1
Narrator: WE KNOW
WE DEPEND ON BEES.
Man: EVERYTHING THAT THE DOCTOR
TELLS US TO EA THAT IS GOOD FOR US
IS POLLINATED BY BEES.
Narrator: WE KNOW HONEYBEES
ARE IN CRISIS.
EVERY YEAR WE LOSE ABOU A THIRD OF OUR BEES.
BUT IN FACT, THERE IS A HUGE
AND BARELY TAPPED WORLD
OF WILD BEES OUT THERE.
Man: SO THERE ARE ABOUT 20,000
SPECIES OF BEES IN THE WORLD.
Narrator: EACH WITH
A REMARKABLE STORY.
EVEN THE MOST NOTORIOUS
SPECIES OF BEES
HAS CONFOUNDED EXPECTATIONS.
Man: THE PREDICTION WAS
THESE AFRICANIZED BEES
WOULD COME IN AND PRETTY WELL
TAKE OVER AND CHANGE EVERYTHING.
Narrator: ONE THING
SEEMS CERTAIN--
UP CLOSE, BEES ARE ENGAGED
IN AN EPIC STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL
THAT WE'RE JUST BEGINNING
TO UNDERSTAND.
CALIFORNIA'S ALMOND PLANTATIONS
ARE THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD.
EACH FEBRUARY, AN AREA THE SIZE
OF RHODE ISLAND BLOOMS,
AND GORDON WARDELL GETS BUSY.
HIS JOB IS TO MAKE SURE
EVERYTHING GETS POLLINATED.
LIKE MOST FARMERS, HE RELIES
COMPLETELY ON ONE SPECIES--
THE HONEYBEE.
WORLDWIDE, ABOUT TWO THIRDS
OF OUR DAILY FOOD
IS POLLINATED BY HONEYBEES.
1.8 MILLION BEEHIVES ARE TRUCKED
IN FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY.
WITH NEARLY $4 BILLION
OF ALMONDS AT STAKE,
POLLINATION HAS BECOME
A HIGH-TECH OPERATION.
AND LATELY IT HAS BECOME MORE
AND MORE DIFFICULT FOR GORDON
TO FIND ENOUGH HONEYBEES
FOR HIS ALMONDS.
PARASITES, PESTICIDES
AND MANY OTHER FACTORS
HAVE DECIMATED
HONEYBEE POPULATIONS.
Gordon Wardell: EVERY YEAR WE
LOSE ABOUT 30% OF OUR COLONIES,
WHICH IS PHENOMENAL.
AND THAT'S THE CHALLENGE
THAT AMERICAN BEEKEEPERS
AND ALMOND GROWERS
AND OTHER GROWERS HAVE TODAY
IS GETTING ENOUGH BEES
WITH THE MORTALITY THAT WE'RE
HAVING IN THE HONEYBEES.
Narrator: THE DRAMATIC LOSSES
AMONG HONEYBEES
HAVE BEEN TERMED
"COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER,"
AND SCIENTISTS ARE RACING TO
UNDERSTAND AND STOP THE DIE-OFF.
GORDON WARDELL IS
ON THE FOREFRON OF A GLOBAL HONEYBEE CRISIS.
THOUSANDS OF MILES EAST,
AT AN ORGANIC FARM
IN WEST VIRGINIA,
SCIENTISTS ARE LOOKING
FOR ALTERNATIVE POLLINATORS.
IN A SQUASH FIELD
DR. T'AI ROULSTON HAS HIS EYE
ON AN INSECT THAT LOOKS A LO LIKE THE HONEYBEE...
...BUT IS ACTUALLY A VERY
DIFFERENT SPECIES.
T'ai Roulston: MOST FARMERS
DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT IT EXISTS,
EVEN THOUGH IT IS PROBABLY THE
MOST IMPORTANT SQUASH POLLINATOR
ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
SO MOST FARMERS ASSUME THA MAYBE IT'S A HONEYBEE
IN THEIR SQUASH.
IT'S ABOUT THE SAME COLOR,
ABOUT THE SAME SIZE,
AND THE BENEFITS THAT IT GIVES
ARE COMPLETELY UNKNOWN
TO THE FARMERS.
