Look, I gotta be honest with you: it was really hard for me to review this at all because I kept getting distracted by the gorgeous photographs, and exclaiming things to myself like, "Oh, yes, you're <i>very</i> fluffy." What can I say? I'm a sucker for bees, my love and real-life namesake, which was why I picked up this book in the first place. And I guess that's a kind of review by itself, isn't it? I picked up <i>Bees: Heroes of the Garden</i> because I love the little bumblebutts, and I was not disappointed. I wouldn't say I'm a bee aficionado by any stretch, but I know more than your average citizen scientist, and this book did not disappoint. I learned so much! Bees don't have ears! Their fuzz is made of the same thing as their exoskeleton! It also had a lot of solid material for beginners, too, so don't think you have to go into this like me, with a background on the buzzy bois, to appreciate it.

And those photographs. Bees have to be one of the few creatures that only get cuter the closer up you get. So fuzzy! Such antenna! Wow! The colors are vibrant and gorgeous and the captions on the photos had me literally "hmm"ing and "ooh"ing aloud. This would be worth it as a coffee table book alone, but it's also jam-packed with facts, and you know I love a fact.

An excellent all-rounder. Come for the fuzzy bois, stay for the knowledge.

It is important to realize that this book, according to the publisher’s blurb, is “an insightful examination in 190 outstanding colour photographs of mankind’s favourite insect."
You will be disappointed, therefore, if you expect chapters of detailed information on bee species and aspects of a bee’s life cycle. Instead there is a very brief introduction, followed by the most superb photographs which have detailed captions. The best way I can describe it is as an adult’s (or young person's) picture book – a description that is by no means derogatory. It is the most beautiful coffee table book, the sort of book you would browse through and marvel at the photographs and gain interesting insight into bees around the world.

Thank you to the author, publisher, photographers, and Netgalley for the chance to read through this book in exchange for honest feedback.

First, let me say that this book is absolutely beautiful. The photography is top quality and features some really beautiful captures. I loved the cover and thought that this was going to be mostly a book of illustrations with informative text. However, I was delighted to see a mix of media that depcited some beautiful scenes. I think any photographer has tried to get a picture of a bee on a flower. The scene is indicative of springtime, summertime, and nature... it's just really nice to see.

Secondly, the educational nature of this book was valuabe. I liked to learn more about the common creatures we encounter every day, as well as some of the risks that are posed against these valuable insects. I am glad to say that this book was worth the download.

I would suggest this book to anyone with an interest in nature, nature photography, or outdoors. More specifically, the value that I derived from this book stems from a budding interest in gardening. I was glad to learn more about the ways nature works together.

If you like Bees, then this book is very much for you!! There are so many wonderful real pictures throughout the book!! You can see all aspects of a bees life in this book. It goes into everything that you ever wanted to know about a BEE.

BookMark
Debra Gaynor
Bees: Heroes of the Garden
Tom Jackson
Did you know there are 16,000 species of bees? Honeybees, carpenter bees, leafcutter bees, mason bees, mining bees, dwarf bees, and bumble bees. This is an important book for without bees’ humans will not survive. Without bees there would not be agricultural activity, without agricultural activity millions of people and animals will die. Bees pollinate, pollination produces plants, herbivores feed on plants, herbivores are eaten by carnivores. It is a sequence…without bees we die.
A bee’s objective in life is to generate honey. Beekeepers raise honeybees (domesticated bees), the bees make honey, the beekeepers collect the honey, beeswax, pollen, and royal jelly for human use. On an average a bee creates a teaspoon of honey in her lifespan. Bees communicate by dancing. The movement of their wings and bodies tell other bees the direction and distance of nectar.
Recently, I have been interested in Mason Bees and have added a Mason Bee house to our orchard. Unlike the honeybee which works together for the good of the hive, the mason bee is more solitary. They pose very little threat; the male does not have a stinger, the female only stings if trapped or squeezed. Mason bees will lay their eggs in small cavities such as woodpecker holes, insect holes and hollow stems. You can purchase mason bee houses with cardboard tubes/straws.
This book has beautiful photographs and insightful information. The cover does not do this book justice. It is pretty but does not reflect the beauty and information found inside the cover. There are pictures depicting the beauty of the different species, the queen and her court and eggs.

This is a wonderful collection of bee photography. The text accompanying the photos is very informative - it helped me gain a great deal of appreciation and admiration for bees.

