Charles D. Michener,
Johns Hopkins University, 2715 North Charles
Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
2000, 913 pp. Hardcover
Price: $135.00, ISBN: 0-8018-6133-0

As it says on the leaf, C. D. Michener is the world’s leading authority on bee systematics, and this is a long-awaited compilation of his information on bees collected throughout a long and meritorious career. The book is divided into 119 chapters, although some of them are less than one page. In a time-honored form for communicating to audiences, he uses the first chapter to describe what he is going to tell us. He then proceeds to do so in fine style, with readable text bolstered by excellent drawings, photos, electomicrographs, and simple cladograms.

Chapters 2-8 address several specific aspects of the biology of bees: their importance, solitary versus social species, floral relationships, nest and food storage, and the parasitic or robber bees. Chapters 9-29 are a crash course on the systematics, evolution, and biogeography of bees including one chapter on fossil bees. Throughout, technical terminology is highlighted, defined, and, in some cases, labeled on simple anatomical drawings. Chapters 30 - 35 lead into the major portion of the book, the keys, by explaining how they are organized and some problematic taxa. Chapters 36 - 119 are the keys arranged by family, subfamily, and tribe. Each chapter also includes discussions on distribution, nesting habits, and appearance for each distinct grouping of species. The Literature Cited section includes 2,500 items, spanning almost 2 centuries (the oldest I found was Latreille, 1802). There is no Glossary, but an index of terms guides the reader to the definitions included in the text. The Index of Taxa is extensive and provides excellent access to many specific groups or individual species.

This is a wonderful volume for both the serious taxonomist and the dilettante. Open it almost anywhere, and there is interesting information. Michener takes great care to explain what he is doing and why he is choosing to do it this way and indicates who else has contributed to the section. As a collection of keys for bees of the world, this book is unparalleled and should remain so for a long time. My only complaints were that there were too few of the fine color photos, and the small type was difficult to read for long periods, a consequence, I am sure, of the balance between size of the book and quantity of information included. Even with the smaller type, it is 913 pages.

In the Preface, Michener ruminates over the timing of this book, concerned that so much of the dynamic current activity in the field will not have a chance to be included. I, for one, am very glad to see his book in print at a time when my own interest in bees is expanding well beyond Apis mellifera, my research organism of choice. Enjoy!

Anita M. Collins
Bee Research Laboratory, ARS USDA
Building 476 BARC East,
Beltsville, MD 20705
American Entomologist
Vol. 47, No.2, Summer 2001