Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive, a book by Mark L. Winston

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in sustainable agriculture, gardening, the environment, or ecology. If you love your food, you should also love the bees... not just the honeybee (Apis Mellifera), but wild pollinators that on a bee-for-bee basis, are even more efficient providers of 'ecosystem services.' For example, in northern Alberta where canola is farmed, it was found that peak agricultural efficiency was reached when about one-third of the land was comprised of unmanaged, intact ecosystems. Farmland is that much more productive when fully pollinated.

Backyard gardening enthusiasts will learn about how cultivating species that bloom throughout the seasons benefit both domestic and wild bee populations. Suggestions are also given for providing much-needed habitat for wild pollinators, such as reserving areas of no-till. Pesticides and insecticides are, of course, to be eschewed.

Organizations such as SumofUs are working to ban neonicotinoids, which may help reduce the epidemic of colony collapse disorder, a complex problem that chemicals are unfortunately aggravating. The book does a good job of advocating for bees and explaining complex issues of economics, biology, and ecology.