I would love to have a printed copy of this book because it's so aesthetically pleasing.

This is such a beautiful book! To begin with, the cover art is spectacular and very eye-catching. Then in reading through the book each photo is so clear and colorful. The photo's are close up photos of different bees and their habitat showing how they carry the pollen back to their hive, the exterior anatomy of different species of bees and some of the beautiful plants they love to pollinate. With each photo is a short description which give many bee facts and descriptions of different species of bee. I could look at this book over and over, just taking it all in. It was an easy read but very informative. Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read #Bees for a fair and honest review,

This book has the most fantastic photographs of bees.
They are fascinating creatures and they have been represented extremely well in this book.
I will be looking at getting a hard copy when I can as looking at it on the app isn't at all perfect.
Stunning images and well written text for those with beginners or intermediate knowledge who is looking for more.

I love this book! I love the photographs, the necessary but just enough information and the design of the book. I never thought it would be so much fun reading and learning about bees. This book made it so simple because the photos make this book look like a piece of art. And it made me want to learn more about bees, and this is always amazing!

The cover doesn't reflect this book very well, since it's composed almost entirely of huge, close-up, beautiful pictures of bees and their unique characteristics. Each photo is accompanied by a paragraph of text and you learn so much about so many kinds of bees and their lives. This would be a great coffee table book. It's beautiful and educational, and just plain interesting.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

This is a gorgeous book of photographs of what is arguably the most important insect on our planet – the bee. Readers will see these marvelous creatures throughout every stage of their life, learn about their importance in our ecosystem and why they, and as a consequence, we, are in trouble in our modern, overcrowded world

The Bees is a lovely books and the photos of the bees are amazing. The photos are really colourful and there is great close up shots of the bees. This book talks about different bees , the hives , how they attach there selfs to the flowers and get pollen, you see photos of the bees eggs. There is lots of photos and there are small amounts of writing that goes with the pictures. The book also talks about the bees anatomy. If you like bees you will love this book filled with lots of information.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tom Jackson for letting me read this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Tom Jackson and Amber Books Ltd for the ARC of Bees Heroes of the Garden. This is my personal review.
Bees Heroes of the Garden is a beautiful book. The photos are stunning. Seeing bees as up close as each photo is makes this book full of information and also a work of art.
The book is filled with information on bees. Bees are so necessary to all of us and this book gives information on how bees are so vital in our lives. This book is filled with everything how bees live together, communicate and so much more information. The different bees shown in the photos gives this book the everything a bee enthusiast will appreciate.

Bees: Heroes of the Garden
Tom Jackson
Publisher: Amber Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781838860868
Number of pages: 224
Dimensions: 297 x 227 mm
**This is an ARC provided by NetGalley for book reviews.**

This book is a coffee-cum-identification book about a number of bee species such as bumblebees, honeybees, leaf-cutter bees, solitary bees, carpenter bees, cuckoo bees, etc. It has a stunning collection of photographs with accompanying descriptive texts. What makes it different from the usual identification field guides is its exploration of bees in various activities other than foraging and flight. For example, you have several photographs of honeycombs, hives in artificial and manmade settings, and nests in natural constructions from different species. Some bees are shown engaging in typical social behaviour like the queen surrounded by her court where she lays her eggs in her brood chamber, feeding differences between bumblebees and honeybees, and burrowing habits of solitary bees. The latter half of the book is dedicated to macro photographs of bee anatomy where you get detailed insight into a bee's wing, eye, sting, etc. Beekeeping methods also grace this glorious collection of bee celebration. If you are a nature lover, a honeybee enthusiast, a nature artist with a penchant for quick sketches and watercolours, a photographer, a field enthusiast, a biologist, or anyone who wants to see how bees function through images without the burden of scientific explanation this is the book for you.

I was provided with a free ARC of Bees courtesy of #netgalley, Tom Jackson and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Bees is an extensive collection of beautiful, intimate photos of bees throughout their lifetime. They are seen as solitary creatures collecting pollen to a working colony at work in the hive. It's amazing the level of detail the photographs collected from the individual particles of pollen collected on a coat to the colour and definition of different parts of their anatomy.

The pictures are colourful, descriptive and focussed. The excerpts that accompany many of them are insightful and informative providing just enough information for the layman to discover something new without being overloaded with scientific jargon. I particularly love the composition of the solitary bees out in the field.

This book would suit photography enthusiasts, as well as nature enthusiasts. It would suit an audience of preteens and older.