0:00:02 > 0:00:05Welcome to the world of the honeybee,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08surely one of the most incredible insects on Earth.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Bees have been around since the age of the dinosaurs.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17And human beings have been after their honey for thousands of years.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25They're one of the most numerous species on the planet,
0:00:25 > 0:00:27with literally trillions of individuals.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33So you'd think we'd know absolutely everything there is to know about
0:00:33 > 0:00:37these amazing creatures, but there's still so much more to discover.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40And that is what we are going to do, we are going to lift the lid
0:00:40 > 0:00:46on the secret life of the honeybee as never before in Hive Alive.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00- I'm Martha Kearney.- And I'm Chris Packham. Welcome to Hive Alive.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03We are going to be using cutting-edge technology
0:01:03 > 0:01:06and the very latest science to unravel the mysteries
0:01:06 > 0:01:09of that most iconic insect of the British summer - the honeybee.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15We are back in deepest Somerset.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18It is high summer and the air is thick with bees.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23And what an eventful week they've had.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27Extraordinary dramas have been playing out in our bees' lives.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30We've got our very own hives
0:01:30 > 0:01:34bugged round-the-clock to follow our bees' every move.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Our tagged bees are now out foraging for nectar,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42so we've got our helicopter on stand-by to follow them
0:01:42 > 0:01:46on the most dangerous mission of their lives.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49And we will be weighing our hive to find out if our bees are making
0:01:49 > 0:01:53enough honey to get the colony through the winter.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57We'll also be looking at how the bees interact with our world and
0:01:57 > 0:02:02asking the million dollar question - what have bees ever done for us?
0:02:06 > 0:02:09I'm pleased to say we are joined by our resident bee expert,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Professor Adam Hart. Adam, this week
0:02:11 > 0:02:13it is sex and violence, I can't wait.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14And there is plenty of it in the hive.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16We'll see how the queen mates with literally
0:02:16 > 0:02:20dozens of suitors and how the males die horribly as a result.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23And in the interest of science, I'll find out exactly what happens
0:02:23 > 0:02:24to my body when I get stung.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26- I can't wait for that bit especially.- I can.
0:02:26 > 0:02:27That's the sadist in me.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Now, our bees only have to the end of summer to collect enough nectar
0:02:33 > 0:02:36to make their supplies of honey.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43So, let's go straight to the hives and see how they are doing.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48From the outside, it is all looking good.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53As the bees approach, their bodies are angled downwards.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56This suggests that they are carrying full loads of nectar.
0:02:58 > 0:02:59But let's have a look inside.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05OK, let's get one of these frames out.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08- Let's go for...- It always strikes me as being a bit like safe cracking.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11- Yeah.- There is an art to it, but you are stealing something.
0:03:11 > 0:03:12You have to be very, very gentle,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15but basically, we are stealing from them.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Here we go, let's flip this frame out. Look at that.
0:03:18 > 0:03:19Wow, look at that.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21That's loaded with honey, isn't it?
0:03:21 > 0:03:23Yeah. And don't just look at it, feel it as well.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Feel the weight of that. It has got a real heft to it.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28- Oh, it has! That has got to weigh about a kilogram.- Yeah.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31It is a huge amount. When you think about the colossal amount of work.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34And it is just beautiful. If we just go like that, you can see...
0:03:34 > 0:03:36- Look at it.- That's honey.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38That's not nectar, that is processed honey.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42- Glistening in the sunshine. - Absolutely beautiful.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44That's fantastic, isn't it?
0:03:45 > 0:03:46What a work of art.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50This is honeybee technology, because it is not just the honey
0:03:50 > 0:03:52which is processed from nectar, it is also all this wax
0:03:52 > 0:03:55- they're storing, and they have made that in their wax gland.- Yeah.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57So this is all about storing all that resources.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00They are bottling summer. They are storing summer for the winter.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01Piling in with it.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09What's happening here is when each foraging bee returns to the hive,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13she passes her load of nectar onto one of the younger bees
0:04:13 > 0:04:18so she can head straight back out to the flowers as quickly as possible.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22The younger bee then starts to turn the nectar into honey.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24But she doesn't just put it into the comb and wait,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28it is actually a very sophisticated process.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30- Now, there's one actually doing it. - Yeah.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34- Look, look, there is one depositing honey in the cell as we speak.- Yeah.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Several in fact, look at that.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Well, I say they are putting it in...
0:04:38 > 0:04:40You can see, she's got her mouth part out.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42She is basically regurgitating that nectar, evaporating it.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44So she is processing the honey physically.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47They add an enzyme to it that breaks down the sucrose, which is the
0:04:47 > 0:04:49sugar we put on cornflakes and that you find in nectar,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52into fructose and glucose. That is the first thing.
0:04:52 > 0:04:53They're physically processing it.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56So they are using their mouthparts to evaporate the water,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58to make it thicker and more viscous.
0:04:58 > 0:04:59And they are also lowering the pH,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02so they are making it more acidic, which helps to store it.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07OK, here's a question for you, how much honey can an individual
0:05:07 > 0:05:11worker add to the hive during the course of its foraging period?
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Well, a good forager with a nice, long foraging career
0:05:13 > 0:05:15will collect about a quarter of a teaspoon, which is
0:05:15 > 0:05:18pretty much what is left on your knife when you throw it in the sink.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Oh, no! I'm going to think about that now.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25You are throwing away all lifetime of a bee's effort if you do that.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Yeah. To make a pan of honey, to make a jar of honey, that is
0:05:28 > 0:05:29about two million flower visits,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and it's the equivalent flying of about twice around the world, about
0:05:32 > 0:05:3550,000 miles, and that is just to make one jar of honey.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38You know, this frame is probably about four times around the world -
0:05:38 > 0:05:40100,000 miles of foraging collectively.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43This should be priced, you know, more expensive than gold,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45shouldn't it, for all of that effort?
0:05:45 > 0:05:47The scale of their endeavour, you know,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50- per hive, is quite astonishing, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51This is a colossal factory.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54And it is a factory all about growing new bees
0:05:54 > 0:05:57and this stuff here - storing honey for the winter.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Our hive needs to be making two or three kilos of honey
0:06:06 > 0:06:08every week during the summer
0:06:08 > 0:06:11so the bees will have enough food stored to survive the winter, when
0:06:11 > 0:06:16there are no flowers around and, therefore, no nectar to collect.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Last week, our hive weighed just over 53 kilos,
0:06:22 > 0:06:27so this week we really want it to be around 55 or maybe 56
0:06:27 > 0:06:30if the bees are going to be on course to meet their target.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34But that's not quite what we found.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Now, we have been weighing this hive for the last week,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42hoping that it would have put on weight, in terms of added honey,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44added pollen, but what has actually happened?
