0:00:14 > 0:00:18Beneath the starry skies of the African savannah
0:00:18 > 0:00:20is the perfect place to begin our story.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25A tiny queen is about to commence her rule.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30The army she'll command will unleash terror...
0:00:32 > 0:00:37..as she'll face foes a million times her size.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42She'll defend the most precious stores of gold
0:00:42 > 0:00:44against enemies that wield fire.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53This drama will play out under the mighty peak of Mount Kenya...
0:00:56 > 0:01:00..and it will end in the twisted forests in its shadow.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07So how does a queen of such tiny proportions
0:01:07 > 0:01:10rule in a land made for giants?
0:01:24 > 0:01:28The hot, dry plains are the stage for the beginning of this tale
0:01:28 > 0:01:32where, hidden deep inside an ancient acacia tree,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35a strange stirring is under way.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46This is a wild nest of African honeybees...
0:01:48 > 0:01:50..and they are desperate for a new queen.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57The old queen has been dead for 12 days.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01If she's not replaced, the colony will not survive.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09Inside these enlarged cells, their future has been forming.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Tonight, their destiny will be decided.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26The worker bees have prepared five queen cells.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31But there can only be one ruler here.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45The first jaws start to slice through the wax cell
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and a tongue savours the air.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52This aspiring leader can taste victory.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00But in the next cell, a royal head has already emerged.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Now two princesses have the chance to be queen.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Which one will be triumphant?
0:03:44 > 0:03:47It takes some minutes for the two young sovereigns
0:03:47 > 0:03:49to get their bearings in the nest.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56As soon as they're ready,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59their first task will be to fight to the death.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05The queens don't look much different to the workers...
0:04:07 > 0:04:12..but they have a pheromone strong enough to command every bee on the combs.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17They'll use these pheromones to seek each other out.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19One of them is about to die.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51One queen is dead.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Her adult life lasted barely an hour.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Her sister now rules victorious.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Mount Kenya commands the climate here
0:05:13 > 0:05:18and our queen bee is born into the African plains in its shadow.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36It's a harsh landscape.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40To live here, the new queen honeybee
0:05:40 > 0:05:44and her colony need all their instincts and luck.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52The weather is everyone's greatest enemy.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Within a month, the dry season will begin
0:05:58 > 0:06:01and everything alive will suffer.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Those that can will move
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and the bees can travel huge distances.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16But first they must build strength for the journey,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19whilst conditions are good.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24The new queen does not have time on her side.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27GROWLING
0:06:31 > 0:06:34But the tiny honeybee is not the only queen on the plains.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40The largest creatures on the savannahs are also led by a female.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46THEY TRUMPET
0:06:48 > 0:06:52They're not afraid to throw their weight around.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Elephants rule their land with brute strength.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09But even they can't fight the extreme weather.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21On the savannah, their food will run out.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26But if they can reach them,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29the mountain forests could also provide a refuge.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35The tiny honeybee and the giant elephant
0:07:35 > 0:07:38are such different creatures,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41but they're driven by the same forces
0:07:41 > 0:07:44and their paths will cross.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54The new queen honeybee has fought her sister and won her crown,
0:07:54 > 0:07:58but the other queen cells need dealing with before they hatch.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06Dispatched with a sting.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13The queen is the only bee to have a sting that can be used repeatedly.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Its sole purpose is to kill her sisters.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24The housekeeper bees toss out the bodies of the young they nurtured.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30They are now obsessed with their one true queen.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37There is no doubt over her absolute rule.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46And now the pressure is on.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50Her colony needs to grow big and strong
0:08:50 > 0:08:53so when the time comes, they can survive the long journey.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57They can't afford any interruptions.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05THUDDING FOOTSTEPS
0:09:09 > 0:09:11The elephants are coming closer...
