My Garden of a Thousand Bees

The documentary, which kicks off Nature’s 40th season on PBS, follows Dohrn as he films more than 60 species of bees, from Britain’s largest bumblebees to scissor bees, which are the size of a mosquito, Dohrn observes how differences in behaviour set different species apart from each other. Eventually, he gets so close to the bees, he can identify individuals just by looking at them and develops relationships with individual bees.

Viewers will marvel at moments captured in My Garden of a Thousand Bees, such as bees laying tiny eggs preparing for the next generation, green-fanged spiders feasting on male flower bees and a female yellow-faced bee attacking a Gasteruption wasp to protect her nest. Other fascinating behaviour featured in the program includes two male bees fighting each other over a female, different species of bees competing over territory and one busy bee building a nest with a shell and hundreds of sticks. Intrigued by the intelligence of one particular wood-carving leafcutter bee, Dohrn dubs her “Nicky” and sees life at her level as she leaves a lasting legacy in the garden.