A Sting In The Tale

Dave Goulson has always been obsessed with wildlife, from his childhood menagerie of exotic pets anddabbling in experimental taxidermy to his groundbreaking research into the mysterious ways of the bumblebee and hismission to protect our rarest bees.Once commonly found in the marshes of Kent, the short-haired bumblebee now onlyexists in the wilds of New Zealand, the descendants of a few queen bees shipped over in the nineteenth century. DaveGoulson's passionate drive to reintroduce it to its native land is one of the highlights of a book that includes exclusiveresearch into these curious creatures, history's relationship with the bumblebee and advice on how to protect it for alltime.One of the UK's most respected conservationists and the founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Goulsoncombines Gerald Durrell-esque tales of a child's growing passion for nature with a deep insight into the crucial importance ofthe bumblebee. He details the minutiae of life in their nests, sharing fascinating research into the effects intensive farminghas had on our bee populations and on the potential dangers if we are to continue down this path.…