Bumblebee Economics

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 288 pages
• Published by: Harvard University Press November 30, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0674016394
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0674016392
• Book Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Weighs: 13.6 ounces

Product Review
This is a remarkable and rewarding book, complementary to, yet in some respects going far beyond, its predecessors. It is highly recommended.
--Caryl P. Haskins (New York Times Book Review 20041218)

Extraordinarythe implications of work such as Heinrich's seem to me more resonant than the promise of a rich harvest of new research.
--Fred Hapgood (Harper's Magazine )

A awesome book that combines the best of both writing and scienceHeinrich has performed a masterful job of sharing his personal research efforts and those of others in his field. He has written an extremely interesting book and in the process has shown how one kind of organism can be used as a model to investigate behavior, physiology, ecology and evolution. Bumblebee Economics should serve as a model for good scientific writing.
--Matthew M. Douglas (Quarterly Review of Biology )

Heinrich is the author of several notable books about nature. This one, first published in 1979, is a classic, a fascinating, readable study of life as organized (sort of) by a most endearing little creature. A new preface summarizes findings of the last quarter-century. A splendid work. (Globe and Mail )

Product Description
"In his new preface Bernd Heinrich ranges from Maine to Alaska and north to the Arctic as he summarizes findings from continuing investigations over the past twenty-five years--by him and others--into the wondrous ""energy economy"" of bumblebees."

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Bumblebee Economics (Paperback) The author explains that Bumble-bee queens (which are not accompanied by a swarm of workers as are Honey-bees), must by themselves select and furnish a nest site, lay eggs and brood the resulting larva and then forage for pollen and nectar - whose sugar provides the energy needed for flying and nest warming. Heinrich brilliantly contrasts the foraging strategies of the bumble-bees with those of the plants which provide nectar and pollen and are in return cross-pollinated. He also explains how the bees control the heat flow from their thorax which contains the flight muscles, depending on whether they need to fly which requires a relatively high thorax temperature, or need merely to crawl, which allows them to dissipate less energy. The book concludes with a large set of references to the entomological literature at the time of publication, and a set of color plates to help in identifying about fifty North and Central American species of Bumble bees.