The Honey Bee, A Forest Insect - Introduction -- Living Together in Secrecy -- Squatters in the Beehive -- Defence At Any Price -- The Forest Habitat -- Orientation With All the Senses -- Moving Into the Woodpecker Nest -- Traditional Beekeeping -- Epilogue -- Bee Photography -- Bibliography -- Thank You

The honey bee, a key pollinator, is now an endangered species, threatened by human activity and loss of biodiversity. Because of this, understanding forest-dwelling wild honey bees - which are more resistant to diseases and parasites than honey bees kept by beekeepers - is more important than ever before. In this lavishly illustrated book, Ingo Arndt, one of the world's best wildlife photographers, and Jurgen Tautz, one of the world's leading bee experts, set out on the trail of wild honey bees, bringing back sensational photographs, some of which document behaviors never captured before, and new scientific insights that promise to revolutionize conservation and beekeeping. A remarkable number of wild honey bee colonies still exist, living in hollow trees inside the forest, largely unnoticed by humans. This book explores the fascinating secret world of wild honey bees, including the adaptations and behaviors they have acquired to survive and the new challenges they face today. Featuring incredible macro and wide-angle photographs, some taken from inside hives, Wild Honey Bees is a unique collaboration that documents a major research project and offers critical new insights about these essential creatures