Library News
What books are found in the Australian category? Read on.
Our club library collection is now sorted into 8 categories which reflect the current interests of our borrowing members. The library catalogue is located on our website in the Club Equipment section Beekeeper’s Library<https://actbeekeepers.asn.au/beekeepers-library/>. The library catalogue worksheet has three tabs, sorted by Title, Author and Category.
The Australian category represents publications published in Australia such as, A Guide to Native Bees of Australia by Terry Houston. These books stand alone and do not fit into the Australian Agricultural and Newbie categories. Read more about the seven books in this category here (add hyperlink to new library page).
We have three books about Native bees of Australia. These titles are: A Guide to Native Bees of Australia (Houston), Bees of Australia, A Photographic Exploration (Dorey), and the latest addition to our collection, Australian Native Bees AgGuide (NSW DPI).
A Guide to Native Bees of Australia, a CSIRO publication, provides a detailed introduction to the estimated 2000 species of Australian bees. Australia’s abundant native bees are incredibly diverse in their appearance and habits. The illustrated and stunning photographs book describes the form and function of bees, their life-cycle stages, nest structure, sociality and relationships with plants. It also contains detailed accounts of the five families and 58 genera of Australian bees. “Natural history enthusiasts, professional and amateur entomologists and beekeepers will find this an essential guide.” A couple of pages provide advice on how to encourage native bees into the garden.
Bees of Australia, A Photographic Exploration, a stunning CSIRO publication of beautiful photographs of our divers native bee population. Experience this book while reading Australian Native Bees AgGuide (NSW DPI). A 2016 publication combines the expertise of many of Australia’s leading native bee researchers, into a clear guide to observing and keeping Australia’s broad range of native bee species. Contents include bees as pollinators, urban bee ecology, bee identification and bee biosecurity.
The next sub-group is about flowering native plants which support bee survival. These are, Growing beautiful gardens SW tablelands NSW (Faulkner and Towle), Native trees and Shrubs of SE Australia (Costermans), and Native Trees of the ACT: A field guide (National Parks Ass of ACT).
Growing beautiful gardens SW tablelands NSW, A Goulburn District Beekeepers Club publication is an excellent little guide to creating a bee friendly garden and well suited to Canberra. Comments on Nectar and pollen value, hardiness to drought and frost and main flowering season guarantee success to the amateur gardener.
Native trees and Shrubs of SE Australia is a comprehensive guide covering 900 species. Describing an area that stretches from the Flinders and Mt Lofty Ranges in South Australia, across Victoria and southern New South Wales to the NSW South Coast. This comprehensive and scientific to the keen botanist, re printed many times, our copy is the 2007 edition.
Native Trees of the ACT: A field guide, National Parks Assoc. of ACT, 1990 edition has stood the test of time and has been re published a number of times. This small guide, is a little gem that describes main indigenous to the ACT — Snow gums high in the Brindabellas to Apple box in the disappearing woodlands and Black cypress by the Murrumbidgee River. It’s worth considering purchasing the latest more comprehensive and colourful edition in the future.
The final book in the Australian category is a history titled, Boxes to Bar hives: Beekeeping history in QLD by Weatherhead. This little QLD Beekeeping history published 1986, explores the growth of associations in QLD. The first recorded beekeeping association in QLD was in 1886, 15 members being present at the first meeting. While the introduction of Honeybees to Queensland is not known, it is said they came to Moreton Bay in 1824.
There are many more books published in Australia about beekeeping. You can see some of these in our collection under the Australian Agricultural and Newbie categories.