Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Keeping the Bees

Keeping the Bees: why all bees are at risk and what we can do to save them by Laurence Packer 2010

“During the winter of 2006-07 over 40% of the bee colonies in the U.S. were lost.” The main reason was colony collapse disorder – the mass disappearance of bees during winter months. The author suggests that CCD is not the only cause of the decline of the bee and cites other detriments such as: pollution, global warming, environmental disturbances, habitat fragmentation and pesticide use. These are some of the main threats to the 19,500 known species of bees in the world. This book about bees – facts and myths- is also about what we can do to save them. Laurence Packer is currently a professor at York University in Toronto. The proceeds from sales of this book go to support research on bee conservation.