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Yeah. Actually, we have seen a decrease in the weight.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48- Can you see that graph there?- Yeah.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50So this first one, don't get fooled by that,
0:06:50 > 0:06:52that's nothing too dramatic.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55That's John maintaining the hives and doing some beekeeping work.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57This second little dip there, though, that is bees leaving.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01This hive swarmed and about two and half kilos of bees left en masse.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03So that's weight of bee loss.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08So three days ago, during the morning,
0:07:08 > 0:07:14around 15,000 or 20,000 bees left the hive in just under an hour.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16That is over half of the colony.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Clearly, our bees didn't leave the safety of their hive without
0:07:23 > 0:07:28a very good reason. After all, they are heading out into the unknown.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30I've witnessed swarms from my own hives
0:07:30 > 0:07:33and often wondered how the bees decide that it is time for them
0:07:33 > 0:07:38to make such a potentially risky move en masse.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41If we think of the colony as a superorganism, with all the bees
0:07:41 > 0:07:43as cells, that organism needs to reproduce.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45And one colony becoming two,
0:07:45 > 0:07:47or swarming as we call it, is how they do it.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51They don't immediately find somewhere to live.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54They rest up in a temporary kind of cluster,
0:07:54 > 0:07:55which is when most people see them.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57And then scouts go out to find a new place to nest.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00When they come back, they'll start doing the waggle dance
0:08:00 > 0:08:01on the outside of the swarm
0:08:01 > 0:08:04so that other bees can go and check out the sites they've found.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07They can spend some hours there, sometimes even overnight there
0:08:07 > 0:08:08if they can't find anywhere.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11And this temporary accommodation, in my experience,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14is usually the most inconvenient place you could possibly imagine.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18I've found myself up a 20-foot ladder against a hawthorn tree, which is
0:08:18 > 0:08:21rather more like an overgrown bush, with, what, you know,
0:08:21 > 0:08:2330,000 bees hanging in front of me,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26trying to cut them off from the branch and get them in a box.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Which is the classic way of getting a swarm.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31To start with, this type of thing looks quite dangerous, but actually
0:08:31 > 0:08:34bees when they're swarming are quite chilled out.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36The queen is in the middle. They don't want any trouble, they
0:08:36 > 0:08:39- just want to find somewhere to live. - Yeah. So in fact, if you see a swarm,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42just contact your local beekeeper and they'll be very glad to come
0:08:42 > 0:08:44and get a hold of these, because for them,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47- it means they've got an extra colony. - It's good for everyone.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50But when our bees swarmed,
0:08:50 > 0:08:55the colony didn't just lose its army of workers. The queen left, too.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01And that left our hive facing a battle for survival.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02So what is next?
0:09:04 > 0:09:09The queen leaving set off an extraordinary drama in our hive,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11which began with a violent
0:09:11 > 0:09:16and deadly struggle to decide who will become the new queen.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21We can't see inside our hive, but here is some amazing footage
0:09:21 > 0:09:25that reveals what goes on when the new queen seizes the crown.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27And it is pretty gruesome.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Several wannabe queens are now emerging.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41One determined bee seeks out her rivals,
0:09:41 > 0:09:46both those who have just emerged and those still in their cells.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51She dispatches them ruthlessly with her special sting.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55A sting she can use again and again.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03Something just like this has been going on inside our own hive
0:10:03 > 0:10:05over the past few days.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09So by now, there is almost certainly a new queen in place.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14But that's not the end of the swarming drama.
0:10:14 > 0:10:15Because at some stage,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18the new virgin queen leaves the hive
0:10:18 > 0:10:22with just one thing on her mind.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Nothing is as astonishing as bee sex.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28This is what happens.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32The drones will leave the nest
0:10:32 > 0:10:37and they will go to what we call a congregation area en masse.
0:10:37 > 0:10:43Up to 25,000 drones might aggregate in one of these places.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48And when a virgin queen arrives, all hell's let loose.
0:10:58 > 0:11:04They swarm after her, and the lucky one gets to drop down onto her back.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08And the whole process of mating is over in just a couple of seconds.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10And it is pretty violent.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Haemostatic pressure forces the penis out of the male's body
0:11:17 > 0:11:21at a tremendous pace and into the abdomen of the female,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25with such force that it quite literally explodes.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38And get this, if you stand beneath one of these congregation areas
0:11:38 > 0:11:42and there is a queen there being mated, the exploding penis is
0:11:42 > 0:11:46so loud that the human ear can hear an audible pop.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48- HE MAKES A POPPING SOUND - ..Goes the penis.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Leaving the head of the penis inside the female to block
0:11:55 > 0:11:57the semen in place.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Each male wants to try and ensure the success of the process
0:12:02 > 0:12:06because, as you probably imagine, with the exploding penis,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09the process is fatal.
0:12:09 > 0:12:15He then falls to the ground, quite literally spent, to die.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18The queen may go on to mate with ten to 20 males,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21sometimes even more.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24And the males which don't get to breed, well,
0:12:24 > 0:12:26they eventually get thrown out of the hive to die.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Sounds harsh, doesn't it?
0:12:28 > 0:12:32You mate, you die. You fail to mate, you die.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37It is the cruel logic of nature which makes sex work for honeybees.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Given that the swarm happened three days ago, it is
0:12:45 > 0:12:48likely that our new queen has already mated.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53So by now, she'll be back in our hive, busy laying thousands of eggs
0:12:53 > 0:12:57every day to replace the bees that left in the swarm.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Outside the hive, the foragers that remain,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02less than half the original number,
0:13:02 > 0:13:06have now gone into overdrive to rebuild the colony to full strength.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Honeybees are driven by one overriding principle -
0:13:11 > 0:13:15to ensure the long-term survival of their hive.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18To do that, they need to make honey, which of course,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21we then harvest for ourselves.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24But when you stop and ask what have bees ever done for us,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27well, it is about a lot more than honey.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Meet Gareth Baker. He is a beekeeper,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36but on a rather grander scale than I am.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38For him, it is a living.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45All through the spring and summer, Gareth and his bees are on the move.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49And what they are about to do has a major impact on our shopping baskets.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55On his Herefordshire fruit farm,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59James Waltham is keenly awaiting their appearance.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02The arrival of the honeybee hives feels like the start of spring
0:14:02 > 0:14:05and the promise of a good harvest to come.
0:14:05 > 0:14:06When the blossom arrives,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09we know that we need to start introducing the bees.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11The blossom on its own is actually a false promise,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13cos without full pollination, it means nothing.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18And that's where our bees come in.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Without the help of honeybees and other pollinators, Britain's
0:14:22 > 0:14:26fruit crops would never be able to reproduce on such a massive scale.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33And no reproduction means no fruit in our fruit bowls.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Gareth's bees have arrived at their destination.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44- Hiya, James.- Hey, Gareth, how are you?- Not too bad.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46- The strawberries up at the top? - Yeah, just around the corner.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48- OK.- Cheers, thanks.- Thanks, James.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56What we have got to do with these, before we bring them in,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58is have a quick look and make sure
0:14:58 > 0:15:00they're fairly quiet.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02Because as you'll see,
0:15:02 > 0:15:07the proximity to the hive to pickers and workers is relatively close.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13So my bees need to work at the same time as those guys do.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19The one thing that always amazes me -
0:15:19 > 0:15:21you put them down, then you'll see them
0:15:21 > 0:15:24all sort of hovering around the hive entrance, orientating,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28getting to grips with position of the sun, the hive, landmarks.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32But it doesn't take long, literally five minutes later,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34they are back with a load of shopping.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37And that's what bees do, they just don't stop.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39They just get on with the job.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43And it is not just fruit.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47Up and down the country, and indeed all over the world, a hidden
0:15:47 > 0:15:51army of billions of honeybees is helping to put food on our plates.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Martha, I'm going to be very honest with you.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00This is not a typical example of the crisp weekly shop.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02It is devoid of expensive microwave meals.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05- No takeaways either.- No takeaways.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10But what it does have - a collection of things which bees offer us,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14through the process of pollination, and a few that they don't as well.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Well, we can see if we start taking things away that are created
0:16:17 > 0:16:20by the bees, pollinated by the bees, it is going to be a dull old world.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23- I'm going to go for an easy one first of all. Obviously, honey.- The honey.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26- That would be tragic for me, losing the honey.- OK.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Well, tragic for me, because I'm a furtive cleaner, would be
0:16:29 > 0:16:31the beeswax in spray and other form.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Because that, obviously, comes from the bees themselves.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38And some low-hanging fruit here. Obviously, no apples.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41I mean, the apple tree in my garden was filled with honeybees in there.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Exactly. And other fruits from other parts of Europe or the world -
0:16:44 > 0:16:47the orange, I'm sure there is a lemon in here. Yeah, another orange.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Oh, lemon-blossom honey is fantastic. I brought some back from Italy.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53- Absolutely delicious. - Too posh for me. You don't
0:16:53 > 0:16:56get that in the supermarkets where I go to get my microwave meals.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Then, of course, strawberries. I do buy these on the side of the road.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Good English strawberries, bee pollinated.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03- Fancy not being able to eat those cos there weren't bees.- Oh, God.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06- I knew you were going to do that. - Mm.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08And then we have got our vegetables, of course.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10In fact, the whole of this garden behind us,
0:17:10 > 0:17:12I mean, that would be gone, wouldn't it? Most of it.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15The lettuces, we can see the beans, broad beans, all that...
