Seeley, Following Wild Bees

In his new book, Following the Wild Bees (Princeton University Press), biologist Thomas Seeley, a world authority on honey bees, vividly describes the history and science behind a lost pastime: bee hunting. Once practiced widely but little known today, the tradition involves capturing and feeding honey bees, then releasing and following them back to their secret residences in hollow trees, old buildings or abandoned hives. Providing both practical tips and new insights into the remarkable behavior of bees living in the wild, Dr. Seeley’s book also offers a unique meditation on the pleasures of the natural world. As more people become aware of the essential role that honeybees play in our global agroecosystem, in Following the Wild Bees readers will find an excellent guide for learning an old craft and experiencing the rich insights gleaned from close observation of the teeming activity found in our everyday environment outdoors.
Thomas Seeley is the Horace White Professor in Biology in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell and the author of three previous books: Honeybee Ecology (1985, Princeton), The Wisdom of the Hive (1995, Harvard), and Honeybee Democracy (2010, Princeton).

[@thomasmills3934]

This man truly loves what he's teaching. And that fact alone makes me want to learn it...

[@18Bees]

My whole beekeeping experience and approach is molded around everything that I learned from Thomas Seeley. I love the term Darwinian beekeeping.

[@johnnybigpotato2404]

You know you are a geek if you watched the entire thing like I did. :) LOL! Great video! Passing on almost lost traditions are very very important.

[@bee-u-tifuladventures4771]

I am a fairly new beekeeper and am just now finding this video. Great tutorial from Dr. Tom Seeley. Thanks for sharing it. :-)

[@mannlibrary]

You are most welcome! Dr. Seeley will be giving another book talk at Mann Library tomorrow (March 5, 2020). We'll be posting a video of that talk on our channel as well--so stay tuned for more! Thanks for your feedback in the meantime.

[@LogicallyCompromised]

i am happy to report the google algorithm finally got it right, and is now helping me complete my good sir Dr. Seeley honey bee binge. thank you for making this information more accessible and thank you Dr. Seeley for sharing your knowledge and passion with others who find this topic interesting! i am excited to think, i maybe able to find my first wild colony this year in connectciut. peace and long life all!

[@mannlibrary]

We're happy you were able to find this video. Thanks for your interest and good luck finding those wild bees!

[@felipegomez5084]

Great !!!! Súper motivating presentation!!! Thanks a lot for sharing T. Seeley my guru. Kind regards from Chile

[@mannlibrary]

Thanks for your nice feedback Felipe. Will pass it along to Tom Seeley.

[@shibolinemress8913]

Fascinating video!

[@stephpalma]

Tom Seeley says: The surviving bees evolved to be smaller, suggesting these bees might require less time to develop. Since the mites infest nursery cells in hives, the shorter development time may allow young bees to develop into adulthood before the mites can finish their development. Mite-resistant honeybees in Africa are also small and have short development times, Seeley said. -- so what Ed and Dee Lusby always claimed that small cell bees is a requirement for Varroa and disease resistance is true: resistantbees.com/blog/?page_id=3569

[@eco-beehive]

very interesting , thank you

[@mannlibrary]

We're glad you found the video useful!

[@pauldow1648]

As a general rule cutting any tree down should be given considerable thought. Not only do bees live in trees but all sorts of wild life require trees to get along in life. Even unnecessarily trimming branches can take away a nest site or otherwise have untoward impact on naturalness. I like seeley.

[@kwildhunter3037]

It wasn't your way .why not come back wild honey bees .

[@noelhamilton8332]

Get a new camera person please

[@mannlibrary]

Hi Noel--thanks for your feedback! When you get a chance, please do feel free to tell us more specifically what you find is a problem with the camera work and we'll be sure to pass the feedback along. Thanks!

[@flyboy4960]

For Heaven’s sake, he means leave the camera on the slides not on the top of Tom’s head reading the cards!

[@garrisp]

Typical of modern science: kiss ass and go with the flow and you’ll be accredited.