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The book “Following the Wild Bees” will be presented by its author, Thomas Seeley, in the Community Room of the Walpole Public Library at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25. Admission is free, and all are welcome.
Professor Thomas D. Seeley of Cornell University, a world authority on honeybees, vividly describes the history and science behind the lost pastime of bee hunting, an exhilarating outdoor activity, and how anyone can do it.
All are welcome and there is no charge to attend.
Hear from one of the world’s most renowned honey bee behavioralists, Dr. Thomas Seeley, recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Distinguished U.S. Scientist Prize for his work in the field of Biology.
Seeley has been studying honeybees in the wild for decades and in the course of his research has made something of an art of finding— and leaving undisturbed— feral colonies.
That he’s had a grand time doing so is abundantly clear in this slim volume, and he does his level best to make squadrons of converts: “after…finally spying the glitter of the bees’ wings as they dive inside their tree-cavity home, I always experience soaring feelings of success…even triumph!”
In similarly enthusiastic, almost antique prose, the author describes the necessary equipment, the most important being a custom-built “bee box” for capturing foraging bees; while the book’s photographs are largely negligible, aspiring bee hunters will be grateful for the cutaway diagram included with its description.
“Following the Wild Bees” is a delightful foray into the pastime of bee hunting, an exhilarating outdoor activity that used to be practiced widely but which few people know about today. Thomas Seeley, a world authority on honeybees, vividly describes the history and science behind this lost pastime and how anyone can do it.
The book is both a unique meditation on the pleasures of the natural world and a guide to the ingenious methods that compose the craft of the bee hunter.
Seeley explains how one finds a patch of flowers humming with honey bees, captures and sumptuously feeds the bees, and then releases and follows them, step-by-step in whatever direction they fly, back to their secret residence in a hollow tree, old building, or abandoned hive.
The bee hunter's reward is a thrilling encounter with nature that challenges mind and body while also giving new insights into the remarkable behavior of honeybees living in the wild.
Drawing on decades of experience as a bee hunter and bee biologist, Seeley weaves informative discussions of the biology of wild honey bees with colorful historical anecdotes, personal insights, and beautiful photos. Whether you're a bee enthusiast or just curious about the natural world, Following the Wild Bees is the ideal companion for newcomers to bee hunting and a rare treat for armchair naturalists.
