Bee Improvement And Conservation

Jo Widdicombe, B.Sc. (Hons.) Environmental Science, has been beekeeping for over 30 years and has been a member of BIBBA for more than 25 years, serving on the BIBBA Committee. Jo worked as a Seasonal Bee Inspector for 5 years and is a Bee Farmer in Cornwall running over 100 colonies. "The Principles of Bee Improvement" offers a practical approach and is an attempt to lay down guidelines which are true and applicable to beekeepers in any circumstance. Rather than searching the country, or the world, for the perfect bee to breed from, this book explains how to select and improve bees from the local bee population. It discusses the problems of importation, the use of natural and artificial selection, assessment of colonies and selection within a strain. By following these methods, the standards of our bees can be raised, producing gentle, hardy and productive bees.

Bees form a vital part of many natural and farmed landscapes all over the world. Both as pollinators and as a part of the wider insect community, their activities not only promote healthy ecosystems, but in many cases are essential to the life cycles of particular plant species. Their complex coevolutionary relationships to their forage plants are a subject of fascination to biologists and conservationists, and of economic importance to crop managers. But everywhere bees are under pressure, from the direct impact of pesticides in the environment, as well as the indirect effects of habitat alteration and destruction. This volume focuses on a number of important topics in bee biology and conservation in the temperate regions of four continents. The varieties of habitats needed for bees to thrive, the essential links and interactions between bees and many plant species, and the current state of bee biodiversity and conservation are all dealt with by an international cast of authors. Anyone with an interest either in bees in particular, or in insect and plant conservation in general will find something of interest in this book. Stresses the importance of bees as pollinators in the health of both agriculture and natural landscapes Discusses the coevolutionary biology of bees and their forage plants Focuses on bees as a vital component of biodiversity Includes contributors from Europe, U.S.A., Canada, Panama, and Isreal

This book brings together scientific evidence and experience relevant to the practical conservation of wild bees. The authors worked with an international group of bee experts and conservationists to develop a global list of interventions that could benefit wild bees. They range from protecting natural habitat to controlling disease in commercial bumblebee colonies. For each intervention, the book summarises studies captured by the Conservation Evidence project, where that intervention has been tested and its effects on bees quantified. The result is a thorough guide to what is known, or not known, about the effectiveness of bee conservation actions throughout the world. Bee Conservation is the first in a series of synopses that will cover different species groups and habitats, gradually building into a comprehensive summary of evidence on the effects of conservation interventions for all biodiversity throughout the world. By making evidence accessible in this way, we hope to enable a change in the practice of conservation, so it can become more evidence-based. We also aim to highlight where there are gaps in knowledge. Evidence from all around the world is included. If there appears to be a bias towards evidence from northern European or North American temperate environments, this reflects a current bias in the published research that is available to us. Conservation interventions are grouped primarily according to the relevant direct threats, as defined in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Unified Classification of Direct Threats.

Beekeeping and Bee Conservation - Advances in Research presents current issues in the field of bees in multiple contexts and ties together experiments conducted by some of the world's most renowned researchers. The authors' point-of-view and own research results are described in a clear and objective way, which is very useful for beginners in the study of the subject and is likewise valuable for the more experienced on the subject, who may find new hypotheses to be tested and broaden their future prospects in the field. The book is wide in scope, focusing largely on Apis mellifera. Topics range from genetics, to pollination studies, to the conservation of bees. It includes a chapter dedicated to stingless bees and another for bumble bees.

Since the second half of the 20th Century, our agricultural bee pollinators have faced mounting threats from ecological disturbance and pan-global movement of pathogens and parasites. At the same time, the area of pollinator-dependent crops is increasing globally with no end in sight. Never before has so much been asked of our finite pool of bee pollinators. This book not only explores the evolutionary and ecologic bases of these dynamics, it translates this knowledge into practical research-based guidance for using bees to pollinate crops. It emphasizes conserving wild bee populations as well as culturing honey bees, bumble bees, and managed solitary bees. To cover such a range of biology, theory, and practice from the perspectives of both the pollinator and the crop, the book is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 focuses on bees, their biology, coevolution with plants, foraging ecology and management, and gives practical ways to increase bee abundance and pollinating performance on the farm. Volume 2 (also available from CABI) focuses on crops, with chapters addressing crop-specific requirements and bee pollination management recommendations. Both volumes will be essential reading for farmers, horticulturists and gardeners, researchers and professionals working in insect ecology and conservation, and students of entomology and crop protection.