The quest for the perfect hive a history of innovation in bee culture - Kritsky, Gene (Oxford University Press, 2010)
Includes bibliographical references and index
Honey bees and the origin of beekeeping -- The forest beekeepers -- Skeps -- Bee niches -- Early box hives -- Beekeeping comes to America -- Glass jar beekeeping -- The Crystal Palace Exhibition : a beekeeping showcase -- Bars, frames, and the bee space -- Resistance to change -- Alfred Neighbour : British beekeeping ambassador -- Transition -- Bee houses -- Bee calendars -- Beekeeper's paraphernalia -- The end of innovation
Beekeeping is a sixteen-billion-dollar-a-year business. But the invaluable honey bee now faces severe threats from diseases, mites, pesticides, and overwork, not to mention the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder, which causes seemingly healthy bees to abandon their hives en masse, never to return. In The Quest for the Perfect Hive, entomologist Gene Kritsky offers a concise, beautifully illustrated history of beekeeping, tracing the evolution of hive design from ancient Egypt to the present. Not simply a descriptive account, the book suggests that beekeeping's long history may in fact contain