Somerville student, Fergus Chadwick, has co-written a beginner’s guide to bees which is now being sold in bookshops around the world.
The Bee Book was written by five contributors, all of whom are avid beekeepers with different areas of expertise. The book aims to demonstrate how we can best support and benefit from the presence of bees in our gardens.
Fergus, who is a final year undergraduate in biological sciences, specialises in the impact of pesticides on bee behaviour. In part one of the book, Fergus writes about the science and natural history of bees, including their evolution, the diversity of bees, current threats and their ecology.
Following this is a step by step guide to making your garden more bee friendly from Steve Alton, who worked for 13 years at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Next, blogger Emma Tennant writes on beekeeping and honey extractions. Bill Fitzmaurice, who runs candle making workshops, is an advocate of maximising the harvest from his bees and writes on crafting with wax. Finally Judy Earl, who was Chair of Harrow Beekeepers Association, writes on using bee products in home remedies.
The Bee Book was published by Dorling Kindersley, an international publishing company that specialises in creating high-quality illustrated books, and is a beautifully illustrated introduction to beekeeping. It is being sold in most bookstores in the UK and US, and the rights to sell the book have currently been bought in France, French Canada, Spain and the Netherlands.
Fergus will also be doing a talk on bees as an interdisciplinary organism at the Inscite Conference, which takes place on Monday and Tuesday of 0th Week Trinity term (18th and 19th of Apri), at Merton College, Oxford.