The Wisdom of the Hive: The Social Physiology of Honey Bee Colonies

Book Description

This book is about the inner workings of one of nature's most complex animal societies: the honey bee colony. It describes and illustrates the results of more than fifteen years of elegant experimental studies conducted by the author. In his investigations, Thomas Seeley has sought the answer to the question of how a colony of bees is organized to gather its resources. The results of his research--including studies of the shaking signal, tremble dance, and waggle dance, and other, more subtle means by which information is exchanged among bees--offer the clearest, most detailed picture available of how a highly integrated animal society works. By showing how several thousand bees function together as an integrated whole to collect the nectar, pollen, and water that sustain the life of the hive, Seeley sheds light on one of the central puzzles of biology: how units at one level of organization can work together to form a higher-level entity.

In explaining why a hive is organized the way it is, Seeley draws on the literature of molecular biology, cell biology, animal and human sociology, economics, and operations research. He compares the honey bee colony to other functionally organized groups: multicellular organisms, colonies of marine invertebrates, and human societies. All highly cooperative groups share basic problems: of allocating their members among tasks so that more urgent needs are met before less urgent ones, and of coordinating individual actions into a coherent whole. By comparing such systems in different species, Seeley argues, we can deepen our understanding of the mechanisms that make close cooperation a reality.

Customer Reviews:

How to make a machine that makes honey.......2004-11-06

Thomas Seeley has written an amazing book that will work for many different types of readers at many levels. The book outlines experiments that Seeley did with prepared hives to demonstrate the system dynamics of how a hive adapts to the resources around it. Seeley's style is easy for a layperson to read with clear charts and pictures. This is a great book to savor; read a chapter, then daydream about how these creatures could be constructed to perform their functions.

I got a lot out of the book. First of all, it's a narrative of Seeley's experimental method; he labels a hive (puts the bees in a hive in a refrigerator, pulls them out one by one and puts identifying tags on each), sets up feeding stations with different concentrations of sugar at different distances, then observes behavior to demonstrate how individual variation in bees optimizes the hive's collection of resources. Second, it's a pretty good introduction to bee physiology and the hive's social system. Seeley describes experiments tracking the individual jobs of bees as they age and, in doing so, he covers how and what the bees do. Third, Seeley reviews and describes the previous literature, giving a history of behavioral study of bees. Finally, he develops his thesis regarding the hive as a system, with parallels to systems theory and studies of hierarchies of organization.

This is a fun read; easy to get through, thought provoking, giving you appreciation for the author's work and for the creatures that are his subject.

One Amazing Book about Bees.......2000-04-22

This is a special scientific book, for the author tells the reader not only WHAT we know about the inner workings of honey bee colonies, but also HOW we know it. Through simple but graceful writing, accompanied by many diagrams, Seeley takes you on a step-by-step journey through his experimental analysis of how the members of a bee colony work together to gather the nectar, pollen, and water that they need. I think anyone interested in seeing how a human has dissected the complex internal organization of a bee hive will find this a rewarding read. I especially liked chapter 6, where Seeley explains that the bees have several kinds of communication dances, not just the famous waggle dance, to activate more bees for making honey.

Average customer rating:

Pheromones of Social Bees
John Brand Free
Manufacturer: Comstock Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science | Subjects | Books

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The Behavior and Physiology of Bees

Manufacturer: CABI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Book Description

One of the most romanticized and written-about regions of Europe, the South of France brings together ancient and modern history, stunning scenery, the unparalleled elegance of Cannes and Saint-Tropez, and the raw, energetic pulse of Marseille. There are remote villages, forgotten churches, and vast cloudless skies; there are legendary restaurants and blue-chip casinos; there are vibrant riverfronts and backstreet city bars; and no one can take travelers closer to the action than Time Out’s team of expert resident writers. Fluent in the language and tuned in to the people and politics of this sun-drenched region, they guide visitors across the map, from the Alps to sea level, not missing a sight along the way. This edition of Time Out South of France features new sidebars, photographs, and introductions, as well as updated listings and maps and a new chapter focusing on cultural background.

Customer Reviews:

South of France book.......2007-01-09

This book is OK; there is a lot on information in here.

Very up-to-date information.......2002-12-05

This guide has really up-to-date information. In addition to quoting all prices in Euros, it also has updated hours for major attractions. It's very useful when going to the Cote d'Azure in off-peak seasons, because you would want to know when the attractions are closed. This guide also has extensive public transportation information, so if you don't rent a car, you will want to have this guide in your hand. The only complaint I have is that the book could use more maps (I strongly recommend getting a comprehensive map for the region you are going). For example, it talks about the village Eze between Nice and Monaco, but then the train only stops at Eze-sur-Mer, which is not on any maps, so you don't know if the two places are close enough to walk or not. Or, it talks about tourist offices in the various towns, and lists the addresses, but there's no map of the town so you can't find those tourist offices. etc.
Overall, it's a good guidebook.

