Markus Imhoof made a most necessary documentary about major players in the life chain on earth: bees. He explains very clearly the organization inside a beehive, the evolution of bees as a species and their importance for our food in general.
The most important function in a beehive is finding food for the queen and the colony. Fascinating film stock shot by the German scientist Karl von Frisch explains the 'language' of the bees, how they can tell their sisters where they can find the land of plenty, at what angle they have to leave the hive and how they have to travel (their 'waggle dance').
The bee population on our planet is dwindling for all kind of reasons: monoculture, pesticides or 'political' measures. In China, Mao ordered his countrymen to kill all sparrows, because they stole grain from the people. But, sparrows live also on insects which are harmful for bees. The result was that in parts of China the bees disappeared. Human beings had (and have) to take over the bee job in order to fertilize their fruit trees. On the other hand, the bees as a species are fighting back. A new dominant bee variant erupted on the American continent: 'killer bees', whose hives 'cannot be reached even by a bear'.
This movie underlines impressively the very serious dangers of the dwindling bee population, which could lead to an agricultural catastrophe on earth. Urgent new research is needed to save one of man's main partners on earth. This documentary is a must see for all those interested in the future of mankind.
The most important function in a beehive is finding food for the queen and the colony. Fascinating film stock shot by the German scientist Karl von Frisch explains the 'language' of the bees, how they can tell their sisters where they can find the land of plenty, at what angle they have to leave the hive and how they have to travel (their 'waggle dance').
The bee population on our planet is dwindling for all kind of reasons: monoculture, pesticides or 'political' measures. In China, Mao ordered his countrymen to kill all sparrows, because they stole grain from the people. But, sparrows live also on insects which are harmful for bees. The result was that in parts of China the bees disappeared. Human beings had (and have) to take over the bee job in order to fertilize their fruit trees. On the other hand, the bees as a species are fighting back. A new dominant bee variant erupted on the American continent: 'killer bees', whose hives 'cannot be reached even by a bear'.
This movie underlines impressively the very serious dangers of the dwindling bee population, which could lead to an agricultural catastrophe on earth. Urgent new research is needed to save one of man's main partners on earth. This documentary is a must see for all those interested in the future of mankind.