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Dances With Bees | Anatomy of a Hive | Amazing Bee Facts | How this Film Was Made

Welcome to the companion Web site to the NOVA program "Tales from the Hive," originally broadcast on Tuesday, January 4, 2000. In this NOVA program, our cinematographer literally filmed inside a hive and followed bees in flight to capture closeups of honeybee behavior. Here's what you'll find online:
  • Anatomy of a Hive
    A hive is more than just a buzz of activity. The social organization rivals that in the best-run corporations, with each bee and each cell possessing a rigidly specific function. Have a look at the physical, behavioral, and social infrastructure inside a bees' nest.

  • The Buzz About Bees
    Did you know that on average it takes the nectar from 10 million flowers to make one liter of honey? That a worker bee can carry half her weight in nectar and pollen and still fly? Beguile yourself with these and other fascinating facts about bees.

  • Dances With Bees (Hot Science)
    As viewers witnessed in "Tales From the Hive," individual honeybees will perform a specialized, wing-fluttering dance to inform other bees of the distance, direction, and richness of a new source of nectar. In this interactive feature, try your hand at successfully interpreting such a bee ballet.

  • The Making Of
    How did they get closeups of bees in flight? Of a queen mating on the wing? Of the inside of a brood cell? In this engaging interview, enhanced by production stills, filmmaker Wolfgang Thaler reveals the tricks he used to secure the film's eye-popping cinematography.

Plus Resources.

Text Tales from the Hive Home | The Making of | Anatomy of a Hive
The Buzz About Bees | Dances With Bees | Resources | Transcript | Site Map

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