In this richly illustrated guide, Bees of Costa Rica, leading bee experts showcase the diversity of bees in Costa Rica and the myriad ways in which they interact with flowers and people.
Costa Rica is home to 117 bee genera and approximately 700 bee species. Focusing on the five bee families present in Costa Rica, the authors describe the bees' general physical traits, foraging and mating behavior, and nest characteristics. Chapters cover the relationships between bees and other insects, profiles of plants pollinated by bees, and practical suggestions for bee conservation.
With identification keys and more than 150 colour photos, Bees of Costa Rica is essential for anyone looking to learn about and protect these important pollinators in Costa Rica and beyond.
Originally published in Spanish in 2021 by Editorial UCR as Abejas de Costa Rica.
"Distilling more than fifty years of the authors' intense fieldwork into a beautifully illustrated and readable natural history, Bees of Costa Rica is a must-have for travelers who want to meet the bees that give us landscapes filled with orchids, mass-flowering trees, tropical orchards, and coffee plantations."
– Peter Bernhardt, Missouri Botanical Garden, coeditor of Darwin's Orchids
"With hundreds of stunning images, Bees of Costa Rica treats readers to a tour of Costa Rica's splendid bees and flowers, introducing a myriad of other pollinators, predators, and freeloaders of the system along the way. Paul Hanson and his coauthors outdo themselves with this must-read, timeless book."
– Justin O. Schmidt, author of The Sting of the Wild