Book Reviews

Kim Flottum

Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping, Third Edition. Dewey M. Caron and Lawrence John Connor. Published by Wicwas Press LLC, Kalamazoo, MI 49001. www.wicwas.com. ISBN 978-1-878075-62-8. Released May 2022. 488 pgs., hardcover, color throughout, 10.75” tall x 8.3” wide, three pounds, four ounces $90.00 postpaid in the U.S. Additional books discounted, available from Wicwas Press.

This is an update to the second edition released nine years ago. It contains, in my opinion, at least 90 years of updated information. It is, without doubt, a major textbook of apiculture. Universities use it to teach college students bee biology and beekeeping, and lots of bee clubs use it to teach both new, and advanced bee and beekeeping classes.

It has, basically, two sections. The 207 page first section is labeled Bee Biology, and it has 11 chapters. The very first is an Introduction chapter that covers the basics of bees, beekeeping as a science and an art, beekeeping history, and are bees in trouble and what can beekeeping do to help?

Each chapter has, at the very beginning on the first page, a concepts box, which sort of summarizes what the chapter is going to tell you. Then it takes these concepts and further breaks them down into subchapters detailing the ‘concept’ named.

Included in the Introduction Chapter are sub-chapters on classification, from phylum Arthropoda down to the genus Apis, subspecies and hybrids. The second is on looking at insect societies, Eusocial species, comparisons of bees, wasps and ants and controlling wasps. What is a honey bee is next, which looks at the differences of each bee in a hive and discusses what is a superorganism. Anatomy is next examining very carefully each of the three body regions and what occurs in each and all about glands. The Physiology chapter looks at nutrition primarily with attention paid to the gut biome, and internal hive environment regulation. The Pheromone chapter looks at communication, many of the glands used for production and dispersal, and the behaviors they regulate or affect. This is followed by the Dance Language chapter, looking at all the variations, dialects, types of dances, accuracy and the controversy surrounding this activity. The bee nest chapter is about wax, organization, man-made hives and is followed by the chapter on Queens, which covers replacement, swarming, absconding, mating and of course, drones. The final chapter in this section is on Bee Botany. It is everything and anything you’ve ever wanted to know about the plants bees visit, where these plants grow and the seasons when they will bloom, and growing your own.

Section two is all about beekeeping, now that we’ve covered all about bees. Getting Started is the beginning, and it’s as good a beginner’s book as you will find. Next is Management Basics including protective gear, stings, inspections, smokers, robbing and feeding. The next chapters are about seasons. The Fall and Winter chapter tends more toward where it’s really Winter, as opposed to management requirements in milder subtropical and tropical locations. I think they tend to underdiscuss Winter protection techniques for northernmost colonies, including reduced or no ventilation, wrapping, grouping and the like. Indoor wintering is mentioned briefly, mostly because it is not yet universal, but it will be available to many beekeepers before this book is out of print and I think should be explained and encouraged a little more. A minor point, however.

Of course Spring Management is next, and this is more evenly described for both north and more southerly locations. This covers feeding, water, weak colonies, swarms and swarming, making divides and late Spring to-do jobs. Honey Production is next and explores, of all things, growing degree days (a VERY important skill for beekeepers), but also nectar flows, supering, removing bees, and then the honey, and handling honey for sale later.

What bees make is next, including honey, wax, comb honey, pollen, mead, venom, live bees and other products. It also looks at other ways to make money with bees. Raising queens and drones for queen rearing is next, looking at small scale size, using the Cloake board, mating control and introduction of new queens.
The final three chapters are as detailed as those already discussed, including making and using nucs, pollination as a business, and finally, mites and diseases. Varroa mite control especially is well covered, including sampling and key control tactics to make this pest go away. Brood and adult diseases are looked at, and the trouble with pesticides is explored quite well, covering new developments, symptoms and confusing with some diseases.

The amount of information in this book is amazing. But one other thing needs to be brought to light. At the end of each of the 23 chapters, there is a section of discussion questions, exercises and the references cited in that particular chapter. As a teaching tool, these sections will be invaluable. So too is the fact that there is not a single page that does not have an explanatory photo or three, along with a chart or diagram to further explain the information included. At the end there is a glossary to die for, all 30 pages of it, followed by a very thorough index.

$90 is a hefty price for a book; however, you are really getting at least two very informative books here. And I ask carefully, what did that package of bees cost you this Spring? Can you afford to lose it this next Winter? Compare and contrast – saving even one package pays for this book, and you actually have at least two books here. What is the value of your whole apiary? This book should be not on every beekeeper’s book shelf, but should stay on the dash board of their truck. It’s that good, and that necessary.


Hive Tour. The Insider’s Guide to Honey Bees. By Phil Frank and Frank Linton, with a forward by Dewey Caron. Published by Honey Tongue Press. ISBN 9798745339738. 8.5” x 11”, soft cover, 56 pages, color throughout. $25.00 on Amazon.

Frank Linton wrote a book awhile ago on observation hives, and he uses this experience to produce another book with coauthor Phil Frank, on showing all about bees, bee anatomy, hives and parts, bee food, bee behaviors and even hive intruders. In fact, they expect you to be using this book when you are looking at an observation hive. What a great idea!

It is excellently illustrated with photos by the two authors and even without the copy, would be a great book to explore.

Finding hive parts shows entrances, wax cells and comb, frames and bee space, feeders and more. And each of these has a fun fact to explore too. For instance, when finding a vent, the fun fact says bees fan moist air out of the vent to help dehydrate nectar – an essential step to making honey.

Finding adults includes stripes, old and young adults, queens and drones, eggs and larvae (now remember, these photos show a larvae larger than a dime on the page, very easy to see and learn from), drones and royal jelly.

Bee parts include the head, thorax and the rest, and then parts including the proboscis, the eyes, antennae and what they do, and yes, the stinger. Bee food includes pollen, nectar and honey. Behaviors include nurse bees, the retinue, fanning and undertaking.

Next come intruders, varroa, deformed wings, small hives beetles (here as big as a dime), wax moth and their larvae.

The book finishes with a Find Answers page, with 32 questions that were answered in the book, and this is followed by a long list of reference books to further your learning.

There is no doubt that taking this book to some place with an observation hive would be a great learning experience, especially if you are accompanied by someone who is eager to learn more.