Nature: Silence of the Bees

NATURE: Silence of the Bees 55 minutes (DVD); WGBH; 2007There obviously were no entomologists on the selection panel for the Peabody Award. A sensationalist introduction raises concern of extinction of honey bees. Profiles several cases of the disappearance of the honey bee although nowhere in the program is there a definition that this is about the European honey bee and that there are other bees and non-hymenopteran pollinators that are not involved in colony collapse disorder (CCD). Therefore, every generalization about the loss of this honey bee being the cost of shutting down all pollination (which would affect one third of the North American food supply) is an overreach, a distinction that is never made but which is important.This should not detract from the seriousness of the situation. Initial sensational phrases of this research being a "race against time" combined with the final frame that states that if the decline continues, there would be no bees by 2035, continues the sensationalist flavor of this video.Good perspective of Maine blueberry farms pollinated by bees from Pennsylvania via portable bee operations that charge $90 per hive. A nice animated outline diagram of the honeybee briefly summarizes the anatomy and is useful for teachers. The beginning of CCD is chronicled and early theories of cell phone radiation and varroa mites as causes are dismissed.Brief descriptions of the queen, workers and drones, and the 30-day life cycle are however marred by several factual errors. Workers do not "go to work from the moment they hatch" but remain larvae fed by workers. If they meant from the time they pupated, then that is another term and still in error. A second error is made by the script writers when describing the bee communication as giving instructions to "turn right at 50 feet." Bee "instructions" are for distance and direction--no intermediate turns. Usually Nature uses scientists as script reviewers but apparently not in this case.The CCD loss has been great enough that the U.S. has to import bees from Australia. Interviewed scientists shift back-and-forth between Pennsylvania State University and Columbia University disease labs. They search for pathogens using DNA and find plentiful agents. Possible causes include 1) suppressed immune system, 2) nutritional stress, and 3) pesticides.Moving to France, scientists research city bees for the effect of neonicotinoids used on sunflowers but find the cause to be multi-factor. Penn State runs pesticide tests but finds CCD occurs where no pesticides are used. France uses bees for the huge fields of lavender and shows harvesting of honeycomb honey. Spain has CCD in 2006 and suggests malnutrition from monoculture. A microsporidian disease agent Nosema is found in all hives, infected and healthy, and may be a cause only if it is a compounded factor. [Recent research indicates Nosema may be a major factor.] England officially has no CCD but some of their beekeepers dispute this.China exports 90 percent of the world's royal jelly; some is used in the U.S. for developing queens from larvae. Can humans replace bees by pollinating a crop by hand? Fabulous footage from south Sichuan Province in China shows human pollination and individual wrapping of the resultant pears. This was due to 1980s extirpation of bees from pesticides. In the U.S., this labor cost would exceed $90 million per year. Meanwhile, the Columbia University lab isolates IAPV (Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus). A third and final error (a large number for Nature) comes from one interviewed researcher who indicates that maybe crossbreeding with an "Africanized" honey bee would produce a resistant hybrid. But that bee should be called "African" and not "Africanized" insofar as that strain at our southern border shows no hybridization.An extra feature: "Why Bees Are Important" shows the same entomologists answering that question in the first four minutes and then addressing "what can you do to help" in a second four minutes: polyculture, accept less than perfect fruit, reduce pesticide use.

Great documentary. Very educational. Outstanding

Good information, don't like seeing to many bees dead and dissected even for research purposes. It bothered me....

I bought this for my biology classes.It presents the scientific informationin a way students at different levelscan understand, relates it to thingsthat will interest and surprise them,and provides a good basis for discussionand follow-up assignments.

Very informative. While dated, as a new beekeeper, I still learned a lot about the plight of bees, and what still needs to be done to head off a real catastrophe.Beautifully photographed, as are all offerings from Nature.

This a a great dvd...I've been interested in bees and someday hope to have a hive.... Very informative.... This is for the inquisitive and curious... you won't regret it..

Once again great viewing anything that helps save our bees is a great thing and to bring out the plight of the bees is a must

This was exactly what I was hoping for! The movie came fast and in great shape! I hope to find additional documentaries in this manner!