The Bees

I was very lucky to win this in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. As in other cases, I may not have read this book otherwise, and I feel really fortunate to have come across such a cool book! I received an advance reading copy, so it had its share of typos and errors, and I didn't realize at first that the author is English, so some words are different, but not by much. That out of the way, this is a really cool book, and, I think, a great accomplishment.

I didn’t know too much about bees, though reading Bernd Heinrich’s “The Homing Instinct” helped me appreciate this book even more. We get a very good sense of their life history, not like the dumbed-down, anthropomorphized bugs in those silly movies. There is understandable dialogue, but these vicious bees will be bees. They have a strict hierarchy, with deeply ingrained rules and laws. The analogies to religious structure really intensify the story-telling. Their labor is divided by kin, such as the Thistle guards, Teasel nurses, and Sage Priestesses; they even have their own police. The male Drones are crass and unapologetic, and all of the hive’s bees, save the Queen, are unforgiving in their instincts. Our hero, Flora 717, is a sanitation worker, looked down upon by higher ranking bees, though she gets to experience others' roles and much more.

Reading this book, you can appreciate where the expression "busy as a bee" comes from. Their means of communication are especially fascinating: the collective “Hive Mind”, danced directions, history told through vibrations or scent molecules, and long memory set in wax. The antennae-to-antennae transfers are curious, as is the fact that they can open and close the appendages depending on how willing they are to share – or hide – their knowledge. They speak with other invertebrates in a common ancestral language, and the interactions with vertebrates are very well thought-out. Crows are especially fearsome, and the influence of humans is a fresh perspective. The author has done screenwriting as well, which may be why the action scenes are so strong. “The Bees” is a fast and super fun read, and if you want to get inside the mind of these little pollinators, I highly recommend this book!