Britannica has updated their interface. It is a whole new world out there people! Please take a look at it. Don’t forget that it’s much more than an encyclopedia. It’s got country data, news (from the NYT & BBC), videos, and spotlights. And just in time for fall… the newly revised article on beekeeping!
If I really took the time to read the huge article on beekeeping and watch all the videos and just pay attention in the first place, I could probably start my own colony next spring. Of course, I would insist on being the queen bee cuz of this sen
tence alone, “Back in the parent colony, the first queen to emerge after the mother queen departs with the swarm immediately attempts to destroy the others. “ Heh. Destroy the others. Being a bee sounds like fun. And my first act as sovereign (after I’ve destroyed the others) would be to declare war on some other colony. Thus my empire grows.
My second act would definitely be to get my minions and faithful followers to sting the crap outta this Irishman. In 2005 he attempted to beat the 1998 World Record for the largest bee beard, which was 87lbs worth of bees. That 1998 record was set by Mark Biancaniello of California. USA! USA! USA! For the curious, the guy in the photo was only wearing 60lbs worth. USA for the win!
Returning to bees, colony collapse could have enormous implications for food production and the economy. You can find out about colony collapse from a number of our databases:
- Biological Abstracts for articles from major biology journals
- GreenFile for articles from ecological journals
- Science Reference Center for both journals and magazines
- Encyclopedia of Life Science
Now that I think about it, you could save a ton of time by just searching in Summon (a Google-like search of library resources).
Where was I? Oh yeah, queen bees destroy others. Good stuff.
