Apicoltura in Sardegna. La storia, le api, i mieli

Floris, I. and Satta, A. 2009. Hard back 200 pp. Large format. Full colour throughout.(Printed in Italian Text) (Beekeeping in Sardinia. The history, the bees and the honeys) This a beautiful coffee-table book but it has so much more than just a decorative purpose. The first section puts beekeeping into the historical perspective of Sardinia and deals with different types of hive, honey and wax harvesting and techniques of bee management in the traditional hives and those used in present day frame hives. The next section looks at the biology of the bee, the development of the colony and the enemies of the bee. Many hand drawn and beautifully painted illustrations give useful and novel insights into the much studied life of the bee. The final section looks at Sardinian honey and the plants that create the wonderfully varied honey harvest of the island. Again plants are illustrated with the most delicate watercolour drawings.