outstanding
This is quite outstanding, one of the very best natural history books I have ever come across. The narrator does a very competent job. Not to be missed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 19-02-21
Ideal book for Audible.
This book is definitely suited to audible as I don't think I would have read through it all as a book, It's a very interesting book to listen to doing jobs, for me this was chopping wood.
I'm a backyard beekeeper who would like to practice beekeeping in a more bee friendly way using no chemicals to treat my bees. The book goes through years of studying bees in there natural environment and looking at each aspect of there lives and there environmental in the wild. Its amazing the different and pain staking studies that have being done on bees.
At times some of studies and statistics are a bit overwhelming but that the beauty of listening while your doing some thing else. You can focus when the topics interest you.
I'll definitely have to listen to the whole book again but I have picked up a couple of pointers and interesting facts. Unfortunately I will still have to treat my bees for Varrao mites.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sean
- 05-03-23
Beeeautiful and educational
Eye opening about wild bees V managed hive bees. Extraordinary look into their social and ingenious behaviourial traits. Makes me want to visit the woods more and try some of the experiments.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. Monteiro
- 22-08-23
Wonderful in dept view of the life of bees
If you live bees and appreciate their work for humanity, this is a must read. I encountered many pieces of information that there did not know about bees, even though I have been fascinated by these creatures for a long while. It also has good advice for bee keepers on how to keep the honey bee hives healthy and lots of strategies to respect them.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Simon Grose
- 19-07-20
Outstanding information for protecting bees
This book provides an in-depth knowledge of.honeybees and guides the future of beekeeping and the protection of honeybees. Best book out there!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Torbjørn Andersen
- 28-10-19
Beautiful text and important message.
This book is a must read for any beekeeper.
Forget all the “how to keep bees books” and adapt to the simple methods that Thomas D Seeley describes in this beautiful text.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- hamish23
- 24-07-20
repetition and a whopping error regarding varroa
Nothing new for an experienced beekeeper , and the most amazing error regarding what the varroa mite feeds on ...How could a serious science/ bee keeper make such a mistake ! Varroa mites feed on the fatty tissues of honey bees and not their hemoglobin 😂
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful