Andrena cineraria (Ashy mining bee) on dandelion covered in pollen.
Courtesy of © Martin Dohrn
My garden of a thousand bees
Discover the diverse species and personalities of bees who live in a British urban garden.
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Fred Vigeant
Courtesy of © Martin Dohrn
Andrena cineraria (Ashy mining bee) on dandelion covered in pollen.
Watch My Garden of a Thousand Bees on Nature Wednesday, October 21 at 8pm on WITF. You can stream WITF TV live on our website and through the PBS Video app on Roku, Apple TV and iPhone and Android smartphones.
Kicking off Nature’s 40th season on WITF, we follow Martin Dohrn during the COVID-19 lockdown of spring and summer 2020, as he becomes bee obsessed and develops relationships with individual bees.
Filming 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 behavior set different species apart from each other. Eventually, he gets so close to the bees, he can identify individuals just by looking at them.
You will marvel at moments timely captured in Nature: 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 behavior 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.
Follow the bees on the season premiere of Nature Wednesday October 21 at 8pm on WITF. Watch this episode and many episodes from previous seasons on the PBS Video app.
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