(Feminist) Beekeeping in Turkey

I've been remiss about keeping up with this blog—too much actual living, being, and doing—but every now and then something crosses the transom and I feel compelled to share.

Here's a pretty cool blog about beekeeping in Turkey—take an amble over there and let me know what you think.

Honeybee Luv

Queen of The Sun Teaser Clip from Taggart Siegel on Vimeo.

Help the Honeybees Go Postal

This just in from our comrades over at "Down to Earth":

December 25, 2010 is the 200th birthday of L.L. Langstroth, the "Father of American Beekeeping." The US Postal Service Stamp Advisory Committee will be considering a Langstroth commemorative stamp at its January meeting.

Find out what you can do to help the honeybees (and Mr. Langstroth) go postal.

White House Bees

The New York Times has recently posted an entertaining confection on the "First Bees."

Best Bee Photos Ever

You are now in for a tremendous treat. My friend Andrew recently hooked me up with the website of the extraordinary photographer Eric Tourneret—a.k.a. The Bee Photographer. (Thank you a thousand times, Andrew!)

The site can be enjoyed in several different ways. You can browse these wonderful honeybee photos by topic, selecting from swarming, apiculture, pollination, honey, bees in history, and city bees.

Or you can visit the bees by country, viewing striking photos of bees and beekeeping in Nepal, Argentina, Cameroon, Mexico, Romania and Russia. Sample, for instance, this incandescent series of beekeeping-related images from France: the poppies! the sunflowers! the mountains! the hive-carrying donkeys! the drones!

And then there's Cameroon, where ancient honey-gatheing methods still prevail in the Adamwa forest or the death-defying cliff-climbing of the Nepali "tiger-men" who gather honeycomb from the world's largest bee.

Pliny the Fabulous

If you've never had the pleasure of reading or perusing the natural history writings of Pliny the Elder, you're missing out. A friend recently sent this gem along, reminding me of how much I've enjoyed my past excursions with the great naturalist of yore.

"Honey comes out of the air....At early dawn the leaves of trees are found bedewed with honey.... Whether this is the perspiration of the sky or a sort of saliva of the stars, or the moisture of the air purging itself, nevertheless it brings with it the great pleasure of its heavenly nature. It is always of the best quality when it is stored in the best flowers."—Pliny (A.D. 23-79) 'Natural History', book 20

Check out Pliny's encyclopedia of natural life, circa AD 77.

View or download Vol. 3 of the Pliny's Natural History here. In this edition, he writes of insects (including bees), with chapter headings such as:

• The extreme smallness of insects
• Happy omens sometimes afforded by a swarm of bees
• The kinds of honey peculiar to various places

If this sort of thing is up your alley, consider joining the Yahoo listserve on Historical Honeybee Articles. It's a great list with wonderful archaic lit, articles, and news items of and pertaining to our friend the bee.

Google Bee (Old Beekeeping Books for You & Me)

A recent issue of American Bee Journal made mention of the availability of two newly reprinted beekeeping books by Applewood Books, publisher of a nifty variety nature books, farming guides, "floral and gardening" books, and many other topics in keeping with its mission to "build a picture of America through its primary-source materials." The charmingly titled volume pictured above is one of Applewood Books' many reprints of interest.

The two bee-related books Applewood has recently reprinted are: Beekeeping: A Discussion of the Life of the Honeybee (originally published in 1918) and The Honey-Bee: Its Nature, Homes, and Products (first published in 1884). Both can be ordered directly from Applewood's website which, while containing marvelous products, is (alas!) unpleasant to navigate and not exactly plush with information.

I should also mention that one of these titles—Beekeeping: A Discussion of the Life of the Honeybee—is available for free download on Google Books. Some pics from the book:
Here are a couple of other out-of-copyright beekeeping and bee-related books you can find on Google Books:

The Honey-makers (1899)

The Honey Bee: Its Natural History, Physiology, and Management (1843)

The Bee-keeper's Manual (1860)

This is just the beginning; a search of Google Books will yield more treasures than can be assimilated in three lifetimes. Enjoy!

The Bee Pasturage of Early Spring

It be the Spring Equinox today, so it's officially time to share this vintage ode to the springtime flowers from which bees forage nectar and pollen at this time of year.

"First the gray willow's glossy pearls they steal,
Or rob the hazel of its golden meal,
While the gay crocus and the violet blue
Yield to the flexible trunk ambrosial dew."

—from The Honey Bee: Its Natural History, Physiology, and Management,
by Edward Bevan (1843)

Sustaining the Honeybees

Not sure how I missed this article on Sustaining the Honeybees by British bee-advocate Philip Chandler back in October, but better late than never: check it out.

Visit Phil's Barefoot Beekeeper site for more.

Beekeeping History @ New York Public Library

The New York Public Library has a fantastic digital collection which includes, among its countless treasures, historical images of beekeeping and natural history.

The first image below, for example, shows a bee hive in Central Park in New York City. I love the rustic features of this hive. Looks a bit like a top bar hive, doesn't it?


Learn more about this historical beekeeping image on the NYPL website.


Learn more about this historical beekeeping image.


Learn more about this historical beekeeping image.


Learn more about this historical beekeeping image.


Learn more about this historical beekeeping image.




Learn more about this historical beekeeping image.