Honeybee Democracy

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.

Not only is the research completely sound and refreshing, the graphic representation of compelling information is truly revelatory. If you are going to be shipwrecked on an island, even if that island has no honeybees, you should take this one book. It just seems that Thomas Seeley has compiled a most fascinating explanation of one of the bees' most curious and intelligent behaviors - and the graphic illustration and charts lend insight in clean, straight-forward, "ahh-hah" kind of ways, less understandable until now given the new, brilliant and powerfully simple conveyance. The Epilogue should be read first because it provides the most fitting setup: Martin Lindauer observed a clustered swarm of bees on a bush and noticed that the waggle-dancing bees were covered in black soot, red brick dust and grey soil. Calling them dirty dancers, a multiple of them were obviously attempting to convince others regarding the merits of a nearby chimney. That started his research into bee group decision making, and thus, Thomas Seeley's remarkable treatise on the subject. This would be a fascinating coffee table book, with insighful information for any curious book-flipper. For seasoned beekeepers, the photos, illustrations and information presented solidifies and exemplifies many of the things that we already know. Best example: on page 38, Figure 2.12 is a photo illustrating the underside of some house bees and shows how the wax chips are produced from the abdomens of the worker bees. I know this but had never seen it before. To see the photos is to gain much deeper understanding, and that quality of knowledge shared is represented throughout the entire book. As an informational tome, this book is beautiful, fascinating, timely, informative, curious, insightfully supportive, educational and moves what we know forward in terms of an improved general understanding of the bees' intricate and remarkable intelligence. Thank you Thomas Seeley, your illustrator, your graduate and undergraduate research students. I feel like a more comprehensive beekeeper by the richer understanding that your work has provided. It's a terrific book for the lay person and experienced beekeeper alike. Beautiful and fascinating!

After aquiring a swarm that flew into our yard, I decided to learn more about bees and have now bought and read several books concerning working with bees. This book is well written and was a fascinating journey into the science of studying bees. It was great to see the scientific method used and I really enjoyed reading this book. Honeybee Democracy opened new insight into the collective decision making of a colony and I was able to apply these ideas to my bees to help them stay and adapt to their new home. Keeping bees didn't turn out to be as easy as I originally thought since the original swarm I received as a gift eventually left and it wasn't until I learned to set things up properly and let them figure it out on their own and not be bothered that another swarm returned and made the provided hive and area their new home. Of course one has to wonder just how we as humans can learn from what the bees use as their methods for determining leaders and survival. I found this a wonderful book for those who like to ponder the meaning of life as seen through the planet around us.

If you have trouble falling asleep keep this by your bedside and you’ll be making zzz’s in a page or two. All kidding aside, it’s a fascinating yet tediously written book and Thomas Seeley made some brilliant research that uncovered what we understand about swarms, specifically how they find a new home. Chapters 1-4 I enjoyed, I learned some new stuff about swarm traps and how waggle dancing scouts find and report on new home locations. Chapters 5-9 were densely packed with scientific and academic jargon that I just skimmed through. Chapter 10 was an concise and readable conclusion. This book will not make you a better bee keeper. It will not make you better at catching swarms. It’s not a “fun” read for the average person but if you’re ready to learn about velocity vectors and Nasonov pheromones then this book is worth an exploration.

I'm fairly new to bee keeping but have been devouring as much information about honey bees as I can and I found this book to be a fascinating addition to my understanding of swarm dynamics. I'm a huge fan of saving money and of providing for oneself through acquiring knowledge and skill sets and I feel this book has helped me in both categories. I have some great mentors who have shared with me details about attracting honey bee swarms but this book has helped to tie all of that together to better understand bee behavior and I think put me on the way to success for next swarm season. It covers the details of just how a swarm selects its new home and some features of that home that they prefer whether it's volume, entrance height, or entrance size as well as much more in depth discussion of certain aspects of honey bee "culture" for lack of a better word. Dr. Seeley is writing from a place of understanding and hands on experience with these creatures and he has much to share on the subject. Not knowing if I'd enjoy it enough to own a physical copy, I went with the Kindle edition. I wish I had spent the extra $5 for the hardback. I know there are ways to highlight and bookmark text and pages in the ebook but I don't foresee it being quite the same to me as sticky notes, highlighting, underlining, or bookmarks in a paper book that weathers with you over the years as you consult it time and time again.

Astounding research from decades of painstaking observation and research. Excellently written commentary on bees and their behavior. The extrapolation of honeybee democracy to the human condition in the last part is interesting, well written and thought provoking. Seeley has followed (literally) and observed bees intently for decades and this book shares the rich and subtle wisdom only informed observation can yield. The best of this book is the first part dealing with the world-class natural science that Seeley et al have done on honey bee behavior and their informed speculation on the implied meanings of these behaviors. This book's bee behavior portion deserves a second read because it is PACKED with information and insight into the subtle interrelationships between genetics, instinct, behaviors and their implications. The insight into the honey bee caste system and it's management is like reading the best science fiction - it is genetically driven but involves the personal effort of each bee to fulfill it's destiny. This is one of the best books on natural history I have read in years, written so the non-scientist can devour and understand the content, but fully complete in it's scope. As to popular science for the layman, Seeley is right up there with the very best of Jane Goodall, Richard Feynman, Michio Kaku, and Neil Degrasse-Tyson, in my opinion. A must read for bee keepers.

Having read a positive review in a journal, and knowing more than a thing or two about scientific experimentation and the pleasures of discovery, I looked forward to this study of bee behavior with anticipation. O joy! This is a splendid account. Not only can we appreciate the art of investigation but we also can share in Seeley's happiness in his watchfulness and insights. I already knew individual bees and the society of bees as super-organism are intelligent, with key abilities in solar angle and distance measurement, structural engineering, and communications. I now read with fascination how bees can determine volume and surface dimensions, weigh options, and reach consensus. We follow each experiment and how it leads to additional questions and answers. We learn the craft of bee hive production and its optimal structure. The prose is not arcane and stuffy; rather, Seeley writes simply and directly. You do not need to be a biologist to enjoy this book. I recommend it as a gift to all older children, too.

Honeybee Democracy is a wonderful book. Its message would benefit every person on the planet. According to Seeley "Some have said that honeybees are messengers sent by the gods to show us how we ought to live in sweetness and in beauty and in peacefulness." Seeley describes clever experiments showing how the honeybees almost always find the best hive site in a 5 mile area. Honeybees make decisions based on the input from every scout - and every scout's experience is considered and valued. The opinon of no scout is valued more than another - and Seeley extrapolates from his thoughts on honeybees to his thoughts on how groups of people make the best decisions. Seeley sees a honeybee swarm as a superorganism composed of honeybees and people as a superorganism composed of cells. We might say that human society is a superorganism composed of people. Honeybee swarms (and human societies?) are successful and healthy when the following are true:: - every individual has enough to eat and drink to become a healthy, fully contributing asset to society. - every individual takes care of themselves and those around them. - Decisions are made on the best information available without regard to status or wealth of the individual promoting an idea. - A healthy hive and swarm survive because every member works hard for the benefit of themselves, each other, and the hive and swarm. May we all learn these lessons from 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.

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 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.