0:09:17 > 0:09:20..led by their powerful matriarch.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30She wasn't born into her title. She earned it.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37She's 60 years old and it's her incredible memory
0:09:37 > 0:09:41that leads the elephants through the difficult landscape to find food.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49The matriarch guides them to the best pickings.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Her family rely on her judgment.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59They must eat as much as they can whilst times are still good.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26And the elephants will stop at nothing to reach
0:10:26 > 0:10:28the most nutritious leaves of acacia.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36But their habit of knocking over acacia trees could prove fatal
0:10:36 > 0:10:42for the queen honeybee, as her home is deep inside one.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55The matriarch leads the elephants closer to the queen's tree.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03How will the bees cope with the power of the mighty elephant?
0:11:21 > 0:11:26But guard honeybees are programmed to die in defence of their leader.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35Even against an enemy of such epic proportions.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42They might have skins tougher than leather,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45but tender ears and trunks are their weak points.
0:11:45 > 0:11:46SHE TRUMPETS
0:11:49 > 0:11:51And their babies are vulnerable.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07The bees return triumphant.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16Seeing off the thunderous elephant is no big deal for the queen's warriors.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21The queen herself was never in any danger.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24The bees are the true rulers of the plains.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31Their mission to grow strong is unhindered...this time.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Deep inside the nest,
0:12:37 > 0:12:40the young bees are tending their stores of honey and pollen.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Unlike the elephant matriarch,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47the queen bee doesn't interfere with the day-to-day running of the hive.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52The workers have it all under control.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00It's only the very oldest bees that are sent out to forage.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03It's the hardest job in the colony.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05They navigate using the sun
0:13:05 > 0:13:10and fly up to three miles from the nest to find flowers.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Heavy with either pollen or nectar,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21the foragers drop off their load with the housekeeper bees.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41The successful foragers show others where to find the flowers
0:13:41 > 0:13:43using the waggle dance.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Each shake and turn explains detailed distance and direction.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56The bees forage with efficiency.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04And as 10,000 workers are out gathering nectar at any one time,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08the queen's honey store is growing at a tremendous rate.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12The bees are on track.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Being out in the open alone is vulnerable,
0:14:18 > 0:14:23as the foragers don't have the strength of the army to back them up.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27But they have no choice...
0:14:28 > 0:14:31..even when their nemesis is in the air.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38The bee-eater.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Once the bee-eater knows the location of the nest,
0:15:04 > 0:15:06it'll never leave it.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11A constant thorn in the honeybees' side.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20The queen must replace these fallen soldiers with urgency.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25They feed the whole colony.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30If the supply line is shut down, it will collapse within days.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36But as she matures, she's reaching her egg-laying prime.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Her body is out of her control.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47She lays almost an egg a second.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Every day, thousands of worker bees are hatching.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Throughout the day and night,
0:16:07 > 0:16:10they chew the wax caps off their cells...
0:16:12 > 0:16:14..and struggle free.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25For the first time they can see, feel and smell the other bees.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33They're instantly bound to the nest by the queen's pheromones.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37And their life of hard labour begins.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Their first job is to clean and house-keep.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Then, at three days old, a special gland inside their head develops.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57It produces royal jelly, the most magical substance in the hive.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02The queen is fed on royal jelly.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07It's the key to her power.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15And it's what enables the nest to replenish itself by the thousand.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19The queen might be laying all the eggs,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23but it's the nursemaid workers that feed them.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28All newborn larvae are given a dose of royal jelly
0:17:28 > 0:17:31and then are fed on honey and pollen.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Each baby is fed 2,000 times by the nursemaids...
0:17:40 > 0:17:43..who even control the temperature for the young.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47They need to be at a constant 35 degrees.
0:17:48 > 0:17:54Outside on the savannah, it feels like someone has turned up the heat.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07Soon the cool forests of Mount Kenya will be calling.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17This old matriarch has made the journey there
0:18:17 > 0:18:20every year since she was born.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25She knows the way and can lead her family with confidence.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34But the bees' life cycle is so short,
0:18:34 > 0:18:38not one of them alive today has made the journey before.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43To get the queen there safely will be down to instinct alone.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48The foragers have done their job well
0:18:48 > 0:18:52and their wealth has grown to over 20 kilos of golden honey.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58They'll easily be strong enough for their migration.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04For the bees, this hoard is the difference between life and death.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11But their stash of riches needs all the power of the army to defend it...
