Prolog: The Bee Colony — a Mammal in Many Bodies.- Man’s Smallest Domestic Animal — a Picture Guide.- The Inevitable Honeybees.- Propagated Immortality.- Honeybees — a Model for Success.- What Bees Know About Flowers.- Honeybee Sex, and Virgin Brides.- Royal Jelly — Designer Diet in Bee Colonies.- The Largest Organ of the Bee Colony — Construction and Function of the Comb.- Cultivated Intelligence.- Is Honey Thicker than Blood: How Important Is the Family?.- The Circle Closes.- Epilog: The Future for Bees and Mankind.
"Studying the book Buzz about Bees - Biology of a Superorganism I have been greatly impressed not only from scientific points but also from philosophical points. I feel that this book has the power to change our view of the world or Weltanschauung." (Prof.Dr. Tohru Marunouchi, Nagoya, Japan) "Excellent and Informative", July 26, 2008 (J. Desimone, Helmetta, NJ, USA) "Educational, impressive, entertaining till the last page", July 19, 2008 (Michael Thiele 'Beekeeper', Sebastopol, CA, USA) "The new book The Buzz about Bees by J. Tautz is a joy to behold! ...The book, and its brilliant photography by H. Heilmann, is highly successful at explaining the magic of the bees' 'superorganism' to the scientifically interested public." (Prof. Lars Chittka, Queen Mary College) "Wow! I decided to buy it based on your recommendation. It is one of the best bee books I have ever read. I would also say this is probably one of the best science books I have ever read. The author is on par with Carl Sagan, Steven Hawkings, etc. This is a must read for anyone interested in honeybees or biology in general." 5 August 2008 (Gary, biobees.com) "I've just finished reading the English translation of your book, and wanted to let you know that I think it's a wonderful book on honey bees. The photographs by Helga Heilmann are also fabulous. Once again, my hearty congratulations on a fine book!" 10 September 2008 (Stephen Buchmann, International Coordinator, Pollinator Partnership, Tucson, AZ, USA) "A beautiful account, stunningly illustrated, of what it is like to be a honeybee, to live in service of the hive, while in partnership with humans. Comprehensive and up to date, it provides answers to many of the scientific mysteries that remained unsolved about honeybees. A prize-worthy addition to the natural history literature..." 10 November 2008 (Thomas Eisner, Schurman Professor of Chemical Ecology, Cornell University, USA) "The author has a lively and engaging style and the skill to explain complex ideas intelligibly to a general audience. ... The chapters encompass the recent spectacular discoveries that revolutionize the understanding of the bee superorganism. This compelling book deserves to be read by everyone interested in the third most important domestic animal, the superorganism which the beehive contains. The book will be of interest to a wide readership and it will appeal not only to specialists but also to general readers" 12 February 2009 (Professor Karl Maramorosch, Cook College, Rutgers University, USA) "I must congratulate you on your excellent book, The Buzz about Bees. The writing is superb." 21 April 2009 (Mark W. Moffett, Ph.D., Research Scientist, NMNH, The Smithsonian Institution, Associate Curator, University of California at Berkeley, Contract Photographer, National Geographic Magazine)
The author, Jurgen Tautz, is a world-leading scientist with a remarkable number of high class publications and a gifted communicator of science. His writing and popular lectures have twice been honoured by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) who included him among the best scientists in Europe in communicating science to the public. A gifted communicator and leading scientist, Juergen Tautz has much in common with Carl Sagan, Richard P Feynman, Konrad Lorenz, Vince Dethier and others famous for their work in popularizing science and making it accessible to all.
From the Reviews of the German Edition: (Phaenomen Honigbiene,
Spektrum, 2007)"…In small steps, … the author approaches the deeper
nature of bees … With … 250 photos, … the presentation is
excellent. Over 50 of them are full-page photos and give the volume
… a particular aesthetic allure. Any beekeeper … who has ever tried
to photograph their bees would be envious. As a basic work, ‘The
Buzz about Bees’ is not only a milestone in bee literature for …
beekeepers, but … recommended for anyone interested in nature. It
links new up-to-date insights with established knowledge …"
(Gilbert Brockmann, in: ADIZ/db/IF, 2007, p. 2)"It is hard to
decide what is better about this book: the pictures or the text.