0:17:15 > 0:17:18- That would all be gone.- And all the flavouring with these herbs.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20- Yeah, the chives, you're right. - They wouldn't prosper either.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24Indirectly, we have got the things that are made from fruit.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27So our preserves, jams, marmalades, they'd have to go.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30And down here, slightly obscure but nevertheless, mustard.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Mustard flowers are pollinated by bees, so we'd be short of that.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Which would be a great shame.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36- And that just leaves us with our beverages.- Our beverages.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40- So what've we got here? We've got coffee.- Mm-hm.- We've got tea.- Yeah.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44- Well, tea isn't insect pollinated, but coffee is.- Coffee, oh, right.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47That's a bit of a disaster for people at breakfast, isn't it?
0:17:47 > 0:17:50So all we've got left is the bread, the tea and some rice.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54- Rice, which is wind pollinated, I guess.- Mm-hm.- And pasta.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57I mean, I like pasta, but pasta without tomato sauce?
0:17:58 > 0:18:02It's not going to be a very tasty or nutritious diet at all, is it?
0:18:02 > 0:18:05It'd be a boring old world, wouldn't it, if this was our food.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Life for a worker bee is far from boring.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17They are constantly changing their roles throughout their lives.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21So, to find out how this works, we tagged two sets of newly emerged
0:18:21 > 0:18:26bees two weeks apart - 100 with red tags and 100 more with white ones.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27Last week,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30the younger white-tagged bees were doing all sorts of different
0:18:30 > 0:18:33roles inside the hive,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37everything from nursing the young to making honey - whilst the older,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40red-tagged bees were heading out to forage for nectar.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42The question is, how are they doing now?
0:18:44 > 0:18:47- Hello, Adam.- Hi, Chris. - Back at the observation hive.
0:18:47 > 0:18:48It's glass on the sides
0:18:48 > 0:18:50so we can see inside and exactly what the bees are doing.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53- What are they doing at the moment?- Superb timing, Chris.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Right in the entrance is one of our red-marked bees.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58This is one of the bees we marked last week
0:18:58 > 0:19:00just coming back into the hive here.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02I was pretty concerned that we'd lost quite a lot of them,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04we couldn't see them in the hive,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06but they've been out foraging. This one is just coming back in.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08- What about that?- This is fantastic.
0:19:08 > 0:19:09Now, our other red bees...
0:19:09 > 0:19:11Look, there's a couple down here in that corner.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Yeah, that's what we are seeing.
0:19:13 > 0:19:14They have read the textbooks for once.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17They're down here, towards the bottom of the hive,
0:19:17 > 0:19:19coming in and out with that forage. The white-marked bees,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21the much younger bees, are around the rest of the hive,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23doing those in-the-hive jobs.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25So they are internal duties, the red ones are out.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28- Have we lost any of those red ones, do you think?- For sure.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30You can see just eyeballing the colony,
0:19:30 > 0:19:32particularly in the evening, there are far fewer of the red bees.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35They have got lost, some of them, in predative...
0:19:35 > 0:19:36Some of them have just worn out.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38It's been really good foraging the last week,
0:19:38 > 0:19:39so they've been busy.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42But they've only been going in and out for a week. Is that typical?
0:19:42 > 0:19:44They're going to burn out in a week?
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Yeah, they can burn out in a week if it's really good.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49They can last three or four weeks if they rest up a little bit.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51But their foraging lives are quite short.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53That's why it is so important they do the jobs the white ones
0:19:53 > 0:19:56- are doing in the middle, to get that investment back.- OK.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Some great news here as well.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Last week, we saw bee 78 just taking her first flight out foraging,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02and she is back in the hive now.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05She has been busy across the week, still contributing to the hive,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08bringing in that nectar and pollen. She is doing brilliantly.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10She is just having a wander around now
0:20:10 > 0:20:12and she'll be back out into the field to collect more.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Bee 78 is doing pretty well,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21given that foraging honeybees don't last forever.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25Eventually, after flying several hundred miles, they simply wear out.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27And in good flying weather like this,
0:20:27 > 0:20:31she is probably coming towards the end of her life.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33They have really upped the tempo.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34There is lots of foraging going on.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37- You can actually hear that there is a real humming.- OK, let's listen.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41THEY HUM
0:20:41 > 0:20:43It's definitely a lot more intense, isn't it?
0:20:43 > 0:20:45And we have got all this lovely capped honey up here
0:20:45 > 0:20:47and lots of waggle dancing going on in lots
0:20:47 > 0:20:49of different directions, so they're really going out,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51getting that nectar and pollinating.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Look at this. It's really busy here, isn't it?
0:20:53 > 0:20:55A lot busier than it was last week.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Some of them aren't waggle dancing, but they are trembling.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02That is basically telling the hive
0:21:02 > 0:21:04that they need more of those nectar receivers down here.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07Because what is happening is the forage is coming in
0:21:07 > 0:21:09and it is a bit like waiting too long at a checkout.
0:21:09 > 0:21:10She is waiting too long.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13So instead of doing the waggle dance, she does this tremble dance,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15and that brings more checkout operators down,
0:21:15 > 0:21:16more of those nectar receivers.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19There is a really finely tuned business going on here,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22and they need to make everything absolutely efficient.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25And there's something else going on.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30Last week, we interpreted our bees' waggle dance.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33And using our helicopter, we managed to track them down
0:21:33 > 0:21:36to a new source of nectar in a distant hedgerow.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46This week, we've seen all sorts of different waggle dances.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49This one here is shorter and it is pointing in a completely
0:21:49 > 0:21:53different direction, more or less due west.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56And this time, when our helicopter followed our bees'
0:21:56 > 0:22:01coded directions, it ended up right here, in our garden.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06One advantage of gardens is that new plants are coming into bloom
0:22:06 > 0:22:07all the time.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12And as they do, the bees are quick to seek out these new sources of nectar.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16So what is on the menu this week?
0:22:16 > 0:22:19To find out, I caught up with the garden's owner, Sarah Mead.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23These plants the bees are going crazy about.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26They do really seem to love it. This is Jacob's ladder.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30And it comes in, you know, pale blues and whites and all sorts.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32But it is a lovely, simple flower and it does seem
0:22:32 > 0:22:34to attract lots and lots of bees.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38- You've got lots of foxgloves, which I know bumblebees like.- Yes.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41- Yes, cos they can get right into those big flowers.- Yes.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43It's lovely when you see a big, furry bottom sticking out,
0:22:43 > 0:22:47- it's great.- Yeah. Only on plants, I find.- Yeah!
0:22:49 > 0:22:51So gardeners can help bees,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54but helping the bees also helps the garden.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59The bees are out there buzzing away, pollinating everything for me,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02so it is a win-win, really.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03Bees are totally addictive.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06It's fascinating for me to come out of an evening, particularly,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09just early, early evening, and just see where the action is.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11I do that all the time.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13I stand in front of my beehives, or just
0:23:13 > 0:23:16looking at flowers in the garden, and I start to get transfixed.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18I just watch them and watch them.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20It is a lovely thing when we are all so busy and life is
0:23:20 > 0:23:23so complicated, watching something very simple
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and very pure happening right in front of you and just thinking,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29"You know, that is what life is about, isn't it?"
