Original subtitles

[light music]

[water trickling]

[Narrator] In an Alpine Valley in Austria

winter is drawing to a close.

For three months creatures have sheltered from the elements.

The forests are quiet, the meadows empty.

But at the foot of an old maple tree,

there's a hidden hive of activity.

Welcome to the secret life of a honeybee.

-[whooshing] -[light dramatic music]

Honeybees.

10,000 of them.

Born in the fall, their only purpose: survive winter.

Keep the colony alive until spring.

Ahead of them lies an extraordinary journey.

Each bee flying up to 5,000 miles

in the constant search for food.

Danger will come in many forms,

but help is always on hand.

Every bee will have many roles to play

to reap the bounty of spring.

During the coldest months, the queen has sheltered deep

in the center of the hive where it's warmest.

She is the mother of this vast sisterhood.

Only she can lay fertilized eggs.

And now that winter's almost over, she gets to work.

One tiny egg per cell.

The first new bees of spring.

-[light music] -[rustling]

After three days, the larvae hatch.

A nurse bee delivers its first meal.

Royal jelly.

A protein-rich milk secreted by glands

on the head of the nurser bee.

-[tree rustling] -[light music]

The larvae grow rapidly,

and after seven days, it's time to close up the cell.

A wax seal will keep it safe

while inside the magic happens.

Metamorphosis.

[light music]

[water rushing]

[rustling]

[water dripping]

[rustling]

10 days later, it's time.

The new generation of spring bees begins to emerge.

-[light music] -[rustling]

Each bee must push and chew its way out of the cell.

A first test of strength.

-[rustling] -[light music]

She's passed.

But a worker moves in to give her the once-over

just to make sure.

-[light music] -[rustling]

All good.

The young bees are in need of their first adult meal.

Honey.

Made in the fall and stored in the colony's pantry

to feed the bees through winter.

So her nurse fetches her some

-[rustling] -[light music]

and carefully carries it back.

Her first taste of flowers she's yet to see.

At just a few hours old and still covered in silver hair,

the new bee meets the most important member in the hive.

The queen.

[light music]

Her scent is intoxicating

and the bees can't resist its pull.

-[light music] -[rustling]

The young bees stroke her, picking up her smell.

It passes from bee to bee throughout the colony,

letting them all know their queen is alive and well.

Having met the queen, the new bees get straight to work.

First as nurses tending eggs and feeding larvae.

-[light music] -[rustling]

They're in attendance as their younger sisters

push their way out of their cells.

All the workers are female born from the same mother,

but with several possible fathers called drones.

-[light music] -[rustling]

One by one more new bees emerge.

The colony is growing rapidly.

By summer, there could be 30,000 of them.

With so many new mouths to feed,

the stockpiled honey will quickly run out.

It's time for some workers to venture outside.

The air is still cold.

Wings can seize up, leaving bees unable to fly home.

But a burst of sunshine might be just enough.

[light dramatic music]

The first scouts of the season head out across the valley

in search of spring blooms.

-[bee buzzing] -[light music]

Willows.

Their flowers are some of the first to appear.

-[light music] -[birds chirping]

The bees get to work collecting as much pollen

as they can carry.

It's one of the richest sources of protein in nature.

But it's not for them,

it's for the new spring bees back at the hive.

The scouts pack the pollen into tight pellets

on their hind legs bound with nectar

and held in place by long hairs.

-[light music] -[rustling]

[bee buzzing]

They can carry up to a third of their body weight this way.

Soon everyone is on the move,

lured into the sunshine by the scent of spring.

Each foraging honeybee will harvest 3,000 flowers

every single day.

It's hard work.

Back at the hive the young spring bees wait,

but their day will come.

-[light music] -[bees buzzing]

[birds chirping]

[bee buzzing]

[playful music]

The winter bees collect the first food of the year

and bring it home to the growing colony.

By late March, the first spring bees to hatch

are about 18 days old.

Old enough to become foragers themselves.

But they have no idea where to start looking for food.

The older winter bees show them the way.

-[upbeat music] -[rustling]

The wiggle dance gives a clear set of instructions.

If you pay close attention.

The gyrating body points in the right direction.

The longer the dance, the farther they have to go.

-[upbeat music] -[rustling]

Then the dancer gives everyone a taste of the nectar.

That way the new foragers will know

they've found the right flower.

[light music]

[bee buzzing]

It's time for the youngsters to take their inaugural flight.

[light music]

[trees rustling]

[water trickling]

[birds chirping]

-[light dramatic music] -[bees buzzing]

Older experienced bees act as their guides

and lead them into the world outside.

-[light music] -[wings flapping]

[bee buzzing]

They follow the dancer's instructions:

keep the sun on the right, 30 degrees,

and fly about half a mile.

-[light music] -[birds chirping]

[bee buzzing]

Their antennae help them follow the scent of their guides.

They know when they're getting close.

There it is.

An apple tree.

-And there's the guide. -[light music]

Bees cooperate like this well beyond the confines

of their hive.

-[light music] -[rustling]

Together they waste no time collecting pollen

to feed the next round of bees to emerge,

and nectar to make more honey.

-[light music] -[rustling]

It's an intimate relationship

that has lasted millions of years.

Plants and their pollinators.

One cannot survive without the other.

The world wasn't always as colorful as this,

-[light music] -[bees buzzing]

but as insects learn to eat pollen,

plants devised better ways to attract them.

Bright colors to draw their attention.

Sweet nectar to lure them in.

The bees spread the pollen they collect

and the plants spread far and wide.

-[light music] -[birds chirping]

-[thunder rumbling] -Change is in the air.

The pressure drops.

Experienced bees know it's time to head home fast.

But this young spring bee is consumed by sweet nectar

and now she's in very real danger.

-[light dramatic music] -[rain tapping]

[whooshing]

[water splashing]

Rain can be deadly for honeybees.

Bees breathe through holes in their hard exoskeleton.

If water gets in, they drown.

-[light music] -[rain pattering]

Flying becomes a suicide mission.

Each drop a missile that can take you down.

-[whooshing] -[somber music]

[water splashing]

[grass rustling]

Back at the hive, experienced bees wait out the storm.

Any spring bee stuck in the rain will

have to find her own way home.

[somber music]

Cold and drenched, this spring bee caught in a storm

has no option but to wait out the night.

[light music]

[grass rustling]

Sun at last, but can she remember her way home?

[light music]

She returns empty-handed.

It takes time to become a good forager.

She'll have many more chances to learn

where the best pollen lies

and when it's time to cut her losses and head home.

-[light music] -[rustling]

After a night out in the cold

the young bee is in need of a rest.

Like all animals, bees sleep.

[light music]

Their brains might be tiny,

but they're not too small to hold dreams.

[light music]

[rain pattering]

-[water sloshing] -[light dramatic music]

[rustling]

[birds chirping]

The return of sunshine lures some spring bees

back out of the hive.

They've become scouts and must search

for new sources of food.

-[cow moos] -[light music]

[bees buzzing]

With their antennae,

they can smell flowers three miles away.

-[light music] -[bees buzzing]

[church bells dinging]

[bees buzzing]

But while some are quite adventurous,

others are more averse to risk.

They turn back, leaving the bravest scouts to go it alone.

-[light music] -[wings flapping]

[bees buzzing]

Dead nettles.

An appealing bloom.

But this showy display isn't for honeybees.

-[bees buzzing] -[birds chirping]

[light music]

Only a bumblebee can reach deep enough

into the flower to suck up the nectar.

-[bee buzzing] -[light music]

But sometimes bumblebees cut straight

into the petals at the base.

An opportunity, perhaps, for an enterprising young honeybee.

-[light music] -[bee buzzing]

The bumblebee's leftovers provide a small energy boost

but the dead nettle patch won't feed the rest of the colony.

Time to keep searching.

-[light dramatic music] -[bee buzzing]

As the scout flies, she scans the ground for bright colors.

[light music]

Red is usually a good color.

This tastes sweet like nectar, but this is no flower.

Uh oh.

[dramatic music]

[bee buzzing]

A foraging honeybee is unlikely to sting

unless it's alarmed.

Stinging is a defensive move designed

to protect the hive from intruders.

But if its barbed stinger gets lodged in the skin,

the honeybee will die.

So it prefers to keep its stinger intact.

Leave it alone and it will leave you alone.

-[light music] -[birds chirping]

[bees buzzing]

The scout returns home with nothing to report,

but at least she's made it back alive.

Inside the hive things are changing.

The colony has been growing for a few weeks.

-[light music] -[rustling]

By mid April it's time for the winter bees to part ways.

Their lives are measured in wing beats.

After 400 hours of flight they die.

A winter bee that spends much of its time sheltered

in the hive can last six months or so.

For a spring bee, life will be shorter.

Now the workers become undertakers,

dragging the bodies outside.

An unceremonious end for a life spent in servitude.

-[light dramatic music] -[rustling]

[bees buzzing]

All through the spring the colony continues

to increase its number.

The need for food grows urgent.

-[bee buzzing] -[leaves rustling]

A scout ventures out once more,

this time heading for the woods.

Spruce trees lack colorful flowers

but they still have something to offer honeybees.

-[leaves rustling] -[light music]

Their needles are covered in aphids.

Tiny bugs that feed on the tree sap.

As they drink, they excrete a sugary liquid called honeydew.

The spruce tree is covered in it

and bees can turn honeydew into honey.

They store it in a separate stomach called the honey sack

where it mixes with a special enzyme

required for making honey.

-[light music] -[bees buzzing]

Soon, others from the colony arrive

and ferry the honeydew back to the nest.

-[light music] -[bees buzzing]

[rustling]

Inside they regurgitate the honeydew enzyme mix

into the wax cells for storage.

But there's one more step

before they can close up the cells.

To prevent fungus from spoiling their treasure

they must dehydrate it.

Thousands of wing beats fan the precious gold liquid,

evaporating the water away until

it's just the right consistency.

-[light music] -[wings buzzing]

Finally on goes the waxy lid.

