What We Are Reading Today: Bees of the World

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Updated 19 February 2023
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What We Are Reading Today: Bees of the World

Author: Laurence Packer

When many people think of bees, they are likely to picture the western domesticated honey bee, insects that live in large, socially complex societies inside a hive with a single queen and thousands of workers. But this familiar bee is just one of more than 20,000 species of bees—and almost none of the others is anything like it.

In “Bees of the World,” Laurence Packer, one of the world’s foremost experts on wild bees, celebrates the amazing diversity of bees—from size and appearance to nests and social organization.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘California Amphibians and Reptiles’

Updated 19 February 2026
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘California Amphibians and Reptiles’

Authors: Robert Hansen & Jackson D. Shedd 

California is home to more than 200 species of reptiles and amphibians that can be found in an extraordinary array of habitats, from coastal temperate rainforests with giant redwoods to southeastern deserts offering dazzling wildflower displays each spring. “California Amphibians and Reptiles” covers every species and subspecies in this biodiverse region of the United States, with outstanding color photography and in-depth species accounts that draw on the latest findings on taxonomy and distribution.