0:23:40 > 0:23:42So far, on Hive Alive,
0:23:42 > 0:23:46we've seen the explosive sex life of the queen bee
0:23:46 > 0:23:51and how the males are quite literally dumped.
0:23:53 > 0:23:59Still to come, how bees can save life and limb through the wonder of honey.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03We harvest the fruits of our hive.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06That is fantastic.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Liquid summer sunshine.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14But first, Adam discovers why every bee has a sting in its tail.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20If you've ever been stung by a bee, as I have many times,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23you might have wondered what actually happens
0:24:23 > 0:24:25when that venom enters your body.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Well, wonder no more.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33For this experiment, I'm going to need four things -
0:24:33 > 0:24:35Adam, his arm,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38our paramedic, Genevra, just in case,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42and a bee with impeccable qualifications.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45She is an old forager out of the observation hive.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47- She is loaded full of venom.- Mm-hm.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52Now, as I am sure you all know, when a bee stings, it invariably dies.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54And this is because it has a barbed sting,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57which lodges tightly in the flesh.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00So if you dislodge the insect or it flies away,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03it tears that mechanism out of the back of its body
0:25:03 > 0:25:06and it then dies through a process of dehydration
0:25:06 > 0:25:07over a couple of hours.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Now, obviously, we don't want that to happen.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12So what I am going to do is apply the bee very carefully to
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Adam's arm here, and then I'm going to use these tweezers
0:25:15 > 0:25:19to pull the stinger back out, so it retains it intact in its body.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21And it should be perfectly OK.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23That's the bee. I'm not sure about Adam.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26- You ready?- Yeah, let's find out. - OK. Just about here, then?
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- Yep, that looks about right. - Here we go. OK.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36- Ah! There we go. Now.- There it is. - Yeah.- I can see the stinger is in.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39- Ow.- And I've left it in for two or three seconds
0:25:39 > 0:25:41- because it is that amount of time that it takes.- Yeah.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44- It is getting stronger now, yeah, yeah.- There we go.- Ow.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Hold on, I'll get that stinger out, I don't want to harm this bee.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49I don't care about you, it is the bee that counts.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51I've got it, I've got it!
0:25:51 > 0:25:53- Excellent!- Nicely done.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55- That's nicely done.- There we are. - Wow.- And I got it out intact.
0:25:55 > 0:25:56- Ouch.- Superb.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Well, I'm going to leave that bee to go about her business. Not me.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04- And there she goes. How does it feel, then?- Ah, it's painful.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07It feels very much like a match head or something, it is a burning pain.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10And I can feel it spreading now, although I can't see too much.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12It is just discolouring there, isn't it? A little bit.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Genevra, what is happening to his heart rate?
0:26:15 > 0:26:16My pulse has gone up, I can feel that.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Yes, it has gone up to 96.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22- We took a resting pulse rate earlier, it was 75.- Up to 96?
0:26:22 > 0:26:24It has gone up to 96, yes.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26That is the adrenaline coursing through his body.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Pretty quickly. What about blood pressure?
0:26:28 > 0:26:33Well, we took a resting blood pressure earlier that was 134/86.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34- So I'll take another one now.- OK.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36And we'll see what has happened.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38- The pain has really diminished now. - Has it?
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Yeah, it has really gone down.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44I can feel it, but it is not that sharp...sting. It's well named!
0:26:44 > 0:26:48- Can you see that?- I can see...- It is just starting to come up there.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51That is a little inflammatory response that is developing.
0:26:51 > 0:26:52That is starting to swell now.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55- Blood pressure? - Blood pressure is 165/95.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57So it has gone up quite a bit.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01And part of that is due to the pain response.
0:27:01 > 0:27:02OK. Now, look, Adam, put your arm
0:27:02 > 0:27:04in front of that thermal imaging camera.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Because it does burn, but whether that's a neurological
0:27:07 > 0:27:10reaction or a genuine temperature thing, we don't know, do we?
0:27:10 > 0:27:13- We'll find out.- Let's just see, has it heated up your arm?
0:27:13 > 0:27:17- Yes.- It has!- Yes, it has.- Has it? - Yeah, there is a big white spot.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19That is really nice, actually.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21- I like it when an experiment goes well, don't you?- Yeah.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24- That's information. I can feel that. And you can see it.- Look at that.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28Now it has swollen into a little lump with a red spot at the centre.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32- Yep.- It is quite a cocktail of chemicals that they have evolved to
0:27:32 > 0:27:35- punish any intruder near the hive. - Yeah.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38I was saying the pain was diminishing, but actually,
0:27:38 > 0:27:39it is building a little bit again, I think.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41My system is starting to react to it again.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43And it is a very sharp reminder.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46It is a great message, "Leave my nest alone." And it works.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Genevra, over the years, people have said to me
0:27:49 > 0:27:52that you can alleviate suffering from a bee sting by rubbing
0:27:52 > 0:27:57on clay, scraping the site with a copper coin or urinating on it.
0:27:57 > 0:27:58I am presuming that you, as a professional,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00wouldn't advocate any of these.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02What would you tell people to do if they did get stung?
0:28:02 > 0:28:06The best thing would be to get rid of the sting as soon as possible.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08And then just treat it with anti-histamines.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10You can see the way the skin has swollen.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13If you get that all over your body, if your lips start swelling,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16if your tongue starts swelling, If your chest feels a bit tight...
0:28:16 > 0:28:19- That's anaphylactic. - That's heading towards anaphylaxis.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22And especially if the breathing is involved...compromised,
0:28:22 > 0:28:23call an ambulance immediately.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26So, this is painful. And it is swelling up.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28There is clearly a localised response.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31But this isn't anything to worry about, this is what a bee sting is.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34- Yes.- And of course, bees are doing it for good reason.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36We shouldn't give the bee any bad press here at all,
0:28:36 > 0:28:38should we? They are protecting their investment,
0:28:38 > 0:28:40- and it is some investment. - Absolutely.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42The only times I've been stung by bees, apart from now,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45thanks to you, is when I am messing around with beehives,
0:28:45 > 0:28:47doing research or trying to do some beekeeping.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49- It is really quite unusual to get stung, actually.- Yeah.
0:28:49 > 0:28:50Away from the hive,
0:28:50 > 0:28:53you are only ever going to get stung by a bee if you try to harm
0:28:53 > 0:28:57- it, or inadvertently rest upon it or something like that.- Yeah.
0:28:57 > 0:28:58It is not something to be fearful of.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00So, what is the prognosis?
0:29:00 > 0:29:03What is going to happen to Adam's arm over the next couple of hours?
0:29:03 > 0:29:05We'll give him some antihistamines and, hopefully,
0:29:05 > 0:29:07that should start calming down the response.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10- So you are going to survive, mate. - I'm going to survive.- Well done.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13- Thank you.- Doing a great job for science, there.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17Bees sometimes have been used by people for medicinal purposes.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19They have deliberately applied them to get them to sting,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22particularly those who suffer from arthritis and rheumatism.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25It is said to alleviate the symptoms of these diseases,
0:29:25 > 0:29:29probably because that apitoxin has anti-inflammatories in it.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Well, the jury is out on this, but one thing is sure,
0:29:32 > 0:29:37and that is that honey definitely has some medical qualities.
0:29:39 > 0:29:44This is where they cut a lot of the dead flesh out.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46So, when I used to wiggle my fingers,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49you used to be able to see the bones going on in there.
0:29:50 > 0:29:56Since 2006, Sam Edwards has been fighting a rare skin condition.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00It all started in Sam's job as a maintenance engineer,
0:30:00 > 0:30:03cleaning out an ornamental fish pond.