Let’s start with the pictures. You look at them and are astounded
and numerous adjectives occur to you: radiant, brilliant,
magnificent, sharp, informative … When it comes to the text, I have
to admit: Tautz has it easy. … Not only in the pictures, but also
in the text, bees really come alive. … ‘The Buzz about Bees’ is the
most wonderful book …" (Hubert Rehm, in: Laborjournal, 09/2007, p.
82)"… The work never comes across as dry or lecturing, not least
thanks to the wonderful pictures … But all nature fans who have
always wanted to know ‘how bees do it’ will find just what they
want. In ten clearly structured chapters, Tautz describes the life
of the individual bees and of the entire swarm … Tautz … links bees
and their way of life with many aspects of modern human technology.
… Read it, be amazed – and enjoy a slice of bread and honey as you
do so!" (Christine Scholtyssek, in: Spektrum der Wissenschaft,
September 2007, p. 92)"… ‘The Buzz about Bees’ is … marvelously
illustrated … The pictures are aesthetically attractive, and …
provide rare insight into … life in the bee colony. Readers
familiar with scientific literature will initially be surprised: an
academic book completely free from diagrams and tables, and all in
an easy-to-read style with linguistic concessions to popular
science. … The book’s content provides a graphic presentation of
how the ‘miraculous’ elements of bees’ life result from a perfected
interplay of physical, chemical, and biological processes in the
superorganism of the bee colony …" (Martin Dambach, in: Entomologie
heute, 2007, Issue 21, p. 221)From the reviews:“Excellent and
Informative, July 26, 2008”
“I found this book to be extremely well written and easy to
understand. The detail provided in all the information in this book
really gives excellent insight into the structure of the hive and
the behavior of the bees without getting bogged down in
incomprehensible jargon. Additionally, the plentiful photographs
are incredible. Anyone who is interested in honeybees should read
this book.” (J. Desimone, Helmetta, NJ, USA in:
amazon.com)“Educational, impressive, entertaining till the last
page, July 19, 2008”Last year I was fortunate enough to read
Juergen Tautz’s book, “The Buzz about Bees”. It was hard to put the
book down, once I started reading it. Finally it has been published
in English and I am delighted that I can share this book with all
my friends here in the US. “The Buzz about Bees” is a fascinating
and groundbreaking book! Tautz and his team have done an excellent
job presenting their research and studies, also the photographs are
of very high quality and are quite beautiful. Tautz’s approach to
understanding the life of the bees is very innovative and
inspiring. Many new and mesmerizing facts about bees are presented
such as the mammal-like qualities of the bees. The journey through
the book continues from “the bee colony - a mammal in many bodies”
and moves to the “super-organism”, which describes the honeybee
colony as an undividable entity and as “an organic interpretation
of an individual”. The captivating facts put forth by the author
are many. Tautz explains “propagated immortality” which is the
unique way in which bees proliferate, and the flower wisdom of the
bees illustrated with impressive details (ex. bees can gather and
carry the amount of nectar of almost half their body weight). Tautz
goes on to reveal more aspects of pollination, such as how the
flowering world and the bees coevolved on earth, to the extent to
which we depend on them - critical in this time where many
pollinators are endangered species! He introduces the concept of
the “comb-wide-web” to describe the important relationship between
wax comb and communication capacities of bees. The talent of the
author is evident in his ability to combine excellent scientific
work within a wider philosophic framework. As a gifted
communicator, he launches this charming and intriguing journey into
the beautiful world of the bees and enables us to understand the
life of bees on a new and deeper level. In this book you may find,
why bees have held humans in their thrall since millennia. All
together, “The Buzz about Bees” is a fascinating book, with
numerous facts and detailed photographs, compelling for readers of
different ages and backgrounds. Educational, impressive,
entertaining till the last page, this is a book for anyone who is
interested in bees, nature, and the miracle of life.” (Michael
Thiele ‘Beekeeper’, Sebastopol, CA, USA in: amazon.com)“The Buzz
about Bees is more concerned with the minutiae of the honeybee’s
life … it manages to be accessible and entertaining as well. As
Jürgen Tautz … points out, colonies show an eerie collective
intelligence and should be treated as highly sensitive entities, a
point that is often not understood by those who keep bee colonies
and treat them like ‘poor migrant workers’, transporting them to
climates to which they are not adapted while keeping them in
cramped conditions in which disease spreads rapidly.” (Robin McKie,
The Observer, July, 2008)"The most up-to-date honey bee biology
book I’ve ever seen. It has an incredible collection of photos
showing things never seen, and it explains much of honey bee
biology with a clarity seldom reached. … Chapters cover bees and
flowers, sex, royal jelly, construction comb, intelligence, family
and the difference between a colony as an organism, and a group of
individual bees – climate control, comb construction and hygiene.
