Only I could accidentally read a series of books on the wonderful lives of insects in the wrong order. I’ve recently finished A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson, after reading one of his more recent books A Buzz in the Meadow some time ago. Oh well, such as life! Before reading A Sting in the Tale, like many people I haven’t really paid much attention to bumblebees, other than recognising when they buzz past on their was to collect pollen or nectar, and take it back to the hive. Now though, I have a wealth of new knowledge about them, including how to differentiate different species (if they stay still long enough to enable that).

I know that some people consider Dave Goulson’s work as somewhat of a revival in nature writing, despite the fact it has long been with us. I think what separates his writing from that of others is the wealth of knowledge and research he has conducted on this animals, to be able to bring them to life and to produce a book that really fights in their corner. It’s a shame that to some people bumblebees are the enemy, I’ve never seen them that way and after reading this book, I’m sure I never will. The most surprising fact that I found out whilst reading A Sting in the Tale, it wasn’t until very recently (the 1980’s) that people had figured out how to mass-produce bumblebee nests for commercial purposes.

Bumblebees often get overlooked by their more ‘hip’ cousins, the honeybees, despite the fact that there are some plants that honeybee’s can’t pollinate – such as tomatoes, which require bumblebees. Therefore, I feel this is a book for anyone who wishes to broaden there knowledge on British wildlife, or insects. One of the things to look out for is when Dave Goulson incorrectly uses the word poisonous to describe venomous snakes and spiders, other than that it is a flawless and enjoyable read.

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