0:30:03 > 0:30:08It had been neglected for years because it was pea green.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10It had dead fish in it.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14And as I put my hand in, this carp came up to the surface
0:30:14 > 0:30:19and just brushed through my glove, and it just caused a small cut.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22And I didn't really think much more of it
0:30:22 > 0:30:26until about ten to 15 days later when my right arm started to
0:30:26 > 0:30:30go into large lumps from the wrist
0:30:30 > 0:30:33to the top of the forearm.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36They start off quite large
0:30:36 > 0:30:38and then they go very black
0:30:38 > 0:30:41and necrotic, which is basically dead tissue.
0:30:42 > 0:30:43The smell...
0:30:45 > 0:30:47..was like if I was rotting.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51Meanwhile, things were getting even worse.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53The arm went black.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56And it went down the other arm.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58And then it started going up one leg.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00So I am in a bit of a panic now.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04Pain-wise, it was like being in a deep fat fryer,
0:31:04 > 0:31:08putting your hand in a deep fat fryer 24 hours a day.
0:31:08 > 0:31:13Finally, a visiting doctor from overseas recognised Sam's symptoms.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16He said, "Yeah, you have an infection called
0:31:16 > 0:31:18"Mycobacterium marinum,"
0:31:18 > 0:31:22which is derived from fish. They get it lot in their country.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24Come on, let's go.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27The doctors tried fighting the infection with antibiotics,
0:31:27 > 0:31:30but the pills gave Sam jaundice, so had to be stopped.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35They started talking about multiple amputations.
0:31:35 > 0:31:40With prospects at rock bottom, the doctors were trying almost anything.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43Seaweed, um, maggots...
0:31:43 > 0:31:46The maggot one was quite interesting because they...
0:31:46 > 0:31:50they come in little pots. And they put maggots on. But they died.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53And they weren't entirely sure why they died.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55So they didn't try the maggots again.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Then, just before Christmas, 2013,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04someone suggested that Sam try manuka honey dressings.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09Manuka honey comes from New Zealand
0:32:09 > 0:32:12and is produced by bees that feed on the manuka plant.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17It can be used in a variety of cases -
0:32:17 > 0:32:21surgical incisions, burns and even malignant wounds.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28The results, for Sam at least, have been impressive.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30It's life-changing.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34Within such a short space of time,
0:32:34 > 0:32:38I have never seen my wounds
0:32:38 > 0:32:41heal so progressively.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43The smell is gone.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47Within three months, I am almost back to normal.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49They did sting a little bit.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53It is also like the bee is a little bit reluctant to give its honey
0:32:53 > 0:32:55away without a little bit of pain.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57So they do sting when you put them on.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05I've been told the Mycobacterium marinum is still floating around
0:33:05 > 0:33:11in my system and if I get knocked or banged, it might start again.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16But I would say I am 99.9% cured.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20This treatment won't work for everyone, but the doctors do
0:33:20 > 0:33:24believe that the honey has played a crucial part in Sam's recovery.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27People look at bees as a little insect that
0:33:27 > 0:33:31swarms around their picnic, wanting to sting them.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35I look at a bee now as a little friend,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38who sort of helped me out when I really needed it.
0:33:38 > 0:33:39A humble little bee.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43You would never in a million years think something so small
0:33:43 > 0:33:47can have such a huge impact on a different species.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56Sam's story is a remarkable one.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58I'm fascinated by how we might be able to use honey
0:33:58 > 0:34:02in the fight against the many forms of bacteria
0:34:02 > 0:34:06that are becoming resistant to treatment with antibiotics.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09To find out more, I visited microbiologist Rose Cooper.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15So, how do you go about testing these properties that honey could have?
0:34:15 > 0:34:17We've used a number of techniques.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19One of them has been to look at the changes
0:34:19 > 0:34:22in the structure of the bacteria using electron microscopy.
0:34:24 > 0:34:29Electron microscopes can magnify a staggering ten million times,
0:34:29 > 0:34:33allowing scientists to see exactly what affects the honey has
0:34:33 > 0:34:34on the bacteria.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40In some cases, the results have been really astonishing.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Honey doesn't just reduce the number of bacteria,
0:34:43 > 0:34:47it also halts their progress by stopping them reproducing.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53To reveal how, Rose shows me inside the cells of the dreaded
0:34:53 > 0:34:55hospital superbug MRSA.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59These are untreated bacteria. They are quite happy.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01They are rounded,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04they are growing and they will divide every 30 minutes.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06I like the idea of happy bacteria, by the way.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10- It is a bit of a contradiction in terms.- Yes.- Carry on.- So these...
0:35:10 > 0:35:13In fact, this is treated with honey.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17And you see that these bacteria have accumulated with this crossed wall.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19They can't divide.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22So the honey is stopping these bacteria dividing.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25If they can't divide, they can't go on to form an infection.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28And this is honey acting alone? This is honey without any antibiotics?
0:35:28 > 0:35:31That's right. That is just manuka honey on its own.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34It seems to have different effects on different bacteria.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37This is another gram-negative bacterium that causes wound
0:35:37 > 0:35:38infections.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41And here you see the honey has caused these holes
0:35:41 > 0:35:43in the wall of that bacterium,
0:35:43 > 0:35:47and that bacterium will almost certainly go on now to rupture.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50- So, they're not going to survive, really, are they?- No.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52That is quite a dramatic effect that you've shown me
0:35:52 > 0:35:54that honey has on bacteria.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56Do you know what is doing that?
0:35:56 > 0:35:58Is there a kind of active ingredient in honey?
0:35:58 > 0:36:01Many honeys, when you dilute them, there is
0:36:01 > 0:36:04an enzyme in the honey that is produced by the bee.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07And when you dilute the honey, it is activated
0:36:07 > 0:36:10and it starts to break down glucose and produce hydrogen peroxide,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13which in itself is an antiseptic.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17Because that is what the bees use to turn the nectar into honey, isn't it?
0:36:17 > 0:36:19Yes, that's right.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23And I suspect that there are more bioactive ingredients
0:36:23 > 0:36:26in honey that won't be discovered yet.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31It may not be the cure for every bug, but the evidence is growing
0:36:31 > 0:36:35that honey does have an impact on some bacteria.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39But beware, the honey used is specially prepared for medical use,
0:36:39 > 0:36:40so don't try this at home.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46Bees don't just provide honey and pollinate our food,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49they are also at the forefront of exciting new developments
0:36:49 > 0:36:50in the world of medicine.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54So when someone asks me, what have honeybees ever done for us?
0:36:54 > 0:36:57I say, "Frankly, mate, how long have you got?"
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Anyway...
0:36:59 > 0:37:01Back to our hives.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06On a hot day like this,
0:37:06 > 0:37:09our bees are taking advantage of the fine weather, making
0:37:09 > 0:37:14hundreds of trips back and forth, laden with nectar and pollen.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19But this combination of a heavy work load
0:37:19 > 0:37:22and high temperatures can put an added strain on their bodies.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25So to show us exactly what is going on,
0:37:25 > 0:37:27Adam has brought along his latest toy.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29Now, you've got yourself another gadget here.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33Yes, this is an infrared camera. This is showing the heat.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35What is rather nice with this is
0:37:35 > 0:37:38if you point it at the front of the hive, you can see how hot
0:37:38 > 0:37:42the bees are when they're flying in and out of the hive.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44So, blue is cold, obviously,
0:37:44 > 0:37:46- yellow is warmer and red is very hot.- Yeah.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49And even going up to white, where they're particularly hot.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52And you can see, the bees are these fantastic flight units.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54You can see that middle part is absolutely roasting.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58And that is where all of flight muscles are, powering them in.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01And I guess the busier the bee is being, the greater red
0:38:01 > 0:38:03or even white that thorax will be.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05And all that heat is coming from energy burned.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07That's why they need to get that nectar in.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11- They need to fuel these flights. - Yeah, that's expensive, isn't it?
