Following the Wild Bees: The Craft and Science of Bee Hunting

"Honorable Mention for the 2017 PROSE Award in Popular Science and Popular Mathematics, Association of American Publishers""Seeley's passion for the social insects blazes as he quotes historical accounts by Henry David Thoreau and describes the intricacies of the chase, from baiting with anise-scented sugar syrup to patiently amassing location data" ---Barb Kiser, Nature "Seeley has been studying honeybees in the wild for decades and in the course of his research has made something of an art of finding--and leaving undisturbed--feral colonies. That he's had a grand time doing so is abundantly clear in this slim volume. . . . [Seeley] shares his research accessibly and generously along with his enthusiasm." ― Kirkus "This charming story will pull you into the action and make you feel like an intrepid bee hunter without ever leaving your living room chair." ---HoneyBeeSuite " Following the Wild Bees introduced me to a new activity. If you've ever wondered how beekeepers find new wild hives, this book explains it all. This is a must-have book for all beekeepers and bee lovers." ---Scott Shalaway, Youngstown "In addition to serving as a primer on the behavior and biology of honeybees, Following the Wild Bees just might give readers an intellectually (and physically) stimulating new outdoor activity." ― The Scientist "Anyone deeply interested in natural history will ignore this mad little volume at their peril." ---Simon Ings, New Scientist "This game has been on my ‘to-do' list since reading Donovan's book on the subject a decade or so ago. Tom has now given me the interest and enthusiasm to get out and do it!" ― Chris Slade's Bee Blog "A delightful new book, Following the Wild Bees: The Craft and Science of Bee Hunting . . . is, as the subtitle suggests, a personal guide to finding wild hives (as opposed to the industry of keeping colonies of bees in hives). With enriching nods to such Harvardian predecessors as Henry David Thoreau and George Harold Edgell ( The Bee Hunter , 1949), Seeley's book is richly informed by both research and the author's sheer love for 'the most intelligent insect in the world.'" ― Harvard Magazine "Filled with fascinating information on bee colonies and the history of honey hunts." ---Matt Miller, Cool Green Science "I can commend this book to you. It is easy and interesting to read and is an excellent addition to anyone's bee library." ---Adrian Waring, Bee Craft "I must recommend this book to you, if you like reading about bees at all. It is a handbook of bee hunting, of course, but it is far more than that. It is both entertaining and instructive, and it carries a great depth of knowledge very gracefully, making it easy for the reader to understand and remember some very new research findings. If you have been fortunate enough to hear Professor Seeley at Gormanston, you will find this book a delightful reminder of his clear style and friendly approach." ― Au Beachaire "[A] fascinating read. . . . Following the Wild Bees not only reveals [Seeley's] passion for this unusual pastime and urges readers to discover the thrill of the chase, but provides an extremely detailed guide to becoming an expert bee hunter." ― Country Smallholding "Highly engaging. . . . I look forward to searching for wild bee nests with new knowledge and renewed enthusiasm. I hope you, too, will accept Tom Seeley's challenge: to take up the interesting and environmentally friendly sport of wild bee hunting." ---Gard W. Otis, American Entomologist "Bee hunting--the locating and observing of a wild bee hive--is the next eco-hobby and noted biologist Thomas D. Seeley is the perfect guide in Following the Wild Bees ." ― American Gardener "This nice book presents readers with interesting insights and memories of Seeley's life as a honeybee hunter. He provides readers with a plethora of information: instructions for bee box building, how to use the boxes, and materials needed to build other necessary utensils. The book has numerous beautiful photographs of equipment, behavior, and other related issues. This is a refreshing book with a message on conservation; it is absolutely appropriate for current times, when many worry about honeybees and their existence." ― Choice "Many books on honeybees are available, be they for scientists, beekeepers, or interested naturalists. The present book, however, Following the Wild Bees: The Craft and Science of Bee Hunting , is outstanding. . . . While some might be inspired to embark on a veritable discovery trip through nature, I assume that most readers will be content with learning the world's wonders without feeling the urge to actually go on a hunt themselves. For the former group, this easy-to-read book will be a helpful resource for new bee hunters. For the latter, this enjoyable read will be a welcome starting point to discovering the fascinating biology of bees, humanity's best friend among the insects." ---Uli Ernst, BioScience "[Seeley] covers all of the various topics needed to be a bee hunter and his book is a must-read to even begin to wrap your head around this fascinating art. . . . I highly recommend Seeley's Following the Wild Bees , especially in our current global concern with bee decline and colony loss." ---Howard O. Clark, Jr., Sonoran Herpetologist "[A] fundamentally unique contribution to popular honeybee literature. . . . Following the Wild Bees is a refreshing call back to the forest to mingle in the shadows of Thoreau and other early American naturalists. It is an ethical guide to rediscovering the natural wonders of bees and engaging with them for the joy of doing so." ---Katrina Klett, The Prairie Naturalist "I highly recommend this lavishly illustrated engaging book for the libraries of students, beekeepers, naturalists, environmentalists, hikers, and anyone interested in learning about the inner workings of nature and honey bee ecology. . . . All will come away with