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Honey Bees of Borneo is a reliable and fascinating guide to one of Borneo's natural wonders: the diversity of honey bees, their intriguing societies and their adaptations to the complex tropical environment. The admirable harmony of their social life, the precision of their combs and the richness of their honey stores are described, as well as the honey bee's defence strategies against strong bears, fast flying birds and minute mites.
An array of unique, spectacular photographs allows the reader to visit the giant honey bees (Apis dorsata) in the canopy of the highest Koompassia trees and witness painful bee stings penetrating deeper and deeper into the skin. Unique in the animal kingdom are magnificent assemblies of thousands of drones which, far from the safety of their nests, circle high in the air waiting for the arrival of a single virgin queen. The outstanding taste and quality honey of indigenous Asian bees is acknowledged and its unjustified degrading by honey standards of the western Apis mellifera is exposed.
Foreword vi
Preface x
Why Study Honey Bees in Borneo? 1
Single-mother Families with Cryptic Fathers 9
Who is Who in Honey Bees? 23
Fossil Ancestors and Extant Relatives of Honey Bees 45
A Phylogeny in Spite of Missing Evidence 53
Tropical mobility 61
Mating Behaviour of Honey Bees and Reproduction 73
Food Communication 115
Food Resources 125
Colony Defence against Predators and Parasites: A Natural Balance 135
Traditional Honey-gathering 189
Keeping Apis dorsata for Honey Production 203
Keeping Apis cerana for Honey Production 209
Importation of Apis mellifera to Borneo 219
Equal Rights for Asian Honey 227
Appendix 1. A Simple Key to Honey Bees (Workers) of Borneo 235
Appendix 2. Useful Organizations and Further Reading 239
Glossary 241
Acknowledgement 247
Index 250