Native North American Spirituality of the Eastern Woodlands: Sacred Myths, Dreams, Visions, Speeches, Healing Formulas, Rituals and Ceremonials (Classics of Western Spirituality)
Average customer rating:

Excellent description and understanding

Native North American Spirituality of the Eastern Woodlands: Sacred Myths, Dreams, Visions, Speeches, Healing Formulas, Rituals and Ceremonials (Classics of Western Spirituality)

Manufacturer: Paulist Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Cultural | Anthropology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

Spirits of the Earth: A Guide to Native American Nature Symbols, Stories, and Ceremonies

Walk with Spirit, a Native American Approach to Spirituality

Circle Of Life: Traditional Teachings Of Native American Elders

A Medicine Woman Speaks: An Exploration of Native-American Spirituality

Native Meso-American Spirituality (Classics of Western Spirituality)

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RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device

Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)

ASIN: 0809122561

Book Description

This work makes available for the first time in a single volume a representative collection of the major spiritual texts from the Native American Indian peoples of the East Coast. Elisabeth Tooker, professor of anthropology at Temple University and an editor of The Handbook of North American Indians, presents the sacred traditions of the Iroquois, Winnibego, Fox, Menominee, Delaware, Cherokee and others. What makes this volume so unique is that it gives the reader direct access to the original works (in the words of the Indians themselves) rather than having them filtered through some interpreter. Included here are cosmological myths, thanksgiving addresses, dreams and visions, speeches of the shamans, teachings of parents, puberty fasts, blessings, healing rites, stories, songs, ceremonials for fires, hunting, wars, feasts and the rituals of various spiritual societies.

The Preface to this volume is by William C. Sturtevant of the Smithsonian Institution, who is General Editor of The Handbook of North American Indians.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent description and understanding.......2003-06-08

Anthropologist Elisabeth Tooker has provided here an excellent understanding of Native North American spirituality with this book. Most of the focus is on the southeastern areas of the continent, but that does not manage to detract from the book's ability to convey understanding of what went on in traditional Native American life.

The language is very easy to read and logical, making this very good reading fo a beginner. Indeed, there is almost no technical terminology in thw whole book.

The early part of Tooker's book is devoted to a study of the cosmological viewpoint of the various tribes mentioned in the book. The book shows very clearly how, from the perspective of the Native American tribes, and how myth describe events in the "sky world" ie. the world above Earth. The Winnebago tribe do not base the existence of spirits on sight and hearing, but in terms of what is felt.

The last two-thirds of "Native North American Spirituality Of The Eastern Woodlands" deals with actual Native American rituals. In very clear language, stages of long ritual are described in a way that even a novice on this subject will always be able to understand. At the same time, the rituals are explained very well, with purpose of even such actions as the sluaghtering of deer being well-explained. There is a particularly moving description of what a Winnebago father will teach his child how to reach their "destination" on a spiritual quest via fasting and helping one's fellow men. There are also accounts of offerings of tobacco and other drugs.

On the whole, this work should be read by all interested in Native American spirituality, especially if you have little knowledge.

Eastern Woodlands Indians (Native Americans)

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Eastern Woodlands Indians (Native Americans)
Mir Tamim Ansary
Manufacturer: Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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A Unit About WOODLAND INDIANS (Native Peoples of the Americans) Grades 3-6
Plains Indians (Native Americans)
Southwest Indians (Native Americans)
Northwest Coast Indians (Ansary, Mir Tamim. Native Americans.)
Southeast Indians (Native Americans)

ASIN: 1588104516

Societies in Eclipse: Archaeology of the Eastern Woodlands Indians, A.D. 1400-1700

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Societies in Eclipse: Archaeology of the Eastern Woodlands Indians, A.D. 1400-1700

Manufacturer: University Alabama Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Gathering Hopewell: Society, Ritual and Ritual Interaction (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology)
Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand: American Indian Art of the Ancient Midwest and South

ASIN: 0817353526

Book Description

In Societies in Eclipse, archaeologists combine their current discoveries with insights from anthropology, history, and Native oral traditions to examine the cultural transformation among the eastern Woodlands tribes immediately preceding and following the arrival of Europeans. While the profound effects of European explorers, missionaries, and traders on Eastern Woodlands tribes cannot be denied, the archaeological evidence suggests that several indigenous societies were already in the process of redefinition prior to European contact.

Chiefdoms and Other Archaeological Delusions (Issues in Eastern Woodlands Archaeology)

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Chiefdoms and Other Archaeological Delusions (Issues in Eastern Woodlands Archaeology)
Timothy R. Pauketat
Manufacturer: AltaMira Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

This book sweeps away the last vestiges of social-evolutionary explanations of chiefdoms by rethinking the history of Pre-Columbian Southeast peoples and comparing them to ancient peoples in the Southwest, Mexico, Mesoamerica, and Mesopotamia.

