# The Little Book of Bees

Hilary Kearney

Bees continue to fascinate and charm us all – from novice gardeners and nature-lovers to dedicated environmentalists – and today, bees need our help more than ever. Discover the story of these incredible creatures, with The Little Book of Bees.Bees first appeared on Earth an incredible 130 million years ago. Since the time of the dinosaurs, evolution has taken our beloved bees on an incredible journey – and today, there are 20,000 species on the planet.The Little Book of Bees is a lovely, informative book of all things bee – from evolution and communication, to honey, beekeeping, and saving the bees – all in a beautifully illustrated gift book.contents Chapter One: The Story of Bees The Evolution of the Bee · The Bee Life Cycle · The Bee Family Tree · Bee Anatomy · Bee Nesting Behaviours · Bee Factoids • Chapter Two: Superorganisms Sociality in Bees · Bumble Bees · Honey Bees · Stingless Bees • Chapter Three: Honey What is Honey? · Types of Honey · Practical Uses for Honey · Honey Healthcare • Chapter Four: Beekeeping Why Keep Bees? · An Introduction to Beekeeping · Keeping Stingless Bees • Chapter Five: Protecting Our Bee Buddies Why Are Bees in Decline? · Supporting Our Bees in 10 Easy Steps · Providing a Home for Bees

COPYRIGHT

HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers in 2019

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Copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers

Hilary Kearney asserts her moral rights as the author of the text.

Illustrations by Amy Holliday

Cover and interior design by Jacqui Caulton

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Source ISBN 9780008324278

Ebook ISBN 9780008359805

Version 2019-11-06

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to anyone who has rescued a bee from their pond, given sugar water to a tired bee, planted flowers in their garden, or told a friend not to swat. Thanks for caring; I hope this book inspires you to do even more for our bee friends.