The Dutch bees

By the publisher:

Bees are known as industrious insects that produce honey. However, there is only one species of bee that does so: the honey bee. Few people know that there are 357 other bee species in the Netherlands besides the honey bee, such as mask bees, silk bees, sloth bees and bumblebees.

Apart from their common preference for flowers, each species of bee maintains very different habits. One collects pollen on dandelions, the other on meadowlarks. Some dig nests in the ground, while others nest in empty snail shells. This diversity can be found everywhere, even on balconies in the middle of the city, where mason and wallpaper bees do their chores. For the first time, all knowledge about Dutch bees is now bundled in one magisterial book.

The bees could use some attention, because they are not doing well. As many as 138 species have declined in their distribution and 34 of them have now even completely disappeared from the Netherlands. This is worrying, because bees perform an important function as pollinators of flowers, both in nature and in agriculture and horticulture.

Therefore, now all attention to over 350 species of Dutch wild bees in volume 11 of the acclaimed series `Netherlands Fauna`. Dutch Bees is an indispensable source of information for nature and insect lovers, entomologists, policy makers, managers, farmers, beekeepers and beekeepers.

The year 2012 was the Year of the Bee. Bees play an indispensable role for humans and nature. Worldwide, bee populations are in bad shape. If more people know about bees, together they can help better protect these insects.