Honeybee Democracy

Tom Seeley's book is a classic text it explains many features of swarm behaviour that was either previously suspected but not proven or completely unknown until he conducted his research. It goes into great depth but is written in a very friendly easy style that's a joy to read, it really is one of the best books on bee behaviour written in the last hundred years. For the beekeeper it provides invaluable insights into bee behaviour which can only assist in our efforts to understand this amazing little insect.

This is an extraordinary book. Utterly fascinating. It is a book of scientific observations and findings but written in an engaging, easy to understand way. This book will be just as appealing to a non beekeeper as it it is to a beekeeper. But to to a beekeeper..... well, its full of snippets of useful information. I can't praise it high enough.

An outstanding account of how honey bees think, communicate and plan their future.

A great read for anyone with bees, (or an interest in learning about bee behaviour).

I bought this as it was recommended by several sources even though the book description seemed dry. I'm glad I did as this is proving to be a gem of a book ... I have only read the first four chapters and they are written as a biography full of fascinating scientific information. As such, information is presented in a 'conversational' manner and easy to digest. This makes the book a delight to read and I'm learning new information all the time If you are interested in bees in any way, not just beekeeping, then I would recommend this book as a 'must read'.

Outstanding study into why bees do what bees do. Informative illustrations and clear textual explanations.

Highly recommended by master bee keeper

I read this book knowing very little about the life of bees. It left me wanting to try beekeeping! An enchanting book that touches your heart as well as provides you with detailed scientific data. You cannot help but fall in love with these marvellous insects..as well as Seeley's writing!

Fascinating informative

Heureux anglicistes qui, apiculteurs ou encore intéressés par l'apiculture, mais ne pouvez avoir de ruche chez vous, en raison de contingences matérielles, ce magnifique ouvrage est pour vous; c'est une véritable bible de l'apiculture, qui mérite d'être traduite en français.

Meet the expectations Was delivered in time

I am a scientist by nature and trade, though I am a geologist with no level of expertise or knowledge in regards to insects. After hearing another story about colony collapse disorder on NPR, I researched the available books on honeybees at Amazon (was surprise at how few there are) and settled on Dr. Seeley's book. Great read! I found the structure of the book well thought out, each chapter leading into subsequent chapters. Each chapter also dealt with a discrete topic and flushed out the details thoroughly. Also - I enjoyed the fact that his writing style was easily accessible for the laymen. Some books of this ilk get caught in up what level of jargon or detail to use, but Dr. Seeley found a very reasonable position on this. Being an analytical type person, I really enjoyed how each theory was tested and described. The reader will see for example the criteria bees use for siting new hives, how they test some of those criteria, and of course the main topic - how the scouts tell the colony about their searches for new homes and then how the colony reaches a consensus amongst the various choices the scouts bring back. The reader should understand that this is not an all-encompassing book on bees, there is not much in here on hive construction or life cycles or how foragers do their thing. But there was enough on those topics for a novice like me to understand the context of what Dr. Seeley was writing about. At the end, I was not entirely convinced of using the bees "democratic" style in real life human situations. But it was good that Dr. Seeley gave real anecdotal examples from his university meetings and from New England town hall meetings to discuss it - other authors may have simply made the theoretical premise and left it at that. I look forward to reading his other book - Wisdom of the Hive - to read up on the foragers. Just wish the price would come down some! We get spoiled on the $5-$10 cheap paperbacks and are lamentably surprised at the price of niche scientific books. But Dr. Seeley does a great job here.

I rather suspect that the author had two aims while writing this book. It is not only a great book about our insect companions on the planet, and for those of us who love the bees it is a magnificent read, but rather like others before him, such as Bernard Mandeville, he has a second agenda. He reminds us that we humans are a mass of cells all collaborating to make us the person that we are. The word "democracy" in the title ought to be a hint. A bee colony is a single unit in which many thousands of 'individuals' work in collaboration to achieve an end - the survival of their colony. Many years ago a book "Getting to Yes" described a method of negotiation in which two 'sides' collaborate to reach a defined outcome. The system was known as the 'Harvard negotiation strategy'. Essentially, Seely shows us how a decision to move to a new location is reached by the colony of bees in a 'rational' decision making process. If only human 'democracy' was as simple.