0:38:16 > 0:38:18When our bees fly,
0:38:18 > 0:38:23their bodies reach temperatures of 45 degrees Centigrade.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25And this uses an awful lot of energy.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28So they burn more than half of the nectar
0:38:28 > 0:38:32and pollen they bring back to the hives as fuel.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38In the early morning or on a cold day,
0:38:38 > 0:38:41they can use up even more energy.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45So, for the survival of our bees and their colony,
0:38:45 > 0:38:49they have to be as efficient as they possibly can.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55Last time, we saw how flowers attract bees for pollination by using
0:38:55 > 0:38:57electric fields.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03We also revealed how they use ultraviolet light, which helps
0:39:03 > 0:39:07the bees find the nectar and pollen more quickly and save energy.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09In our garden this week,
0:39:09 > 0:39:14Dr Heather Whitney is using thermal imaging to reveal how flowers
0:39:14 > 0:39:18have evolved yet another incentive to attract the bees.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24In the early morning, the flowers soak up the warmth from the rising
0:39:24 > 0:39:28sun, and that helps some plants compete for the bees' attention.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32These flowers are really warm
0:39:32 > 0:39:34and the bees seem to really like them,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37they are a very welcome resource for the bees.
0:39:43 > 0:39:44But when it comes to warmth,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47some flowers are more attractive than others.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51If we look at a paler flower, such as this allium,
0:39:51 > 0:39:53it is a lot cooler.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56There is no central warmth, it is the same colour, temperature
0:39:56 > 0:39:59as the ambient surroundings.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Darker flowers, on the other hand, absorb the sun's heat
0:40:04 > 0:40:07much more effectively, as our thermal camera reveals.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12And many flowers use their shape to retain heat, which is
0:40:12 > 0:40:14a real bonus for our bees.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20This flower, you really can see the fact that even though
0:40:20 > 0:40:25the petals are pale, and are therefore quite cool,
0:40:25 > 0:40:30the dark centre of the flower is actually really quite warm,
0:40:30 > 0:40:33probably because the shape of the flower focuses the sun's warmth
0:40:33 > 0:40:35into the centre
0:40:35 > 0:40:38and then the dark colour retains that heat as well.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42By channelling the heat into its centre,
0:40:42 > 0:40:47the flower can provide an even more tempting treat for our bees -
0:40:47 > 0:40:49lovely warm nectar.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55The warmth of the nectar can actually offer the bee
0:40:55 > 0:41:00an additional energetic reward as well, very much like us.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05We prefer a nice warm cup of tea in a warm cafe on a cold day.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08The bees, equally, will prefer to visit a warm flower with warm
0:41:08 > 0:41:11nectar, particularly when it is a bit cool.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17So the cunning plants have found a way of taking advantage of the bees
0:41:17 > 0:41:20without them ever realising it.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23But then again, who are we to criticise?
0:41:25 > 0:41:28Human beings have been caring for and exporting honeybees
0:41:28 > 0:41:33for thousands of years, longer than any other animal species.
0:41:33 > 0:41:38And famous beekeepers have included Aristotle, Tolstoy, Maria Von Trapp
0:41:38 > 0:41:42from The Sound Of Music, Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherlock Holmes.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44Oh, and of course, Winnie The Pooh.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50All right, I suppose technically Winnie The Pooh was a honey hunter,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53not a beekeeper - he stole their food - but nevertheless, we have
0:41:53 > 0:41:54been keeping bees
0:41:54 > 0:41:59and harvesting their honey for thousands of years, creating
0:41:59 > 0:42:04a wonderful and complex relationship between human beings and honeybees.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09Buckfast Abbey has a great connection to bees
0:42:09 > 0:42:13because this was the home apiary of Brother Adam,
0:42:13 > 0:42:15the most famous beekeeping monk
0:42:15 > 0:42:18in the world. For decades,
0:42:18 > 0:42:20he spent here trying to breed
0:42:20 > 0:42:23a sort of super bee that combined
0:42:23 > 0:42:26the most desirable traits in bees -
0:42:26 > 0:42:28gentle but productive.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Jonathan Swift said that hives furnished us
0:42:40 > 0:42:44with two of the noblest things, which were sweetness and light.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46There were two kinds of light -
0:42:46 > 0:42:48there were animal tallow candles,
0:42:48 > 0:42:50which would have been really stinky,
0:42:50 > 0:42:52like being in a rancid kebab shop,
0:42:52 > 0:42:55and then there were beautiful beeswax candles,
0:42:55 > 0:42:59which had this lovely, sweet-scented, smokeless light,
0:42:59 > 0:43:01which was the purity of Christianity.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06Also the bees were seen as chaste,
0:43:06 > 0:43:09because they couldn't work out how they reproduced.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13And there was a good sort of sense of the strong morality of bees,
0:43:13 > 0:43:15that they were industrious.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18And there was this thought that if you behaved badly,
0:43:18 > 0:43:19you'd be stung.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Sweetness is delight and it is also power and energy.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28People didn't exactly domesticate bees,
0:43:28 > 0:43:32they just managed to get the nests closer to home so that they could
0:43:32 > 0:43:37tend the bees and collect the honey more conveniently.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40A hive is really a container where bees can build their nest
0:43:40 > 0:43:42and be sheltered.
0:43:42 > 0:43:46Sort of like having a herd of 60,000 very, very small creatures.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48This is an early form of hive.
0:43:48 > 0:43:53Basically, it came with the Saxons, they think, in 500 AD.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55People would collect swarms,
0:43:55 > 0:43:58and they still collect swarms in these, actually.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02Such a lovely shape, isn't it? The origin of the beehive hairdo.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05Anyway, this was straw bound together with wicker
0:44:05 > 0:44:08and has a nice sort of insulation.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11So they were kept in these leashes, called bee bowls,
0:44:11 > 0:44:17which basically sheltered the bees from the prevailing winds.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20Somewhere like a monastery needed quite a lot of wax
0:44:20 > 0:44:23and honey, and also for the mead.
0:44:26 > 0:44:31There are wall paintings dating back thousands of years
0:44:31 > 0:44:35showing that the ancient Egyptians actually kept bees.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39They had cylindrical hives, horizontal hives.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42And the cave paintings show them smoking the bees.
0:44:42 > 0:44:47And then they pressed the honey out of the comb and put it in jars.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51That is the very, very worst evidence we have of beekeeping.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58Bees have been a symbol which has adapted
0:44:58 > 0:45:03and reflected society from prehistory onwards.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06So at each stage the traits that people admired in bees
0:45:06 > 0:45:08reflected that society.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11So the Romans admired the way that a bee would die
0:45:11 > 0:45:13to protect its colony.
0:45:13 > 0:45:14In the Enlightenment,
0:45:14 > 0:45:17they were seen as rational creatures that worked together.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20They were adopted as a symbol of communists,
0:45:20 > 0:45:22people working together.
0:45:22 > 0:45:23After the Second World War
0:45:23 > 0:45:25and the experience of totalitarian regimes,
0:45:25 > 0:45:29there was a slightly sinister edge for some people
0:45:29 > 0:45:33in the way that they mass together and all follow a leader.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37And now they have really become something of a symbol
0:45:37 > 0:45:42for a disquiet about the environmental distress
0:45:42 > 0:45:46and an almost apocalyptic vision of what's happening.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50If the bees are disappearing, what is happening to the world?