The colony is already building up supplies

to see it through the next winter.

-[wind howling] -[light music]

[birds chirping]

By May, life inside the colony is getting crowded.

There are more than 40,000 of them

and there are new, unusually large cells in the nursery.

-[light dramatic music] -[rustling]

Four of them.

-[light dramatic music] -[rustling]

It's a queen.

These are four new queens

and they will have to fight to claim the throne.

-[light dramatic music] -[rustling]

[dramatic music]

This will be a fight to the death.

The life of every queen begins with violence

and ends the same way.

[light dramatic music]

There can be only one queen,

which means the old queen must leave

if she wants to survive.

She'll take half the colony with her to find a new home.

Those destined to leave start gorging on honey,

fueling up for the journey ahead.

-[light music] -[rustling]

-[light dramatic music] -[bees buzzing]

Bees laden with honey begin pouring from the hive.

-[rustling] -[light music]

[bees buzzing]

The old queen emerges surrounded by loyal workers.

It's her first sight of daylight since her nuptial flight.

Thousands take to the air

waiting for their queen to lead them into exile.

-[bees buzzing] -[light music]

And still they come.

A leap of faith toward an uncertain future.

Half the hive is on the wing, swarming.

-[bees buzzing] -[light music]

20,000 bees without a home.

They begin to settle,

a temporary rest stop to gather the troops.

-[light dramatic music] -[bees buzzing]

Huddled together, they must wait

while a few scouts set out to search

for a new place to nest.

-[light music] -[birds chirping]

[bees buzzing]

A cluster of old cherry trees might have what they need.

A hole in the trunk looks promising.

Big enough for bees but small enough

to defend against enemies.

The scout moves in to investigate.

She carefully inspects every nook and cranny.

-[light dramatic music] -[rustling]

It's empty and it's dry, but is it big enough?

She paces it out.

Up to 50,000 bees when the colony is full grown

is a lot to accommodate.

It's perfect.

[bee buzzing]

There's just one more thing to check.

The entrance must face east

so the morning sun warms the bees

before their workday begins.

-[light music] -[birds chirping]

She's found an ideal spot.

-[dramatic music] -[bees buzzing]

The bees waste no time getting to work.

They must start from scratch building their new home.

Remarkably, they have almost everything

they need already with them.

They secrete liquid wax from glands under their abdomen

which hardens into scales when exposed to the air.

Chewing softens the wax so they can mold it into shape.

Their bodies form the scaffolding for the hive,

clinging to each other as they build

the structure piece by piece.

Within a week there's up to three pounds of honeycomb

laid out in perfectly neat hexagonal cells

ready for the queen's eggs.

[bees buzzing]

[light music]

It's late May.

It hasn't rained in days.

A heatwave bears down.

Inside the new hive the bees are struggling.

They must keep a constant 96 degrees,

otherwise the brood of new eggs is in danger.

-[light dramatic music] -[wings flapping]

Fanning cools the nest.

But they can't keep it up forever.

[light music]

To solve this problem, the bees must look farther afield.

-[light dramatic music] -[wings flapping]

[bees buzzing]

Reflections below.

And that means water.

[water trickling]

A single drop is all she can carry,

but an army of thousands, that's another matter entirely.

Together they can move a gallon of water in a single day.

Drop by precious drop the bees ferry water into the hive.

Then fire up their engines once more.

-Air conditioning. -[wings flapping]

As the water evaporates, it cools the hive.

-[bees buzzing] -[light music]

-And then- -[thunder rumbling]

Nature lends a hand.

-[light music] -[rain pattering]

With the arrival of summer the colony shifts into overdrive,

building up its numbers

and setting workers to the task ahead.

Winter.

It's seven months away,

but they need to stock up on honey now.

A constant stream of foragers returns

laden with pollen and nectar,

two to four pounds of it, every day.

But others want in on the action.

-[dramatic music] -[bees buzzing]

Hornets have found the nest.

The bees try to fight them off to no avail.

One-on-one in mid-flight they don't stand a chance.

They must all return to the hive.

-[light dramatic music] -[bees buzzing]

But the invaders will follow them inside.

The hornets aren't here for honey,

it's the larvae they're after.

-[light music] -[rustling]

The bees must come together and stand as one.

[dramatic music]

Hundreds of Davids against a mighty Goliath.

-[dramatic music] -[rustling]

Their stings deliver multiple doses of venom.

The poison proves too much for the hornet,

but this wasn't a solo mission.

[dramatic music]

The bees race to block the entrance.

Their strength in sisterhood.

No intruder can penetrate this shield.

-[bee buzzing] -[light music]

The colony is safe.

-[light music] -[rustling]

It's been eight weeks

since the first spring bees emerged from their cells.

A long time for such a hard worker.

Now their wings are torn, their muscles spent.

They've nursed, they've foraged,

they've scouted, and built.

But, like the flowers they depend on,

there's a limit to their season.

-[light music] -[birds chirping]

The time has come for them to fade away.

It's been a good life.

-A bee's life. -[water splashing]

-[light music] -[bees buzzing]

[birds chirping]