Book review

Beekeeping: A practical guide for southern Africa. (2005) 2nd edition, Aardvark Press

Authors: D Marchand & J Marchand-Mayne

Reviewed by Dr Garth Cambray

Beekeeping is becoming fashionable - a way of showing that you are in touch with nature, a little bit self sufficient, maybe even 'sensitive'. Dominique Marchand and Jenny Marchand-Mayne have done a lot to build this wave of beekeeping interest, and their latest edition of Beekeeping: A practical guide for southern Africa (2005 - Aardvark Press) is an excellent starting point for anybody wanting to journey out into the exciting world of apiculture.

The book is logically structured and well edited - this is important as in a fact filled book of this size, it means that the book provides a firm foundation of knowledge that is not easily misinterpreted.

The first few chapters deal with the basics of bee biology and beekeeping, and once covered, these topics then form a firm foundation on which detailed explanations of various hive products and their sources and markets are discussed. Throughout the text useful diagrams and tables illustrate the content of the text. A very handy inclusion takes the form of an apiary (beehives grouped together - this definition is from the useful beekeeping glossary in the book) inspection sheet, as well as examples of pollination contract sheets. At our business, Makana Meadery, we will definitely make use of both of these as they are well drawn up. A number of extremely easy to read tables provide descriptions of common nectar plants and their flowering times. Another provides a useful guide to the number of hives to place per hectare for various commercial crops, such as citrus and cherries.

More specialised topics covered include queen rearing, pollination and common bee diseases. The section on queen rearing provides an excellent description of a method developed specifically for the difficult Cape Honeybee (Apis mellifera capensis), but which will also work for the African Honeybee (Apis mellifera scutellata). There is also a section on Kenyan top bar hives, for those interested in subsistence beekeeping.

A cute inclusion are boxes at the end of each chapter with San (Bushmen) anecdotes about bees. In some cases illustrated and in other cases not, which all provide an insight into how bees are so important to us all.

This book will benefit beekeepers throughout Africa, and also in South America where our bees are now dominant. I think it would definitely be worth modifying slightly and translating into French, Portuguese and Spanish to spread its impact to these areas as well.

All in all an excellent handbook that will benefit both the seasoned beekeeper and the beginner, and will definitely help the beginner become a seasoned beekeeper. One of my mentors in science has always said 'A day in the library can save a whole year in the lab.' In that light beekeeping is a science, so the more you read the more you will learn from your mistakes, and the better the books the more unique your mistakes will be as you can learn by reading about and avoiding the mistakes of others, including experienced beekeepers and educators such as Dominique and Jenny, the authors of this book.

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