Table of Contents

Introduction

1 Feng shui in the pitch dark: The factory and equipment of a bee colony

From a hollow tree to mass production: The evolution of beekeeping

Comb network technology

2 Labouring in an annual rhythm: Teamwork in the honey factory

Feminine power in the bee colony

The bee dance: Rethinking old concepts

The drones

The queen bee

Bee intelligence: How bees see the world

3 Honey is not everything, but nothing runs without honey: The honey production line

Bee venom, royal jelly and beeswax

Propolis, pollen and bee bread

Crème de la crème – honey

4 Founding a daughter company: The swarm

Driven by nature

Swarm intelligence: How bees move house

Events in the old factory: The terror of succession

Beekeepers as killjoys

5 Industrial espionage, robberies and invaders: Bees as aggressors

Hostile takeovers: How bees steal from one another

The menace of Verroa mites

6 Industrial invaders: Bees and their struggle to survive

The myth of the dying honeybees

Industrial beekeeping and why dying out remains a possibility

Back to the future: Rediscovering old practices

Epilogue: Are honeybees self-aware?

Appendix

Promotional Information

A journey inside the life of a beehive, revealing the newest and most fascinating discoveries in honeybee research.

About the Author

Jurgen Tautz is an internationally recognised expert on bees and professor emeritus at W rzburg University. Since 2006 he has been in charge of the HOneyBee Online Studies (HOBOS) interdisciplinary project. Tautz has authored numerous publications and been awarded several prizes for his work in science education.

Diedrich Steen is a publishing director. Bees have been kept in his family for over 100 years, and he has been an active beekeeper himself for twenty years.

Reviews

‘An enriching read for anyone who is moved by the secret beauty of our world and who cares about the future of our ecosystems.’ —Peter Wohlleben, international bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees
*Peter Wohlleben*