The Secret Lives of Garden Bees

A friendly, accessible insight into the weird, but wonderful world of bees in your garden From the common or garden bumblebees that nest in bird boxes, compost heaps and old mouse holes, making Winnie the Pooh' style honey pots to feed their babes, to the quirky wool carder bee; a solitary bee that combs the fluff from garden plants to line her brood cells and the amazing leaf cutter bee that carves chunks out of plant foliage to seal it's egg chambers. This book will reveal the secrets and fascinating lives of the bees that live and breed in your garden, from buzz pollination, to the bee robbers that cheat the plants and steal nectar by stealth. With a chapter per season to explore what you are likely to see in your garden, great plants to grow to help them, plus other fascinating information on these secretive creatures, this book is designed to bring alive the world of garden before your very eyes. AUTHOR: Jean Vernon is the wildlife columnist for the RHS Journal - The Garden. She is a contributor to the gardening section of The Daily Telegraph and has written many articles on bees, beekeepers and the needs of garden bees. Passionate about bees and the environment since a youngster, she is a natural beekeeper and passionate about championing bees of all sorts. It is her mission to unravel, demystify and explain the intricate balance of nature in your garden and to introduce you to the familiar and unfamiliar bees that live, breed and breathe within the garden habitat. 100 colour illustrations