In another experiment, bees had to roll a ball to a goal to get the reward. The two closest balls were glued down and wouldn’t move. The naive bees observing this maneuver were then allowed to try, but none of the balls were glued down. Rather than just mimic the procedure, the new bees optimized the process, moving the closest ball to the goal. Most of us are aware of the hive mind―the power of bees as an amazing collective. But do we know how uniquely intelligent bees are as individuals? In The Mind of a Bee , Lars Chittka draws from decades of research, including his own pioneering work, to argue that bees have remarkable cognitive abilities. He shows that they are profoundly smart, have distinct personalities, can recognize flowers and human faces, exhibit basic emotions, count, use simple tools, solve problems, and learn by observing others. They may even possess consciousness.

Alone I did it. Behold, the fruit of the pensive nights and laborious days when I watched the little working gangs as I once watched the criminal world of London.’” A] beautifully written exposition of the fascinating details of honey bee behaviour, physiology, genetics and interplay with the environment."—Peter Neerup Buhl, International Journal of Environment Studies An excellent book from the Collins New Naturalist Series, although not to be used as an identification guide. Honey bees have had a close relationship with humans for thousands of years, but they are endangered due to over-domestication. Seeley gives a view of many still living free in the wild, providing a model of their healthy lives. A must-read for anyone interested in the fascinating social behavior of this species, and for those who keep honey bees for fun or profit."—Bernd Heinrich, author of The Hot-Blooded Insects Seeley brings us dispatches from the cutting-edge scientific hive-mind exploring the complex behavioral, social, and survival dynamics of bee colonies."—Olivia Rutigliano, LitHubThis is a bee-rilliant book all about bees... I would highly recommend this book for any child who has an interest in nature" Toppsta Few insects are more important than bees, wasps, and ants. They maintain the garden's biological balance, fertilize vegetables, fruits, and flowers, and recycle nutrients within the soil. Grissell explains how gardeners can encourage (or discourage) them in the garden. Thomas Seeley's lifetime of work, study, and love of honey bees has given us the inspiration we need to stop inventing temporary solutions to honey bee problems, and just listen to what the bees are telling us by example. They've been shouting to us for hundreds of years, but only with Seeley's help have we been able to hear."—Kirk Webster, Champlain Valley Bees and Queens A remarkable book. It is an essential read for every beekeeper who wishes to understand more fully the natural biology of the bees living in his or her hives."—Ann Chilcott, The Beelistener Chittka makes a convincing argument for individual variability in bees personalities and why and how their choices may be affected by their size, which correlates to how much they were fed as larvae, and any other predispositions that make them better at one task or another, or more or less adventurous and relentless in their pursuit of pollen and nectar, and even their preference for one or the other. The experiments to study the bees' behaviour were really interesting. You'd think it would be easier to confuse a bee so they'd get a little lost, but they haven't been getting enough credit for how good they are at navigating the world. A wonderful read.

A cultural history of bees. The history of humans and honeybees is also a history of ideas, taking us through the evolution of science, religion, and politics, and a social history that explores the bee's impact on food and human ritual. Sure, it may be a nice added bonus, but the main reason for becoming a beekeeper should be for the love of the bees. The first chapter was phenomenal! So many obscure and fascinating apiary factoids! 10/10! I could re-read annually and still have new thoughts. This is the perfect book for developing metaphors. We have so much to learn from bees.For those who are searching for less science and an enjoyable read this is the book. – recommended by Eric Grissell When I was a teenager this was among the first books I read about insects. It instilled the notion that insects were much more interesting than plants, and prompted me to take an apiculture course in college as well as to do a special study on honey bee ocelot." – recommended by Eric Grissell Elegantly simple in design, the research is expertly synthesized by Seeley to give us a vivid glimpse of how honeybees live when left to their own devices. . . . It is the most complete picture yet of the honeybee’s natural history. . . . As the biblical Prov­erbs 6:6 notes of the ant, we need to go to the bee, 'consider its ways and be wise'. Seeley has done that better than anyone."—Gene Robinson, Nature Wow what a fantastic fun informative book... This book is a super fun, colourful way to learn all about the wonderful honey bees and what an important part they play in life" Toppsta Bees don’t have eardrums, so they don’t hear like humans, but they do hear. A new human that has never gone to a heavy metal concert hears 20-20,000 Hz. Bees feel air movements with their antenna, sensing sound waves ranging from 20-500 Hz, and can feel hive vibrations with their feet. Like Rhianna said, “let the bass from the speakers run through ya sneakers.” (Or was that Bee-yoncé?)

An interesting read by an eminent honey bee scientist on the workings of a honey bee colony." – recommended by Karin Alton Without a doubt, this book wins our ‘best book on beekeeping’ award for the way it clearly explains beekeeping techniques with a range of colourful photos and sketches. Bees even play a key part in the wizarding world. Ron Weasley’s family are keen beekeepers, and Dumbledore takes his name from a traditional Dorsetshire word for bumblebee. Bees are brilliant at building, super social creatures and along with other insects, are responsible for a third of every mouthful of food you eat! Children will be fascinated by the beautiful pictures and learn plenty of buzz-worthy fun facts in every chapter, covering types of bees, beehives, beekeeping, how they pollinate plants and make honey.The Mind of a Bee" is an absolutely incredible book about (you guessed it) the minds of bees! A very deep delve into the sensory world of bees, you start to understand what is important to them and how they perceive the world. Sometimes this book had some sciency references that were a little hard for a lay person like me to follow, but overall this book was very easy to understand and was written very well. I also learned some amazing things, and I'll try to be less afraid of bees.