The Art of the Bee

Drawing from his distinguished career studying honey bees, Robert Page reflects on the adaptations of social organisms that yield contracts through which their societies function through both harmony and discord. His journey into the hive, like Alexander von Humboldt's global explorations two centuries ago, stimulates and inspires us to ponder our own place in nature and within our human societies. * Mark L. Winston, Professor and Senior Fellow, Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University * This wonderful book contains all the information expected from a textbook on honeybee biology, but beyond textbook style, Page presents this information in a series of sparkling essays built around particular views-e.g., honeybees as environmental painters and engineers-that read like mystery stories. With these lucidly written stories Page takes us on a delightful journey through the many biological traits that on the whole constitute the honeybees' social contract. * Rudiger Wehner, Professor and Director Emeritus of the Institute of Zoology, University of Zurich * Bees as artists or engineers? With deft use of metaphor, Page, one of our most eminent honey bee biologists, skillfully offers readers a down home, yet lyrical, romp through some of the most important topics in contemporary bee biology. But don't be fooled by the amiable and personal style-the book is comprehensive-from colony collapse disorder to colony-level evolution-and chock full of the latest results, presented with clarity and depth, leavened with razor-sharp insights into social evolution. * Gene E. Robinson, Director,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign *