Bee Roselynn Fisher Verlyn Klinkenborg by Rose-lynn Fisher; Verlyn Klinkenborg 9781568989440, 156898944X instant download after payment.

Of the ten million or so different species of insects on our planet, none is more fascinating than the honeybee. One of the oldest forms of animal life still in existence from the Neolithic Age, bees have been worshipped and mythologized since the beginning of human history. Known popularly for their industriousness ('as busy as a bee') and highly valued for their role in agricultural pollination (every third bite we take depends on them), bees are now kept by a quarter-million beekeepers in the US alone.

Honeybees were the first creatures examined by 17th c. scientists whose primitive microscopes suggested a complex system of construction. Now, magnified hundreds to thousands of times with a latest generation high-res scanning electron microscope, honeybees appear as architectural masterpieces—an elegant fusion of form and function.

Melding art and science, photographer Rose-Lynn Fisher puts this modern tool to creative use in order to reveal the microscopic majesty of these natural wonders. Comprising 6,900 hexagonal lenses, their eyes resemble the structure of a honeycomb. Its exoskeleton is fuzzy with hairs that build up a static charge as the bee flies in order to electrically attract pollen; wings clasp together with tiny hooks. The honeybee's three pairs of segmented legs are a revelation, with their antennae cleaners, sharp-pointed claws, and baskets to carry pollen to the hive. These visual discoveries, made otherworldly through Fisher's lens, expand the boundaries of our thinking about the natural world and stimulate our imaginations. BEE features a foreword by nature writer and New York Times editorial board member Verlyn Klinkenborg.