Literature of bees

The Department of Special Collections and University Archives houses a wide variety of works from the seventeenth through twentieth centuries exploring the rich history of apiculture. During its early years as the Massachusetts Agricultural College, the library at University of Massachusetts Amherst developed considerable strength in several areas of agricultural literature, and SCUA has continued to build upon this fertile foundation, assembling an apicultural collection that features the most important authors and themes of modern beekeeping.

From its roots in early modern Europe to Enlightenment speculation on the nature society and the inquiries of naturalists and businessmen, the literature on bees has grown and evolved as much as beekeepers themselves.