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Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees - Paperback | Diverse Reads

Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees

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As seen on PBS's American Spring LIVE, the award-winning author of The Triumph of Seeds and Feathers presents a natural and cultural history of bees: the buzzing wee beasties that make the world go round.

Bees are like oxygen: ubiquitous, essential, and, for the most part, unseen. While we might overlook them, they lie at the heart of relationships that bind the human and natural worlds. In Buzz, the beloved Thor Hanson takes us on a journey that begins 125 million years ago, when a wasp first dared to feed pollen to its young. From honeybees and bumbles to lesser-known diggers, miners, leafcutters, and masons, bees have long been central to our harvests, our mythologies, and our very existence. They've given us sweetness and light, the beauty of flowers, and as much as a third of the foodstuffs we eat. And, alarmingly, they are at risk of disappearing.

As informative and enchanting as the waggle dance of a honeybee, Buzz shows us why all bees are wonders to celebrate and protect. Read this book and you'll never overlook them again.

ISBN-13: 9781541699533

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Basic Books

Publication Date: 09-03-2019

Pages: 304

Product Dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.90(d)

Thor Hanson is a conservation biologist, Guggenheim Fellow, and author of award-winning books including Buzz, Feathers, The Impenetrable Forest, and The Triumph of Seeds. He lives with his wife and son on an island in Washington State. www.thorhanson.net

Table of Contents

Author's Note vii

Acknowledgments ix

Preface: A Bee in the Hand xi

Introduction The Buzz About Bees 1

Becoming Bees

Chapter 1 A Vegetarian Wasp 15

Chapter 2 The Living Vibrato 31

Chapter 3 Alone Together 55

Bees and Flowers

Chapter 4 A Special Relationship 77

Chapter 5 Where Flowers Bloom 103

Bees and People

Chapter 6 Of Honeyguides and Hominins 123

Chapter 7 Keeping Dumbledores 141

Chapter 8 Every Third Bite 157

The Future of Bees

Chapter 9 Empty Nests 175

Chapter 10 A Day in the Sun 201

Conclusion The Bee-Loud Glade 213

Appendix A Bee Families of the World 217

Appendix B Bee Conservation 227

Notes 229

Glossary 251

Bibliography 255

Index 271