0:19:13 > 0:19:18..as there is a price for creating the sweetest natural substance on the savannah.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25There are some that intend to steal it.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34The queen has one enemy that her workers can't handle.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39He's coming.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50A Turkana tribesman, born and raised in wild country.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04The bright flash of a bee-eater gives the colony away.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17He hunts down their nest.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43The honey hunter's secret weapon.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48Wood from the Ereng bush.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18It burns to make a smoke that drugs the bees.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24They don't stand a chance.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04The odd sting doesn't stop him.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Months of work...stolen.
0:22:36 > 0:22:37It's carnage.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44The queen has survived
0:22:44 > 0:22:46but her home is destroyed.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50Her chances of making it are slim.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Dripping honey will attract scavengers
0:22:54 > 0:22:57and the bees' defences are down.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01They must get out of the tree.
0:23:03 > 0:23:04The bees know what to do.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08They gather themselves...
0:23:13 > 0:23:15..and prepare to swarm.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06The bees must protect the queen at all costs.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15As soon as they can, the swarm settles.
0:24:18 > 0:24:24And the queen is safe, hidden within the cluster...for now.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30The bees will need a lot of luck to get out of this one,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33but luck is not on their side.
0:24:39 > 0:24:45The bees have survived the night but it's dangerous out in the open.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51They're vagrant and vulnerable...
0:24:57 > 0:25:00..and the bee-eater has found them.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Their plans for migration have been thwarted.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Immediate survival is their only concern.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18They need to find a new home within easy reach.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Scouts are sent out.
0:25:25 > 0:25:26Not all will return.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35The bees are so desperate they'll look anywhere.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56A scout bee finds an empty box.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00It's clean and a good size but it's man-made.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Getting involved with people could be a mistake,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07but they're running out of options.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19She makes it back to the cluster...
0:26:23 > 0:26:25..and tells them the distance,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28and even the quality of what she found,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31using the twists and turns of the waggle dance.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Will the queen accept it?
0:26:51 > 0:26:55She'd be wise, as the box is on the edge of a small farm,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58full of flowering crops.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04A welcome oasis in the arid landscape.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08As one, the bees decide.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20They form a cluster next to their new home...
0:27:27 > 0:27:30..and descend into the hive.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06The queen enters and completes the deal.
0:28:11 > 0:28:12They're safe.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17But they've arrived with nothing
0:28:17 > 0:28:20and have a huge amount of work to rebuild their lives.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35There's a farmer here that's pleased to see them.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42Peter Ekerri's farm is special.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47It's the only one in the area to have irrigation.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51So there's water here, despite the dry season.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56It's a lifeline for the queen.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02It's up to the workers now to put her back on track.
0:29:06 > 0:29:11She can't lay any eggs until they've built new combs
0:29:11 > 0:29:14and there's nowhere to store provisions.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18So every bee starts to excrete wax
0:29:18 > 0:29:22and turns its hand to building.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30They're fast workers and build a comb a day...
0:29:33 > 0:29:36..until the food gathering can begin in earnest.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44Then even the young bees are sent foraging.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Some bring back nectar to make honey,
0:30:29 > 0:30:33others, pollen on their back legs to feed to the young larvae.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38There are so many flowers that within just a week,
0:30:38 > 0:30:42the queen once again has an empire to rule over.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48And Peter's crops are pollinated.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53A perfect partnership.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00The bees chose Peter's farm well.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06The irrigation meets all their needs...
0:31:08 > 0:31:11..and they're closer to Mount Kenya.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21If they can get strong enough before Peter's crops are finished,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24they'll be able to continue their journey to the forest.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32But the queen and her colony aren't alone.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Peter keeps over a hundred hives around his farm,
0:31:37 > 0:31:41waiting for them to be filled with migrating swarms.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49But he's not a honey merchant.
0:31:53 > 0:31:59Peter has wired his hives together, each one connected.
