Honey and Venom

Confessions of an Urban Beekeeper

By: Andrew Coté

Narrated by: Andrew Coté

A year in the life of New York City’s premier beekeeper, who chronicles his adventures and the quirky personalities he encounters while spreading his infinite knowledge of and passion for the remarkable honey bee

“Coté’s charming and poignant essay collection delivers the entertainment and smarts required to make real change in how we look at our planet, and ourselves.”—Andrew Zimmern

From the humble drone to the fittingly named worker to the queen herself—who is more a slave than a monarch—the hive world, Andrew Coté reveals, is full of strivers and slackers, givers and takers, and even some insect promiscuity (startlingly similar to the prickly human variety). Written with Coté’s trademark humor, acumen, and a healthy dose of charm, Honey and Venom illuminates the obscure culture of New York City “beeks” and the biology of the bees themselves for both casual readers and bee enthusiasts.

Coté takes readers with him on his daily apiary adventures over the course of a year, in the city and across the globe. In Manhattan, among his many duties, he is called to capture swarms that have clustered on fire hydrants, air-conditioning units, or street-vendor umbrellas. Beyond maneuvering within a metropolitan populace as frenzied as the bees’, Coté is able to escape from the hive mind and the rigors of city dwelling with his philanthropic, international approach to apiculture. Annually, he travels to regions across the world with his organization, Bees Without Borders, where he teaches beekeepers how to increase their honey yield and income via beekeeping endeavors. For Coté, a fourth-generation beekeeper, this is a family tradition, and this personal significance pervades his celebration of the romance and mystery of bees, their honey, and the beekeepers whose lives revolve around these most magical creatures.

Very Entertaining

As a novice beekeeper it was a good mix of bee factoids and interesting stories.

All about the beekeeper

If you are looking for a story about bees and how to manage them, this is not for you. Mr.Coté has a fund of wonderful stories about his businesses in NY and around the word. He has innovation, enthusiasm, and certainly a giant sized ability to self promote. He also has a greatness of heart that shines through. This is a rollicking set of stories that will entertain and amuse you. If you are a beekeeper, he does drop some informational crumbs from his crumpet. I would, however, recommend this fast paced, larger than life, smooth talking beekeeper’s tale for the simple joy of reading a story of an interesting life, well told

Honey and Venom

I’m not a bee keeper but for some reason I was drawn to this book because I do know how incredibly important bees are. Having Andrew narrate his book was especially entertaining with his self effacing attitude to bee etiquette. From explaining drones to the queen’s behavior one can walk away from this book with a more appreciated aspect of how wonderful bees can be. The idiosyncratic characters will put a smile on your face and you’ll long for that delicious sticky ooey gooey golden sweetness especially when toast and butter are part of it.

P.S. I visited Andrew at his stand in Union Square and was immediately corrected on the pronunciation of his last name. But I walked away with a wonderful jar of blueberry honey and a smile on my face. Thanks Andrew.

There are a few entertaining stories in it.

It was ok, less to do with bee keeping and more of a biography. Some interesting stores.

Enlightening journey into the beekeeping realm

Loved this book. I've always been fascinated by honey. This book gives a birdseye view.