0:45:50 > 0:45:56So how we see bees today, again reflects our society's concerns.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04And we are quite right to be concerned.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08There is little doubt that honeybees are in trouble,
0:46:08 > 0:46:12struggling to survive in the modern world.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15This year looks as if it is going to be a good one for the bees,
0:46:15 > 0:46:19in part because we have enjoyed such a fine, warm summer.
0:46:19 > 0:46:24But I'm afraid that the bigger picture isn't quite so positive.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31In Britain and central Europe, the number of bee colonies has
0:46:31 > 0:46:35declined by one quarter in just 20 years.
0:46:35 > 0:46:36So to find out why,
0:46:36 > 0:46:39I've come to meet Professor Dave Goulson,
0:46:39 > 0:46:42one of the leading researchers into the plight of bees
0:46:42 > 0:46:44and other pollinating insects.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Dave, what are the problems?
0:46:48 > 0:46:50The big one that's this historical driver has been
0:46:50 > 0:46:52the loss of all the flowers, grasslands.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Generally, just not enough flowers.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57People might be thinking, "OK, now I've got it sorted,
0:46:57 > 0:46:58"it's the farmer's fault."
0:46:58 > 0:47:02But I think we've got to be clear here, it is more likely our fault,
0:47:02 > 0:47:05- because we have been demanding ever cheaper food.- Yeah.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07And this has been pushing our farmers to do things that they
0:47:07 > 0:47:11- probably didn't want to do. - Absolutely. Farming changed.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14It really started to change in the Second World War.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16We had the Dig For Victory campaign.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18We needed to be self-sufficient back then.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21Nobody really was worried about bees or butterflies
0:47:21 > 0:47:24or anything else at that point in time, perhaps not surprisingly.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28So we started this processing under way of intensifying
0:47:28 > 0:47:30our farming, which carried on for 50 years.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33And eventually, we realised that this was making a bit of a mess
0:47:33 > 0:47:37of the countryside and almost every wildlife group was declining.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40But then on top of that, we've really rather foolishly
0:47:40 > 0:47:43redistributed bee diseases and parasites around the world.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46So honeybees are being attacked by varroa mites from Asia
0:47:46 > 0:47:49and wild bumblebees these days. Very many of them,
0:47:49 > 0:47:55if you caught them here, are infected with an Asian gut disease,
0:47:55 > 0:47:57which we accidentally brought in probably with honeybee hives,
0:47:57 > 0:47:59no-one knows.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01And then on top of that, they're exposed to insecticides.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04Probably not enough to kill them outright, but imagine,
0:48:04 > 0:48:06you're hungry, you've got an infection
0:48:06 > 0:48:08and you're being mildly poisoned.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11It's not surprising they're not looking so good sometimes.
0:48:11 > 0:48:12That sounds like grim news.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14But, you know, I remain optimistic.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17Because we have got the figures, we know about the declines
0:48:17 > 0:48:19in the meadows, we know what the insects require.
0:48:19 > 0:48:23We can put it right if only we get on with it.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29So, pesticides, imported diseases
0:48:29 > 0:48:34and intensive farming are all contributing to the bees' decline.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38And the uncomfortable truth is that these have one thing in common,
0:48:38 > 0:48:43and that's us. So is there anything we can actually do to help?
0:48:43 > 0:48:48Well, there might be. And it starts close to home.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52I have been trying to do my own bit, in a small way, in my garden.
0:48:52 > 0:48:59It is a very modest attempt. The area that we're looking at covers...
0:48:59 > 0:49:04about an eighth the size of a tennis court, but every little counts.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07So what I did was I stripped off the lawn,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10because many of these species of plant can't compete
0:49:10 > 0:49:12with the grass, and then I put in an annual mix.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15So it was full of these, oxide daisies.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18There were poppies, corn flowers, corn marigold, corn cockle...
0:49:18 > 0:49:21Lots of arable weeds that we don't see out
0:49:21 > 0:49:23in the countryside any longer.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27This year, the perennials are coming through,
0:49:27 > 0:49:31and this should hold its own, I'm told, for about seven years.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33That's seven years of good nectar.
0:49:33 > 0:49:38And look, it's alive - plenty of bees, bumblebees, flies
0:49:38 > 0:49:42and hoverflies. Now, it is a start, but it is a small area.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45If we will really want to improve things for our pollinators,
0:49:45 > 0:49:49especially our bees, we have got to look at doing this on a much
0:49:49 > 0:49:51broader scale out in the countryside.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59On this arable farm just up the road from my house in Hampshire,
0:49:59 > 0:50:02farmer Tom Coleman is planting wildflower strips to provide
0:50:02 > 0:50:06nectar for honeybees and other pollinators.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10It is a beautiful spread, Tom, and it is buzzing with bees,
0:50:10 > 0:50:13butterflies, all sorts of pollinating insects.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15Tell me about the history of this plot,
0:50:15 > 0:50:18because it is not brand-new, it is not this year's, is it?
0:50:18 > 0:50:22No. We've gone and planted this about three years ago.
0:50:22 > 0:50:27It has got to be managed each year to really keep it in this condition.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30It's critical that we actually cut it for hay annually,
0:50:30 > 0:50:33- just to sort of stop these grass species taking over.- OK.
0:50:33 > 0:50:34Here is the big question.
0:50:34 > 0:50:39- How much did it cost and who is paying?- Um...
0:50:39 > 0:50:43This is part of a government-funded agri-environment scheme,
0:50:43 > 0:50:45so we do get paid.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49If we look at it in a cold, financial light,
0:50:49 > 0:50:53it just about breaks even for us. So, we're not making money on it.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56But it is certainly helping us do what we'd like to do here.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00I mean, this, in a way, is your modern monoculture - highly
0:51:00 > 0:51:03efficient, necessary to feed us all at the right price, of course.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05And then over here, you've got its conscience,
0:51:05 > 0:51:08if I can be cruelly cynical about it,
0:51:08 > 0:51:10because here we are catering to the wildlife,
0:51:10 > 0:51:13and doing it, too, side-by-side, must be really reassuring.
0:51:13 > 0:51:14Very much so.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16From a farmer's point of view,
0:51:16 > 0:51:20I get a real kick out of growing a high-yielding proper wheat,
0:51:20 > 0:51:23but I also get probably even more of a kick out of producing
0:51:23 > 0:51:24something like this.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27We have seen tremendous benefits with the amount of wildlife
0:51:27 > 0:51:29that we have seen. It has just been amazing.
0:51:31 > 0:51:35Farmers don't always get praise where praise is due.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39But if only every farmer followed Tom's lead,
0:51:39 > 0:51:43then we'd have millions of acres of wildflowers providing food
0:51:43 > 0:51:48for honeybees and all of those other essential pollinating insects.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52In the meantime, what has been going on with our bees?
0:51:52 > 0:51:57Well, back at the main hive, it has all been happening.
0:51:57 > 0:52:02A few days ago, half the bees and the old queen upped and left,
0:52:02 > 0:52:06meaning that the remaining bees have to work even harder to get
0:52:06 > 0:52:08the colony back on track.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11Since then, although the new queen has mated
0:52:11 > 0:52:13and started laying thousands of eggs,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16the new bees won't yet have emerged.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20So how much honey have the workers actually managed to put on?
0:52:22 > 0:52:24I'm just looking at your graph there.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27It is quite subtle, but if you look at the extreme left-hand end of that
0:52:27 > 0:52:30line and then the right hand, there is a definite increasing trend.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33They are building up the volume of material inside the hive.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36Yeah, they are building it up. Look how quickly the colony recovers.
