Bee hunting, an exhilarating outdoor activity that used to be practiced widely but which few people know about today, can be a thrilling encounter with nature that challenges both the mind and body.

Join Thomas D. Seeley, the Horace White Professor in Biology in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell, for a Chats in the Stacks book talk about Following the Wild Bees (Princeton University Press; May 3, 2016).

Seeley, a world authority on honey bees, vividly describes the history and science behind this lost pastime. After he captures the honey bees and feeds them, he releases and follows them back to their secret residences in hollow trees, old buildings or abandoned hives. His book gives us new insights into the remarkable behavior of bees living in the wild, while also providing a unique meditation on the pleasures of the natural world. The popularity of honey bees has skyrocketed over the past decade, and Following the Wild Bees provides an excellent guide for learning the craft of bee hunting.

Thomas Seeley is also the author of Honeybee Ecology (1985, Princeton), The Wisdom of the Hive (1995, Harvard), and Honeybee Democracy (2010, Princeton). 

Light refreshments served and books available for purchase.

The book talk series at Mann Library is supported by the Mary A. Morrison Public Education Fund.