Summary
The honey bee is the best known and most popular of all bees. It is rarely imagined that there are thousands of different species around the world. To the delight of nature lovers and budding beekeepers alike, these 50 fact sheets, illustrated with over 100 photos, present the wide diversity of bee species and the conditions in which they live, both in the hive and in the wild.
The book dispels misconceptions and misleading generalities about competition between domestic and wild bees, the dependence of flowering plants on bees and the social organisation of colonies, while introducing us to the little-known habits of bumblebees and solitary bees. Based on the experience of a beekeeper combined with the vision of an entomologist, this book also sheds some instructive light on beekeeping.
Table of contents
BEES, THE UNKNOWNS
1 The first bee is as old as diplodocus ... FALSE!
2 If bees disappeared, humanity would survive them for three years ... FALSE!
3 Without bees, there would be no jam for breakfast ... WRONG
4 Honey bees are involved in all forms of pollination ... FALSE!
5 All bees have a stinger ... FALSE !
6 Honey bees compete with wild bees ... NOT SURE!
7 A bee's only defence is its sting ... FALSE!
8 There is only one species of honeybee in the world ... FALSE!
9 Nectar is their only natural source of sugar ... FALSE!
10 Bees can't find their bearings when the sun is hidden ... WRONG
11 Cities are better for bees than the countryside ... NOT SURE!
12 There are no bees beyond the Arctic Circle ... FALSE!
13 In solitary bees, each individual lives alone ... FALSE!
14 Solitary bees do not sting ... WRONG
15 Insect hotels provide good protection for solitary bees ... TO BE DENIED
16 According to the laws of aerodynamics, bumblebees cannot fly ... FALSE!
17 Bumblebees stock up on honey for the winter ... FALSE!
18 Bumblebee colonies are annual ... WRONG
19 All bumblebees create colonies ... FALSE!
20 The queen runs the hive ... FALSE!
21 A queen honey bee only lives for a year or two ... FALSE!
22 Queen and male bees mate in the nest ... FALSE!
23 In a hive, only the queen can lay eggs ... FALSE !
24 The breeding of new queens is only motivated by swarming ... FALSE!
25 There is only one laying queen in a hive ... WRONG
26 Males do no work in the hive ... TO BE DENIED
27 Honey bees have better immunity than we do ... FALSE!
28 The bee dance is a language of low evolution ... TO BE UNDERMINED
29 Males are always present in the hive ... TO BE DENIED
30 The hexagonal shape of cells is the result of a long evolutionary process ... FALSE!
31 Only honeybees pollinate crops efficiently ... FALSE!
32 Honey bees are defenceless against varroa mites ... FALSE!
33 Honey is liquid ... FALSE!
34 Only the honey bee can produce honey ... FALSE!
35 Prehistoric man was not familiar with beeswax ... FALSE!
36 Honey is the only food supplied to man by the hive ... FALSE!
37 Pollen is a grandmother's remedy ... FALSE!
38 The queen produces royal jelly ... FALSE!
39 Royal jelly can be produced in large quantities ... WRONG
40 Royal jelly is effective against ageing ... NOT SURE!
41 Europeans introduced beekeeping to America ... TO BE DENIED
42 Bees forage up to 3 km around the hive ... TO BE DENIED
43 The smoker calms the bees ... NOT SURE!
44 Beehives are infested with agricultural pesticides ... TO BE AVOIDED
45 Pesticides are the most harmful to honeybees ... TO BE DENIED
46 The Asian hornet, a specialist predator of hive bees ... TO BE DELETED
47 Massive trapping of Asian hornets is necessary ... FALSE!
48 Transhumance is necessary for bees ... FALSE!
49 You can put your hives wherever you want ... FALSE!
50 Hives of all colours confuse the bees ... FALSE!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ICONOGRAPHIC CREDITS
Press
Radio Grésivaudan - Le 17 mars 2025
"Aurélien Ausset pour ” 50 idées fausse sur les abeilles ” aux éditions Quae"
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