The Beekeepers: How Humans Changed the World of Bumble Bees (Scholastic Focus)

Scientific advances have furnished our understanding of bumblebees allowing us to feel affectionate towards them rather than scared. Dana Church shares responsibility for this change with her splendid book, The Beekeepers. This is very much a ‘who knew?’ kind of book, offering a lot more than we realized. But in fairness, though we acknowledge plentiful new information, Charles Darwin and other notable 19th and 20th-century scientists were well aware of bumblebees’ significant role in nature.

We learn how bumblebees, prolific pollen-gatherers, became world citizens, transported across the world from home base to Iceland, Chile, the United States, and Canada, Japan, and beyond. Their physiological make-up and generously furry backs, the massive importance of commercial colonies, the impact of pesticides are part of the story. We are relieved at their resistance to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) which is now decimating the world’s honey bee population.

Publishers surely recognize the book is too long and complex to promote solely for kids in Third through Seventh Grades, their eyes glued to their phones, but definitely worthwhile for all folk interested in the natural world. Easy to read, detail-packed, The Beekeepers has plentiful illustrations to interrupt the text.