Queenspotting: Meet the Remarkable Queen Bee and Discover the Drama at the Heart of the Hive; Includes 48 Queenspotting Challenges - Hardcover

by Hilary Kearney (Author)

At the heart of every bee hive is a queen bee. Since her well-being is linked to the well-being of the entire colony, the ability to find her among the residents of the hive is an essential beekeeping skill. In QueenSpotting, experienced beekeeper and professional "swarm catcher" Hilary Kearney challenges readers to "spot the queen" with 48 fold-out visual puzzles -- vivid up-close photos of the queen hidden among her many subjects.

QueenSpotting celebrates the unique, fascinating life of the queen bee and chronicles royal hive happenings such as The Virgin Death Match, The Nuptual Flight -- when the queen mates with a cloud of male drones high in the air -- and the dramatic Exodus of the Swarm from the hive. Readers will thrill at Kearney's adventures in capturing these swarms from the strange places they settle, including a Jet Ski, a couch, a speed boat, and an owl's nesting box. Fascinating, fun, and instructive, backyard beekeepers and nature lovers alike will find reason to return to the pages again and again.

Back Jacket

At the Center of Every Beehive Is the Queen Bee

Though she rarely leaves the hive, the queen bee's days are marked by dramatic events, from battles for dominance in the virgin death match to aerial romance in a cloud of drones. Follow urban beekeeper and swarm catcher Hilary Kearney on a trip deep inside the golden, fragrant, buzzing hive for a vivid exploration of the queen bee's fascinating life and domain.

Take the Queenspotting Challenge. Can you find the Queen?