Basically, everything is connected to everything else in a honey
bee colony. Don’t lose sight of that." (Kim Flottum, Bee Culture,
July, 2008)"I confess I knew very little about bees before reading
it, but a combination of beautiful, detail photographs and an
insightful text means that the remarkable lives of these creatures
are revealed in great detail. Particularly fascinating were both
the complexity of the bees’ system, and the nature of the colony as
a superorganism – in fact, the book is subtitled Biology of a
superorganism. … it is excellent." (Brian Clegg, PopularScience,
July, 2008)"The book is in essence a series of illustrated lectures
on different aspects of bees. … is lavishly illustrated with
perfect photographs by Helga Heilmann, and will surely become a
popular source of biological understanding for beekeepers and
everyone who wants to understand more of the sophisticated way that
a honey bee colony exists." (Bees for Development Journal, Issue
88, 2008)"Tautz provides a profound insight into the daily life of
the hairy honey maker and overcomes plenty of common prejudices
about bees. … The Buzz about Bees has the potential to become a
classic as well. … In addition, the book delivers useful advice for
everyday life … . This is a marvellous book with almost 300
marvellous bee photos … ." (Weanée Kimblewood, Lab Times, Issue 5,
2008)"A honeybee book with a real difference. … And Helga
Heilmann’s stunning colour ‘action’ photographs take you inside the
bee colony as never before … . Jürgen Tautz has a real knack for
bringing science to a general audience … . It’s an interesting read
– dip in … . is one of the very few good honeybee books that you
won’t be satisfied just to borrow from the library: you’ll want to
have a copy on your own bookshelves, to pick up again and again."
(Rebecca Leaman, Central Beekeepers Alliance, September, 2008)"This
book makes clear one thing, even for a reader lost in the dense fog
of scientific explanation therein: We humans simply can’t live
without bees. Bees fertilize 120,000 species of flowering plants,
including nearly all of those that give us food; humans and
domestic animals can’t live exclusively on self-pollinating grain.
… For anyone willing to spend the time to study these pages,
learning about the ‘superorganism’ that is a beehive will be
fascinating. The photographs are beautiful and informative, and the
translation excellent." (The Internet Review of Books, Vol. 2 (1),
2008)"The book … proves a useful peg on which to hang the story,
one that is interesting for experts, and lay readers alike. Tautz
starts with an original and fast introduction to the biology of the
honeybee, with a chapter that consists solely of photographs and
captions. It is surprisingly effective. … ‘Phänomen Honigbiene’,
the original German version of the book, became a best-seller when
published last year. The English version reviewed here is well on
its way to outperforming that success." (Sander Voormolen, NRC
Handelsblad, October, 2008)"Tautz presents a highly accessible and
engaging summary of bee biology with special focus on the hive as
an organism from the sociobiological perspective. I am not an
entomologist nor a sociobiologist but found the biological
explanations understandable. … Besides being informative and
understandable, this book also contains beautiful photographs and
figures … . I’ve shown this book to non-beekeeping individuals who
have spent a great deal of time just looking closely at those
pictures. … is a necessary addition to any beekeepers library."
