QueenSpotting: Meet the Remarkable Queen Bee and Discover the Drama at the Heart of the Hive.

Review by Stephanie Breed, Visitor Center

At 127 pages, QueenSpotting by Hilary Kearney is a compact little book that explains the social structure inside a honeybee colony. Worker bees (the females) have many jobs in and outside the hive. They are housekeepers and babysitters, food handlers and comb makers. As they age they become field bees - collecting nectar, pollen, water and tree sap. Drones (the males) are important for their ability to mate mid-flight with queen bees. Despite their short lifespan, they are helpful in regulating the temperature of the hive. The queen is the largest bee in the colony. She can live up to 5 years and lay 1 million eggs in her lifetime. Queens come in a myriad of colors: red, blond, black or tiger striped. The practice of identifying the queen is invaluable for the beekeeper when dividing the hive, requeening or containing a swarm

Throughout the book are close up photographs of honey bees at work. The challenge is to find the queen, a “Where’s Waldo” type of game. The queen becomes harder to find in the 48 images. The author gives clues by explaining hive behavior and providing anecdotal accounts of queen bees she has had to locate in the field.

This book is tailored toward the backyard bee keeper, or for those who would like to know more about honey bee hive activity. Young readers could be startled about frank bee defense and mating mechanisms. They will enjoy the challenge of finding the elusive Queen Bee. Available at the Visitor Center.