Seeley and Morse state that "every year families that have reached maturity, when not weakened by disease or mismanagement, experience a natural urge to swarm." Perhaps, then, when bees swarm we should not be surprised or consider it a misfortune. Most beekeeping books, on the other hand, debunk the importance of swarming; yet, if we are to achieve abundant honey harvests, being able to control it is essential. And there is no doubt that in managingfamilies, controlling swarming is at once the most important and the most difficult aspect. The beekeeper should always keep in mind that swarming is simple reproduction: all the complex and innate behaviors encountered in a melliferous bee family are only developed to increase its chances of successful reproduction.

The guide stems from the desire to offer all beekeepers a practical tool, gained through decades of experience in the field, as a beekeeper, in the laboratory, as a passionate pollen producer and trader, and in the classrooms of the many conferences and courses that the author has held throughout Italy over the years. The reader will find therein, illustrated in detail, all the particularities of the "Metalori method," the story of how the idea of designing a new trap came about, and the necessary directions for collecting, preserving and marketing pollen.In the second part of the volume we read original contributions from scientists and doctors who delve into the different aspects of the food use, preservation and even the usefulness of pollen for our organism, the true promise of "nutraceutics," and who make the volume a complete guide unique in its kind in Italy.