Honeybee Democracy Hardcover – Illustrated, October 10, 2010

I'm about to run for Congress and I'm a beekeeper. I hand this book out like it's my bible. It explains everything we see now in politics without even remotely touching the subject of human democracy. Seeley and his amazing team found that convergent evolution has given both honeybees and humans the Iowa Caucus. This is groundbreaking research.

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!

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.