Nectar At Noon

Short stories dealing with life situations - suicide, cancer, loneliness, odd behaviour. Reviewer says these stories are not morbid.

Honey appeared much earlier than man. Accordingly bees have long association with him rights from the time human race came into existence. With the passage of time, honey has emerged from the position of a sweetener of the aboriginal man to that of a present day industrial product. Honey bees as pollinators of agricultural crops and orchards fruits. Were known but never understood on a rational and scientific basis. Similarly many myths associated with its nutritional excellence or therapeutics.

The groundbreaking canopy-access and rain forest research at Lambir Hills National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia, has contributed an immense body of knowledge. Its major studies over more than a decade are synthesized here for the first time.

Detailed descriptions are provided for all recognised taxa and are accompanied by illustrations.

The yields of agricultural crops can be significantly increased through good management practices including effective pollination. Cucurbits mainly depend on insects for pollination because the male and female organs do not occur in the same flower and pollen grains are large and sticky to be carried by wind. Chow-chow is commonly called as chayote (Sechium edule (Jacq) Sw.) belongs to family Cucurbitaceae. The efficacy of different species of honey bees viz., Apis cerana, A. mellifera, A. florea and T. iridipennis in cross-pollination of chow-chow was studied during summer 2001 at Regional Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore. Activity of different insect pollinators including honey bee species and their influence on fruit set, fruit quality and seed quality parameters were studied. The quantity and quality of nectar from pistillate and staminate flowers was also estimated to know its impact on foraging activity. At flowering, chow-chow crop was frequently visited by 26 insect species of which 14 belonged to the order; Hymenoptera and four each belong to order Diptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Apis dorsata, A. cerana indica, A. florea and Trigona iridipennis which accounted more than 82 per cent of the total insect pollinators visiting chow-chow crop. Significantly maximum fruit set was found in open pollinated plots (81%) and the lowest was found in control plots (10.5%). Among the honey bee species, maximum fruit set was found in A. florea caged plots (78%) and the lowest was found in T. iridipennis caged plots (61%).

The Backyard Beekeeper, now in its 4th edition, makes the time-honored and complex tradition of beekeeping an enjoyable and accessible backyard pastime that will appeal to urban and rural beekeepers of all skill levels. More than a guide to beekeeping, this handbook features expert advice for: Setting up and caring for your own colonies Selecting the best location to place your new bee colonies for their safety and yours The most practical and nontoxic ways to care for your bees Swarm control Using top bar hives Harvesting the products of a beehive and collecting and using honey Bee problems and treatments What's New? Information for urban bees and beekeepers Using your smoker the right way Better pest management Providing consistent and abundant good food Keeping your hives healthy With this complete resource and the expert advice of Bee Culture editor Kim Flottum, your bees will be healthy, happy, and more productive.