annieb123's Review of Bees (Animals)

by Tom Jackson

Bees is an outstanding collection of photographs showing these fascinating insects in their natural habitat. Honey bees, bumblebees, mining bees, dwarf bees, carpenter, leafcutter and mason bees: bees come in many different types, with more than 16,000 species worldwide. The bees we are most familiar with, bumblebees and honey bees, live in colonies and play a major role in pollinating the crops, plants and flowers around us.
And bees produce honey - reputedly the food of the gods - a function of bees' lifecycle, which humans have exploited for millennia. Many bees today are domesticated, and beekeepers collect honey, beeswax, pollen, and royal jelly from hives for human use. A typical bee produces a teaspoon of honey (about 5 grams) in her lifetime. Bees can communicate many ways through the movement of their wings and bodies - most famously, with the 'waggle dance', where they make figure-of- eight circles to let other bees know the direction and distance of nectar.
With full captions explaining how bees live, function communally, communicate, feed and reproduce, Bees is an insightful examination in 190 outstanding colour photographs of mankind's favourite insect.

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Bees: Heroes of the Garden is a beautifully illustrated and neatly written nonfiction book about bees by science and nature writer Tom Jackson. Due out 6th July 2021 from Amber Books, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

The photography, much of it macro, is crystal clear and breathtaking. There are photos which show the incredible diversity of different species of bees and varying anatomy. The graphics and layout are concise and easy to understand.

The book's chapters are arranged logically: social bees, solitary bees, anatomy (with some of the most spectacular macro photography I've ever seen - impressively clear and in colour), inside the hives, and bees' interactions with flowers. The photography is mostly stock images (credited in the back of the book), but very very high quality. There was no index provided in the early eARC I received for review purposes.

Five stars. Gorgeous coffee table book on bees. This would provide many many hours of learning for youngsters as well, especially with an older reader/adult to read the captions and any questions which arise.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Bees (Animals)

by Tom Jackson

Reviewed by annieb123 on May 23, 2021

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