Sweet news: the paperback edition of The Hive Detectives was released this week. You can purchase a copy through your local independent bookseller (click here) or by visiting your nearest brick and mortar bookstore.
Even more sweet news: At the time the new edition went to press, I was able to write a Research Update that included this line: “The most recent survey of U.S. beekeepers indicates that fewer honey bee colonies were lost in 2011-2012 than in the five years prior.”
Not-so-sweet news: Less than a year later, the news is less rosy: scientists and beekeepers now think the winter of 2012-2013 may have been the worst on record for honey bees.
Clearly our honey bees are still in trouble. What can you do? Educate yourself about bees and other pollinators. (The Hive Detectives is a good start, as are the books found here.) If you are a landowner, provide good pollinator habitat. And, of course, consider becoming a beespotter or a honey bee citizen scientist.