Honeybee Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper

* In 1999, Marina Marchese fell in love with bees during a tour of a neighbor's honeybee hives. She quit her job, acquired her own bees, built her own hives, harvested honey, earned a certificate in apitherapy, studied wine tasting in order to transfer those skills to honey tasting, and eventually opened her own honey business. *Today, Marchese's company, Red Bee Honey, sells artisanal honey and honey-related products to shops and restaurants all over the country. *More than just a great read and an inspiring story of one woman's transformative relationship with honeybees, (some of nature's most fascinating creatures), the book is also bursting with information about all aspects of honeybees, beekeeping, and honey, from life inside the beehive to the role of the queen, workers and drones; from pollination and its importance in sustaining all life to the culinary pleasures of honey; and from hiving and keeping honeybees to the ancient and venerable practice of apitherapy, or healing with honey, pollen, and bee venom. *In addition, recipes for food and personal care products are sprinkled throughout, supplemented by a detailed appendix of 75 different varieties of honey, with information on provenance, tasting notes, and food and wine pairings. &n

C. Marina Marchese is the founder and owner of Red Bee Honey, which sells honey and natural products to gourmet food shops and fine restaurants all over the United States. (www.redbee.com) Certified by the American Apitherapy Society, she has trained as a honey judge at the University of Georgia and serves on the board of the Back Yard Beekeepers Association of Connecticut. Marina has written for Bee Culture magazine and The Journal of American Apitherapy Society, and Red Bee Honey was the cover story of the American Bee Journal in 2004. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, she is also an award-winning illustrator and designer. Marina lives and tends bees in Weston, Connecticut.