0:52:36 > 0:52:37That is bringing in more nectar
0:52:37 > 0:52:40and pollen to fill up those empty spaces, and that is critical.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42This colony now is just gagging for nectar.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45It is just at the point where it needs to explode and really
0:52:45 > 0:52:47take advantage of the nectar flow that is about to happen
0:52:47 > 0:52:49so they can start piling it in in earnest,
0:52:49 > 0:52:51and they can put on kilos in a day without any problem at all.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53And in terms of this hive,
0:52:53 > 0:52:56that could've come down to no more than lots of wildflowers
0:52:56 > 0:53:00opening in a local hedgerow or maybe one of these fields,
0:53:00 > 0:53:02the clover coming into bloom. Something as simple as that.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04Sometimes just a single tree.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06I've heard people talk about trees being an acre in the sky,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09there are so many flowers on some of our flowering trees.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15Weighing our hive has revealed something we never expected -
0:53:15 > 0:53:19that even though half the bees swarmed a few days ago,
0:53:19 > 0:53:22those left behind have already made up the shortfall
0:53:22 > 0:53:25and they have nearly met their target.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30So, in spite of the swarm earlier in the week, our hive,
0:53:30 > 0:53:32with its new queen, is on course
0:53:32 > 0:53:35to make enough honey to survive the winter.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38We'll get the final figures at the end of the show,
0:53:38 > 0:53:41but since our bees have been so wonderfully productive,
0:53:41 > 0:53:45perhaps we can pilfer a little taste of their efforts.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51We are indoors now for what is probably the best bit of beekeeping.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54We've got lots of frames full of honey from our hives
0:53:54 > 0:53:56down at the bottom of the field.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00And what I'm going to do now is take off this first layer.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03It is called uncapping. It is the layer of wax.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05To reveal all that luscious honey
0:54:05 > 0:54:09down below. And it is coming off very nice and easily.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11These are great frames of honey.
0:54:11 > 0:54:16I can't resist a little. Sorry, I'm going to take some of your crop.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18- Straight from the comb. - It's absolutely lovely.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21- It's completely different, isn't it? - Absolutely lovely. And of course,
0:54:21 > 0:54:23the bees haven't just made all that honey,
0:54:23 > 0:54:26they've also made all the wax that you're cutting off
0:54:26 > 0:54:27and the wax combs that it is in.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30What we'll do with these wax cappings is we'll put them
0:54:30 > 0:54:35back in the hive and let the bees lick them clean, which they
0:54:35 > 0:54:38will very much like to do, and then they've got all the beeswax
0:54:38 > 0:54:43left over to make candles or floor polish. I've never done that.
0:54:43 > 0:54:45You can see how beautifully clean that wax is.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47This is very fresh honey. They've been foraging on this
0:54:47 > 0:54:51since we've been here. This is part of the recent few weeks of work.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53You can see how thick it is compared to the nectar that is coming in.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56- They're really working it.- I know.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00- And that should be...- Lovely. - Perfect for extraction. There you go.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02Thank you very much. Very simple technology.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05We're just going to spin this around in this bucket
0:55:05 > 0:55:08and it is going to spin out of the comb.
0:55:08 > 0:55:09Wonderful.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11I remember the very first time I did this,
0:55:11 > 0:55:14it was so exciting to get honey from your own hives.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16Yeah, it's great, isn't it?
0:55:16 > 0:55:20A couple of geared wheels, a bucket, and we are getting honey.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23There we go. You can see it all developing in the bottom there,
0:55:23 > 0:55:25because it runs down the side.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29Oh, look at that. I am going to have to have some as well.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31This is beekeeper's perks.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34Oh! That is fantastic.
0:55:38 > 0:55:43For thousands of years, bees have given us so much, and they still do.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47But now they need us more than ever.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52It's time to show our appreciation and pay them back.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59You can do something to help.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02Log onto our website, take a look at that, because there are plenty
0:56:02 > 0:56:05of ideas that would allow you to help the bees where you live.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07And while you are on the website,
0:56:07 > 0:56:09why not join in with the Great British Bee Count?
0:56:09 > 0:56:12A very interesting bit of citizen science.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15Now, I've got a little present for you. Some Hive Alive honey.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18- Genuine honey from our hives. - It is indeed, isn't it?
0:56:18 > 0:56:21- Don't look at it to closely. - It is full of bits.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23It is full of bits, bees' legs.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25So literally the bees' knees! Sorry about that.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27It will add to the flavour, no doubt.
0:56:27 > 0:56:28You brought the honey, I brought the cake.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30All of this has honey in it.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34And this is mead, which is distilled with honey, too.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37- Drunk since medieval times. - Indeed, indeed it is.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40But before we tuck in... Adam, what is going on down at our hive?
0:56:40 > 0:56:42The hives are doing brilliantly.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44They have put on about six kilos over the last few days,
0:56:44 > 0:56:47and that is increasing. I suspect that's because of that bramble
0:56:47 > 0:56:48that is flowering down on the hedgerow.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50They're really entering a nectar flow.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53Lots more foragers needed, and that might be those white-marked
0:56:53 > 0:56:56bees, I guess, because they are not yet out of the hive, are they?
0:56:56 > 0:56:59No, they'll take a few days more, maybe even a week, to graduate
0:56:59 > 0:57:00to those forager positions.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02Then they'll be like the red-marked bees,
0:57:02 > 0:57:04they'll be out there, bringing the nectar and pollen in.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07Those red ones will be finished by then and the process will roll on.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10Then the next bees will come through. The big conveyor belt of bees.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12Before we finish, at the end of the summer then,
0:57:12 > 0:57:15how much honey could we get out of one of those hives?
0:57:15 > 0:57:18John reckons he's had nearly 50 kilos out of these hives before,
0:57:18 > 0:57:20and that still leaves them enough to go over the winter.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22You can see that cos they're stacked so high.
0:57:22 > 0:57:24He has got super upon super upon super.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26It is a great year for honey this year.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28Anyway, what about your own red marks?
0:57:28 > 0:57:31You had a bit of a sacrifice for the programme, didn't you?
0:57:31 > 0:57:33It has not gone too badly. It was quite painful.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36It is not something you want to do all the time. After an hour or so,
0:57:36 > 0:57:38it has really faded down. And to be quite honest with you,
0:57:38 > 0:57:40I don't think I'm going to feel that tomorrow.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43- Such a stiff upper lip, I love that. Manly attitude.- Absolutely.
0:57:43 > 0:57:46And the perfect sting in the tail for our programmes,
0:57:46 > 0:57:50programmes in which we have learned a lot for about these remarkable
0:57:50 > 0:57:54insects and, I'm sure, increased everyone's appreciation of them.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56So, can I propose a toast?
0:57:56 > 0:58:00- To the honeybee. - To the bees.
0:58:01 > 0:58:05# You see buzz, buzz, buzz Goes the honeybee
0:58:05 > 0:58:08# And tweedily, tweedily, twee Goes the bird
0:58:08 > 0:58:12# But the sound of your little voice Darling
0:58:12 > 0:58:15# That's the sweetest sound I've ever heard
0:58:15 > 0:58:19# I say Buzz, buzz, buzz goes the honeybee
0:58:19 > 0:58:23# While tweedily, tweedily, twee Goes the bird
0:58:23 > 0:58:26# Buzz, buzz, buzz goes the honeybee
0:58:26 > 0:58:29# But tweedily, tweedily, twee Goes the bird
0:58:29 > 0:58:31# Let's go out into the clover now
0:58:31 > 0:58:32# Here we are
0:58:34 > 0:58:36# Up in Maine And the grass is growin'
0:58:36 > 0:58:40# And buzz, buzz, buzz Goes the honeybee
0:58:40 > 0:58:43# Tweedily, tweedily, twee Goes the bird
0:58:43 > 0:58:47# Buzz, buzz, buzz Goes nature's honeybee
0:58:47 > 0:58:50# While tweedily, tweedily, twee Goes the bird
0:58:50 > 0:58:53# But I love your voice even more. #