Book Review: The Bees in Your Backyard

I am behind on reading with the holidays, but I am finally getting around to looking at some new books sent to me by Princeton University Press.

I have reviewed several books about bees in the past year, so it might seem another one would be superfluous. Not so! For those interested in knowing what kinds of bees they have in their yards, this guide, The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America's Bees, by Joseph S. Wilson and Olivia Messinger Carril, will help identify which of the common species of bees you see. There are 4,000 bee species in the US and Canada, but thanks to the key in the introduction, you'll at least be able to sort the bee to the appropriate family, and perhaps to the species.

The book has 900 full-color photos. The chapter on the natural history of bees is fascinating and for those of us who are trying to entice bees to our yards and gardens, there is a fair amount of information on plants and other actions you can take to provide appropriate habitat for your bees. Personally, I liked the little boxes of interesting information set off from the main text--a lot of interesting tidbits there.

This book was published December 16 and can be purchased from Princeton University Press for $29.95. I checked Amazon, and it is available there in both paperback and kindle versions for a few dollars less. Remember our local charities by purchasing through smile.amazon.com.