(Abelisto, Canaries in a Coal Mine, October, 2008)"The subtitle,
Biology of a Superorganism, tells us the approach this book takes
about bees. ... this book will appeal to those who wish a fuller
understanding of the biology of bees. ... This is a beautiful book
filled with spectacular color photographs of bees." (Ann W. Harman,
North Piedmont Beekeepers Association, Vol. 29 (10), October,
2008)"This comprehensive introduction to honeybee biology …
explores such topics as how bees obtain and communicate information
about flowers, ‘whole-animal gametes,’ and the comb’s contributions
to the sociophysiology of the colony. … accessible to the public,
and his lucid text will reward lay readers, apiarists, students,
and professional biologists … ." (Science, Vol. 322, December,
2008)"A heavy well bound book with an interesting picture on the
cover. The feel of the book is good, the paper quality is good. …
stunning pictures taken by Helga R. Heilmann, just draw the reader
into the book, leaving you wanting to take them all in as quickly
as possible. … I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book for
beekeepers and interested readers … ." (Nigel Hurst, The Scottish
Beekeeper, Vol. 85 (12), 2008)"‘The Buzz About Bees: Biology of a
Superorganism’ is a complete and comprehensive study on this
fascinating species. … ‘The Buzz About Bees’ is utterly intriguing
and a very high recommendation for both etymologists and
non-specialist general readers … ." (Small Press Bookwatch,
December, 2008)"This book, translated from the German, is
magnificently illustrated with colour photographs on all spreads.
It offers an up-to-date overview of the world of the honeybee and
is probably the only book you will need to understand the current
science of honeybees. It will be useful as a library reference, for
project work and for higher level students including
undergraduates." (John Feltwell, Biologist, Vol. 56 (1), February,
2008)"With spectacularly beautiful colour photographs and an easy
understandable text The Buzz about Bees tells the story of
honeybees in a new perspective. The Buzz about Bees will appeal to
many; natural historians will enjoy the exquisite photographs;
students considering studying biology should read this book as a
primer to appreciate the principles upon which the biological
sciences are based … . Professional biologists will enjoy the
restatement of evolutionary principles … and the consequences of
kin selection and natural selection for such systems."
(Wordtrade.com Life Science, 2008)"The theme of this book is the
concept of a honey bee colony as a superorganism in which the
entire colony functions as one entity comprising many individuals.
… It is very well illustrated, with beautiful photographs … . I
enjoyed reading this book and strongly recommend it to all those
interested in learning how one of the most interesting, and
intensely studied species functions, and about its contribution as
an ecosystem ‘service provider’." (C. Eardley, African Entomology,
Vol. 17 (1), 2009)"For those who feel that honeybees are sorely
overlooked in all this, there is Jürgen Tautz’s new book, The Buzz
about Bees: Biology of a Superorganism (2008) … . this book is
aimed squarely at the general reader, and so falls in a different
category altogether. … The Buzz about Bees is illustrated with
countless, fantastic color photographs … which beautifully capture
all aspects of the life of the honeybee. … will surely reward lay
readers, apiarists, and professional scientists … ." (BioScience,
Vol. 59 (8), September, 2009)“Excellent writing, superb pictures.
This book covers the current thinking about bees and superoganisms
in a manner accessible to anyone. Enjoy!” (Mark W. Moffett, Amazon,
May, 2010)“The Buzz about Bees – the Biology of a Superorganism by
Jürgen Tautz … . This is a quite an extraordinary book in so many
ways. It is one of the best produced books that I have read for a
long time … . The book is jammed packed full of facts about the
individual actions of the honey bee and the combined activities of
the honey bee colony. … It is an outstanding book that all should
make the effort to read.” (Stephen Palmer, British Beekeepers’
Association News, December, 2010)“This beautifully illustrated
little book on honey bees is a nice primer for anyone interested in
the biology of this fascinating insect. … The book is geared toward
the interested general public, as the text is easy to read and
biological concepts are well explained. … The author provides a
readable volume with fascinating images, which is sure to be
attractive to bee enthusiasts and useful to teachers. Graduate
students and researchers may benefit from the unique images … on
honey bees.” (Anna Dornhaus, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol.
86 (1), March, 2011)“The book is filled with hundreds of top
quality photos, illustrating the topics covered. … will be most
enjoyed by apiarists or those in the animal/natural sciences. … The
Buzz About Bees is a solid addition to the extant literature,
covering in great detail an amazing and often overlooked species. …
I would recommend this book to students of biology and lovers of
nature.” (Benjamin S. Crosier, Evolution: Education and Outreach,
Vol. 4, 2011)
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