The Beekeepers Pupil

In 1766, at the age of 15, Francois Huber learns that he is going blind. As the darkness descends, he sets his mind on an extraordinary scientific inquiry into the violent and sexually competitive world of the bee. He teaches his manservant to observe in his place and together they document their astonishing findings, with extraordinary obsessiveness and insight. Set against a backdrop of the scientific and intellectual idealism of the Enlightenment, Sara George's fascinating new novel is a story of passion, knowledge, and human limitations.

Ever since men first hunted for honeycomb in rocks and daubed pictures of it on cave walls, the honeybee has been seen as one of the wonders of nature: social, industrious, beautiful, terrifying. No other creature has inspired in humans an identification so passionate, persistent, or fantastical. The Hive recounts the astonishing tale of all the weird and wonderful things that humans believed about bees and their "society" over the ages. It ranges from the honey delta of ancient Egypt to the Tupelo forests of modern Florida, taking in a cast of characters including Alexander the Great and Napoleon, Sherlock Holmes and Muhammed Ali. The history of humans and honeybees is also a history of ideas, taking us through the evolution of science, religion, and politics, and a social history that explores the bee's impact on food and human ritual. In this beautifully illustrated book, Bee Wilson shows how humans will always view the hive as a miniature universe with order and purpose, and look to it to make sense of their own.

Designed for primary school children in Grades 3–5 in the United Republic of Tanzania, these education modules are inspired by the principles of the “education for sustainable development” (ESD) approach. The ESD approach is based on learning methods that motivate and empower learners to make informed decisions, change their behaviour and take responsible action for environmental integrity, economic viability and a just society for present and future generations, using a more hands-on and interactive approach than standardized education methods. The modules have been developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and the Ministry of Education of the United Republic of Tanzania as part of the project, “Forests for a Sustainable Future: Educating Children”, implemented by FAO and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL).