Dancing with Bees: A Journey Back to Nature THE SUNDAY TIMES BEST NATURE WRITING BOOKS 2020

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A naturalist's passionate dive into the world of bees of all stripes--what she has learned about them, and what we can learn from them. Dr. George McGavin, president, Dorset Wildlife Trust; honorary research associate, Oxford University Museum of Natural History As something of an armchair naturalist, I have read several books about bees so I was excited to receive a free copy of this audiobook for review. Dancing with Bees is an antidote to the reality of modern life that's spent nose down in our smartphones while the wondrous stuff – nature – goes on all around us. Brigit Strawbridge Howard chronicles her own journey of reconnecting with the natural world with heartfelt eloquence. Her descriptions of the creatures, plants, and landscapes that populate her journey are made with the unabashed joy of someone for whom a veil has been lifted, revealing a world to be cherished but also in great need of our protection." Dancing with Bees is an antidote to the reality of modern life that’s spent nose down in our smartphones while the wondrous stuff—nature—goes on all around us. Brigit Strawbridge Howard chronicles her own journey of reconnecting with the natural world with heartfelt eloquence. Her descriptions of the creatures, plants, and landscapes that populate her journey are made with the unabashed joy of someone for whom a veil has been lifted, revealing a world to be cherished but also in great need of our protection.” —Matthew Wilson, garden designer; author; panelist, BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time

And so we can learn much about bees as bee lovers when we read this book as well as a wealth of information about other pollinators, wildlife and wild plants which all contribute to the world of bees and demonstrate the incredible connectedness in nature and how different species support and compliment each other. There are many wonderful observations and stories which you can glean from the enchanting chapter headings such as Bees Behaving Badly, The Cabin by the Stream, To Bee or not to Bee, In Praise of Trees, Time for Tea and Cotton Weavers. The largest part of Brigit’s book is taken up with her study of bumblebees and solitary bees with a few interesting characters thrown into the mix. From her allotment and her walks mainly around the Shaftsbury area of Dorset, she talks about the habitats and flowers which each species like, followed by wonderful descriptions about the bees that she spots. There’s also information about their mating and breeding habits. Embarking on her studies, Brigit found that in some cases, it could take a whole day to identify one single bee and so a deep dive into biological taxonomy followed. Here we learn much about the way species are categorised, providing a fascinating insight into the meaning of names given to different species and how they are broken down and organised. Drilling down to the minutiae of every single bee, however, proved to be a somewhat laborious task and another more immediate and satisfying solution for bee identification came to the fore. Since rediscovering the awe and wonder I felt for the natural world as a child, I have been blessed with the ability to see miracles in everything around me, every single day, no matter what horribleness is happening in my world or the wider world, I feel blessed in the knowledge that I can find solace, refuge strength and joy in an instant, just by stepping outside.” It’s taken me ages to read this book, not because It’s an arduous read or I’m a slow reader, but because I’ve been poring over the words and descriptions, re-reading sections, immersing myself.We are handed a lens—light, bright, beautiful things come into focus. Brigit’s flare for observation and description, passion for knowledge, and ease with communication involve us in adventuring through the looking glass to explore with her the intimate life of wild bees. Gently, this timely book reminds us that nature is in trouble and that we must all join the dance.” —Sue Clifford and Angela King, founding directors, Common Ground

Birgit Howard nimmt einen mit auf eine Reise durch die Natur. Vor allem auf eine Reise durch die Bienenwelt. Sie zeigt bzw. erklärt einem unterschiedliche Arten von Bienen, Hummeln, etc. und geht darauf ein, wie man die kleinen Helferlein schützen und unterstützen kann. Außerdem spricht sie darüber, wie man die Welt um sich herum wieder bewusster wahrnehmen kann, da vielen dieses Gefühl irgendwo auf ihrem Weg verloren geht. A solitary Red Mason bee, working all alone, can pollinate as many flowers in an apple orchard as over one hundred honeybees. (Those honeybees being an imported, ‘managed’ species not originally native to the location). Auch schön: Selbst wenn man, wie die Autorin, irgendwann einmal den Bezug der Natur etwas verloren hat, so kann man sich jederzeit wieder dafür interessieren und etwas bewirken. Die Autorin selbst ist das beste Beispiel.

Ultimately I think I went into this book expecting more bee facts and more introspection on our relationship with nature. I think this is overall a relaxing and quaint book that fills a niche. Ab und an schweift die Autorin ein bisschen sehr weg von den Bienen hin zur Natur, und der einen oder den anderen wird das stören - ich empfand es aber eher als Bereicherung, wenn sie von Nutz- und Blühpflanzen schreibt, vom Leben der Bäume, von Kräutern und Unkraut, oder aber von anderen Tierchen wie Motten oder Spinnen. Zum Schluss schließt sich der Kreis wieder hin zu den Bienen, und nicht ohne eines großen Bündels an Vorschlägen und Ideen, wie man seine Umgebung mit den entsprechenden Pflanzen oder anderen Maßnahmen (z. B. Patenschaften) bienenfreundlicher machen kann. A naturalist's passionate dive into the world of bees of all stripes – what she has learned about them, and what we can learn from them. These important facts and observations do not in any way overshadow the love story that unfolds between Brigit and the bees she so carefully studies with such tenderness and affection, having rediscovered her connection with nature and having made a commitment to nurture this new awakening and help it to grow. It started with an awareness of bees and the discovery that there are at least twenty five thousand different species of bee. This staggering amount was a surprise to me as well, and even more surprisingly, within this figure, there are only 9 types of honey bee, around 250 bumblebees, 500 or so sting-less bees and a greater number of solitary bees.

Recent research, based on the observation of evening primroses, shows that these plants themselves respond to the sound of bees buzzing. Within just minutes of sensing the sound of a nearby bee, the concentration of sugar in the nectar produced by the plants increases by an average of 20 percent. Incredibly, the flowers even seem to be able to filter out irrelevant noises, such as the wind.

Reading this wonderful book, I’m left with one very large regret: that Brigit Strawbridge Howard lives and writes about nature in Britain rather than in North America. That is, the vast majority of the insects and plants whose stories she tells so compellingly do not exist anywhere near where I live. This was first brought home most starkly by her account of a queen bumblebee on the wing in February! In my part of the world, one is unlikely to spot a flying bumblebee before May. It was frustrating to find myself unable to be present on her treks around the Hebrides, Devon, Malvern and other spots, watching the mating dance of bees and butterflies, potter wasps building their elegant nests, walking past hedgerows, hosts of wildflowers, dozens of bee species unknown hereabouts; and then, the flight song of skylarks, for heaven’s sake! Brigit Strawbridge Howard is an excellent pollinator of information. Dancing with Bees is a book teeming with love: for bees but also for the natural world as a whole and, by extension, for life itself. Everyone who cares about the future of our planet should read it."