0:32:01 > 0:32:07If one is knocked, the whole row will swing, and the bees will go wild.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23Out in the bush, the elephants are searching for food.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28The dry season pushes them closer to the villages.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35They won't hesitate to steal Peter's vegetables.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38The matriarch has passed this way before.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41She knows how to find them.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47Last year the elephants ate everything...
0:32:49 > 0:32:52..and his family went hungry.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58But this year the beehive fence runs right around his farm.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Will it keep the elephants out of his crops?
0:33:22 > 0:33:25Night falls and Peter sleeps fitfully.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50Small antelope sneak under the beehive fence.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55The bees aren't sleeping.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58They build and house-keep throughout the night.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08Other nocturnal creatures tiptoe through the fields.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20An aardvark creeps quietly...
0:34:22 > 0:34:24..and a scrub hare finds plenty to eat.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30RUSTLING AND GROWLING
0:34:42 > 0:34:45The elephants sniff the air.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51They're completely blind in the pitch black.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57They smell the crops...
0:35:01 > 0:35:04..but they can also smell the queen and her colony.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07It stops them in their tracks.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18Around Peter's farm, there are more bees in one place
0:35:18 > 0:35:21than they've ever encountered before.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26TRUMPETING
0:35:54 > 0:35:56TRUMPETING
0:36:02 > 0:36:04TRUMPETING
0:36:07 > 0:36:10The matriarch knows better than to disturb the bees.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12She leads the herd away.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19Not even a feast of vegetables could tempt them past.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26The honeybees have done their job well
0:36:26 > 0:36:30and Peter doesn't need to share his harvest this year.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46But soon the harvest is over
0:36:46 > 0:36:49and there is nothing more for the bees to eat here.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54The cool forests of the high ground are calling.
0:37:03 > 0:37:08Dewy mornings and delicate flowers are waiting for them.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14This time, the bees can leave in a more organised fashion.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16They have time to plan.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22The queen is starved in preparation for the long flight
0:37:22 > 0:37:24and they begin to eat their stores of honey.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46The elephants have a head start.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49They have survived the main road
0:37:49 > 0:37:52and are already on their way across country.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57They're getting closer to the mountain.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06Peter's hive has gone quiet.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28He would have liked the honey...
0:38:38 > 0:38:43..but the bees have done their job and taken their leave.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58They're finally on their way to their new home.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06African honeybees are expert migrators.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11Nothing can stop them now.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29It's 20 miles away...
0:39:32 > 0:39:35..over farmland and wild country.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01The forests are made of black olive and cedar trees.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10There's plenty of shelter to be found.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Their new home is high and safe.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43Combs are built...
0:40:48 > 0:40:50..and as fast as they're constructed,
0:40:50 > 0:40:53foragers are sent out to the forest clearings.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00Every dawn a carpet of purple flowers opens.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05Nectar is gathered.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Life is good and peaceful.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14They've made it.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17But how long can the harmony last?
0:41:20 > 0:41:23The elephants are here, too.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33The old matriarch has pulled her family through.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37But their stay here will only be brief.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44When the rains return to the plains, she'll guide them back again...
0:41:49 > 0:41:53..leading them all, old and young.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58TRUMPETING
0:42:04 > 0:42:09When the time comes, the bees ought to take their queen back too.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14But she's not herself.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21The colony has picked up a disease on their journey.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23The queen is badly affected.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27A louse steals the food from her mouth...
0:42:30 > 0:42:32..and she's stopped laying eggs.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Her workers sense her power weakening.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41Without her strong pheromones of fertility...
0:42:44 > 0:42:48..the bees start to feed larvae extra royal jelly.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52They're preparing more queens.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56The old queen has come so far...
0:42:57 > 0:43:00..but now she's useless to her colony.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04They need a new slave to lay their eggs.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10It's the worker bees who are in charge now.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18When the new queen hatches,
0:43:18 > 0:43:23our queen that has travelled so far and survived so much, will be killed.
0:43:27 > 0:43:32After 12 days, a set of jaws begins to slice through the wax cell...
0:43:35 > 0:43:37..and a new era dawns.