Hunters of the Eastern Forest (Native Hunter Series)

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Hunters of the Eastern Forest (Native Hunter Series)
Stephen Irwin , and J. B. Irwin
Manufacturer: Hancock House Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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Hunting | Hunting & Fishing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0888391757

The Indian Peoples of Eastern America: A Documentary History of the Sexes

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The Indian Peoples of Eastern America: A Documentary History of the Sexes

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Whose Right to Bear Arms Did the Second Amendment Protect? (Historians at Work)
The People: A History of Native America
Awash in a Sea of Faith: Christianizing the American People (Studies in Cultural History)
The Penguin History of the USA: New edition
The Indians' New World: Catawbas and Their Neighbors from European Contact Through the Era of . . . .

ASIN: 0195027418

Book Description

Using the human life cycle as an organizational framework, Axtell has gathered a broad range of 17th and 18th century European documentation on Native North Americans. With its lucid introductions to each entry, suggestions for further reading, and bibliography, this sourcebook is invaluable for courses in history, anthropology, and native American and women's studies.

The Moundbuilders: Ancient Peoples of Eastern North America (Ancient Peoples and Places)

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Great Reference Book
Solid; 3.5

The Moundbuilders: Ancient Peoples of Eastern North America (Ancient Peoples and Places)
George R. Milner , Thames , and Hudson
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand: American Indian Art of the Ancient Midwest and South
Indian Mounds of the Middle Ohio Valley: A Guide to Mounds and Earthworks of the Adena, Hopewell, Cole, and Fort Ancient People (Mcdonald & Woodward Guide to the American Landscape.)
Ancient Cahokia and the Mississippians (Case Studies in Early Societies)
Ohio Archaeology: An Illustrated Chronicle Of Ohio's Ancient American Indian Cultures
Early Art of the Southeastern Indians: Feathered Serpents & Winged Beings

ASIN: 050002118X

Book Description

Nineteenth-century explorers of the American continent were amazed to find great monuments built of earth in the Eastern Woodlands. Thousands of these mounds were discovered in the plains and forests—some up to a hundred feet high, some merely overgrown hillocks, some conical, others flattopped. Speculation was rife as to the identity of the moundbuilders—could they have been Israelites? Romans? Phoenicians? And what meaning might the mounds have held for their creators?

As George Milner shows, research over the last century demonstrates conclusively that the mounds were in fact erected by the Native Americans themselves. In a period ranging from 3,000 BC to the sixteenth century AD, Native Americans quarried tons of earth to form these monuments, which vary widely in location, size, and purpose. Some contained thousands of burials, others served as platforms for chiefs' residences, and many were low-lying "effigy" mounds in the form of serpents, panthers, and other sacred beasts. Many beautiful objects have been found inside the mounds, including artifacts of shell, copper, and mica.

The Moundbuilders covers the entire sweep of Eastern Woodlands prehistory, with an emphasis on how societies developed from hunter-gatherers to village farmers and town-dwellers. Great strides have been made in recent research, and many of the most impressive mounds, such as Poverty Point, Cahokia, and Moundville, are described and discussed in detail. This wide-ranging and copiously illustrated book, complete with a gazetteer of sites to visit, will be the perfect guide to the region for archaeologists and students as well as for the tourist and traveler. 153 illustrations, 20 in color.

Customer Reviews:

Great Reference Book.......2004-11-23

As a teacher of middle school I found this book to be a great reference in class.

Solid; 3.5.......2004-11-23

This is a very good introduction to the peoples who left behind the impressive mounds in eastern North America. This book is pitched at an undergraduate level. Milner provides a chronologically arranged review of the prehistory of eastern North America. He sticks closely to the archeaology of sites and is careful to avoid speculation beyond what the often modest evidence provides. Milner is a workmanlike writer who does a solid job of describing excavations and their probable significance. The illustrations are very good and there is anice appendix describing sites that can be visited. Deficiencies of this book are that there is relatively little discussion of why cultures changed. Were there climactic factors? Some comparisons with other evolving cultures of the Americas could have been enlightening.

Ancient Earthen Enclosures of the Eastern Woodlands (Ripley P. Bullen Series)

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Ancient Earthen Enclosures of the Eastern Woodlands (Ripley P. Bullen Series)

Manufacturer: University Press of Florida
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This collection of essays is designed to revolutionize the way archeologists approach the study of enclosures, clearly illustrating the difficulties in interpreting these sites, and showing that their builders had widely diverse purposes. (Archaeology/Anthropology)

Copper Artifacts in Late Eastern Woodlands Prehistory

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Copper Artifacts in Late Eastern Woodlands Prehistory
Claire Garber Goodman
Manufacturer: Center for Amer Archeology Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Eastern Woodland Indian Designs (The International Design Library)

Average customer rating:

Big disappointment!

Eastern Woodland Indian Designs (The International Design Library)
Caren Caraway
Manufacturer: Stemmer House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Decorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0880450576

Customer Reviews:

Big disappointment!.......2006-01-05

This book is very disappointing. The only color is on the cover and the designs in the book are rather poorly drawn. Beyond the first few pages NO information is given (about individual design meanings or tribal origin.)

This is as amateurish a publication as I have ever seen.

Book Description

This fascinating volume explores the impact of the industrial designer on America, using Toledo as a paradigm of the profound shift from manufacturing based solely on engineering to production involving design and marketing.

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