I was stunned to receive the first copy of my new book, Bee Time: Lessons From the Hive, in the mail the other day. Stunned because it is beautifully produced physically; in all the tumult of writing and revising and…
Our Bees, Ourselves (New York Times)
Op-Ed in the New York Times, 14 July 2014 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/opinion/bees-and-colony-collapse.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region®ion=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region&_r=0
“The Bees” by Laline Paull
There’s a new novel out that’s climbing the bestseller charts, The Bees by Laline Paull, with worker bee Flora 717 as its main character and a fast-moving plot that reads like a Stephen King thriller. Paull’s book is reminiscent of…
Highways BEE Act
There’s new legislation just proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Highways Bettering the Economy and Environment Act (BEE Act), designed to improve the lot of non-voters: wild bees and managed honeybees. The act was introduced by two representatives…
Corporate Influence
I enjoy congruence, when seemingly random bits of information on similar subjects converge. Novel ideas are often inspired by news nuggets from diverse sources that connect by a common thread. Today’s blog about the influence of corporate contributions on academia…
Whatever Happened to Pastoral Beekeeping?
I began to keep bees in the 1970’s, when beekeeping was still the most pastoral of pastimes. I vividly recall long days of tedious repetitive physical labor, the heft of honey-laden supers, that inexpressible feeling of turning off a blacktop…
Why Aren’t African Bees Collapsing?
Honeybee colonies are dying, about one-third of all hives globally each year, an enormous tragedy for bees and beekeepers alike. There’s not a single cause, but rather a congruence of interacting issues including pesticides, diseases and pests, among others. But…
Unintended Consequences
Most of us are aware by now that antibiotics are overprescribed for human use and overused in animal feed to increase livestock weight. The consequences are tragic; disease-causing bacteria develop resistance when repeatedly exposed, and many antibiotics have become ineffective.…
Jonathan Swift, Socrates, Bees and Dialogue
I’ve never been overly impressed with the Socratic method as dialogue, although it was described as such in the 399 BCE book Dialogues, in which Plato recorded conversations between Socrates and his disciples. These are sharp exchanges with pointed and…
Toxic Soup
The honeybee crisis continues; one-third of all colonies die each year around the globe, and we know why. It’s not one factor, and our deepening understanding of the multiple stressors that are killing bees has clarified the extent of our…