an enhanced appreciation for how scientists think and how important observations of animals and plants in nature can be made with the simplest tools--using only our senses and a bit of patience." ---Stephen L. Buchmann, Quarterly Review of Biology "This book is science, science history, adventure, sport, treasure hunting, and a delightful read all in one." ― Conservation Biology "A fascinating account of what is something of a lost art--the finding of wild nests of Honey Bees." ― Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation " Following the Wild Bees is scientific natural history at its very best: original, authentic, and exciting. It is at the same time science, science history, adventure, sport, and treasure hunting." ―Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University "As charming a book as I've read in ages, Following the Wild Bees engages with the natural world in precisely the same way that dozens of generations of bee hunters have done before. My advice would be, make a beeline for the bookstore." ―Bill McKibben, author of Oil and Honey "Great adventure, true science, lost art. Bee hunting is older even than beekeeping, yet has never been described in such careful detail. Seeley draws from his whole life of honey bee study to simply and eloquently describe the bee hunter's craft, and the honey bee's foraging behavior. He fully shares the skills you'll need―capturing, baiting, releasing, marking, timing, and moving a company of bees―to pursue the fascinating outdoor sport of finding the secret homes of wild honey bee colonies." ―Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture magazine "This unique book is about using the art of bee lining to find honey bee colonies living in hollow trees, something the author has done for forty years. It is also about honey bees, the pleasure of connecting with nature, the sport given by hunting, and how a hunt need not end in a kill to be exhilarating. The chase is enough." ―Francis L. W. Ratnieks, University of Sussex "This inspiring, elegantly written book is much more than a riveting set of instructions for finding wild honey bee colonies nesting in tree cavities. It is a prescription for what ails us. Seely leads us on a hunt for sanity, and the best part is that the hunt ends in reverence rather than destruction. This book is a gift to humanity and a homage to bees." ―Marla Spivak, University of Minnesota "A special delight. There is no better guide to bee hunting than Seeley. Here, he draws on his extensive groundbreaking research into bee behavior, both in the lab and in the field. Following wild honey bees is Seeley's passion, and also his scientific reward―and it shows on every page of this wonderful book." ―Bernd Heinrich, author of The Homing Instinct: Meaning and Mystery in Animal Migration "Like Thoreau, Seeley advises us to slow down, take our time, and enjoy the natural world through a calm and contemplative approach. This is a lovely book, beautifully written and filled with Seeley's usual clarity and enthusiasm for bees." ―Mark L. Winston, author of Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive " Following the Wild Bees is scientific natural history at its very best: original, authentic, and exciting. It is at the same time science, science history, adventure, sport, and treasure hunting." --Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University "As charming a book as I've read in ages, Following the Wild Bees engages with the natural world in precisely the same way that dozens of generations of bee hunters have done before. My advice would be, make a beeline for the bookstore." --Bill McKibben, author of Oil and Honey "Great adventure, true science, lost art. Bee hunting is older even than beekeeping, yet has never been described in such careful detail. Seeley draws from his whole life of honey bee study to simply and eloquently describe the bee hunter's craft, and the honey bee's foraging behavior. He fully shares the skills you'll need--capturing, baiting, releasing, marking, timing, and moving a company of bees--to pursue the fascinating outdoor sport of finding the secret homes of wild honey bee colonies." --Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture magazine "This unique book is about using the art of bee lining to find honey bee colonies living in hollow trees, something the author has done for forty years. It is also about honey bees, the pleasure of connecting with nature, the sport given by hunting, and how a hunt need not end in a kill to be exhilarating. The chase is enough." --Francis L. W. Ratnieks, University of Sussex "This inspiring, elegantly written book is much more than a riveting set of instructions for finding wild honey bee colonies nesting in tree cavities. It is a prescription for what ails us. Seely leads us on a hunt for sanity, and the best part is that the hunt ends in reverence rather than destruction. This book is a gift to humanity and a homage to bees." --Marla Spivak, University of Minnesota "A special delight. There is no better guide to bee hunting than Seeley. Here, he draws on his extensive groundbreaking research into bee behavior, both in the lab and in the field. Following wild honey bees is Seeley's passion, and also his scientific reward--and it shows on every page of this wonderful book." --Bernd Heinrich, author of The Homing Instinct: Meaning and Mystery in Animal Migration "Like Thoreau, Seeley advises us to slow down, take our time, and enjoy the natural world through a calm and contemplative approach. This is a lovely book, beautifully written and filled with Seeley's usual clarity and enthusiasm for bees." --Mark L. Winston, author of Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive Thomas D. Seeley is the Horace White Professor in Biology at Cornell University. He is the author of Honeybee Democracy and Honeybee Ecology (both Princeton) and The Wisdom of the Hive . He lives in Ithaca, New York. Read more