Ever since men first hunted for honeycomb in rocks and daubed pictures of it on cave walls, the honeybee has been seen as one of the wonders of nature: social, industrious, beautiful, terrifying. No other creature has inspired in humans an identification so passionate, persistent or fantastical.

The Hive recounts the astonishing tale of all the weird and wonderful things that humans believed about bees and their ‘society’ over the ages. It ranges from the honey delta of ancient Egypt to the Tupelo forests of modern Florida, taking in a cast of characters including Alexander the Great and Napoleon, Sherlock Holmes and Mohammed Ali.

The Hive is also a history of ideas, taking us through the evolution of science, religion and politics, and a social history which explores the bee’s impact on food and human ritual.

In this beautifully illustrated book, Bee Wilson shows how humans will always view the hive as a miniature universe with order and purpose, and look to it to make sense of their own.