Narrator: THE SPECIES IS APTLY
CALLED THE SQUASH BEE--
JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF MANY
WILD BEE SPECIES
THAT POLLINATE OUR CROPS
UNNOTICED.
SQUASH BEES LIVE
A PECULIAR LIFE.
THE MALE SPENDS ALL DAY FLYING
FROM FLOWER TO FLOWER
SEARCHING FOR FEMALES.
WHEN HE FINDS ONE,
IT TAKES JUST A FEW SECONDS
TO ENSURE FUTURE GENERATIONS.
SQUASH BEES ARE SOLITARY
AND DON'T LIVE IN COLONIES.
FEMALES BUILD THEIR OWN NESTS.
MALES CHOOSE A DIFFERENT FLOWER
EACH AFTERNOON
AND SETTLE IN I BEFORE IT CLOSES.
INSIDE, THEY HAVE A SAFE PLACE
TO SPEND THE NIGHT.
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING
THEIR WORKING DAY BEGINS AGAIN.
DIVERSE VEGETATION
NEAR AGRICULTURAL FIELDS
OFTEN ACCOMMODATES
WILD BEE SPECIES
THAT COULD POLLINATE OUR CROPS.
T'ai: WHEN MOST PEOPLE
HEAR THE WORD "BEE,"
THEY THINK OF JUST THE HONEYBEE,
BUT THERE ARE ABOUT 20,000
SPECIES OF BEES IN THE WORLD.
RIGHT HERE, SO FAR, I HAVE
IDENTIFIED 147 SPECIES,
RIGHT HERE ON ONE SQUARE MILE.
Narrator: TREES AND ABANDONED
BARNS ALSO PROVIDE HOUSING
FOR POLLINATORS.
FOR INSTANCE,
THE LEAFCUTTER BEE.
OBSERVATION NESTS
HELP T'AI STUDY THESE BEES.
THEY ARE SOMETIMES CONSIDERED
A PEST TO ORNAMENTAL PLANTS,
BUT IN FACT THEY ARE
IMPORTANT POLLINATORS
WITH A LIFE CYCLE VERY DIFFEREN FROM HONEYBEES.
THE LEAFCUTTER FEMALE
EARNS HER NAME
BY CUTTING LITTLE PIECES FROM
LEAVES TO BUILD A NEST.
SHE USES THE LEAVES TO
BUILD SEPARATION WALLS.
AND LATER PLASTERS THEM WITH MUD
IN PREPARATION
FOR HER OFFSPRING.
ONLY THEN CAN SHE BEGIN TO DO
THE BEES' WORK--LOOK FOR POLLEN.
EVENTUALLY SHE RETURNS
WITH LOADS OF POLLEN
STICKING TO HER BELLY.
IT WILL SERVE AS SUPPLIES
FOR THE LARVAE
THAT WILL EVENTUALLY DEVELOP
IN EACH CHAMBER OF HER NEST.
THAT IS, UNLESS SHE ISN'T RAIDED
BY ANOTHER TYPE OF BEE--
A PARASITIC COELIOXYS BEE.
LIKE A CUCKOO BIRD,
THESE BEES LAY THEIR EGGS
IN READY-MADE NESTS
AND LET THEIR OFFSPRING THRIVE
ON OTHER BEES' HARD WORK.
BUT IN THIS CASE, THE LEAFCUTTER
BEE STANDS HER GROUND.
IN MEXICO, BIOLOGISTS
ARE INVESTIGATING
HOW A DIFFERENT BEE SPECIES
ALSO FIGHTS OFF INVADERS.
AT THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL
INSTITUTE IN QUERETARO,
TUGRUL GIRAY AND JOSE URIBE
HAVE BEEN EXPERIMENTING
WITH A VERY SPECIAL HONEYBEE.
FIRST, THEY KNOCK THE BEES OU WITH CO2.
THEN THEY PLACE THEM
UNDER A PETRI DISH.
AND FINALLY THEIR ARCHENEMY
IS INTRODUCED,
A BLOOD-SUCKING MITE CALLED
VARROA DESTRUCTOR.
THIS LITTLE ARACHNID
TRANSMITS DISEASES
THAT CAN CRIPPLE A WHOLE COLONY.
IT IS THE SINGLE
MOST IMPORTANT CAUSE
OF HONEYBEE POPULATION DECLINE.
WITHIN SECONDS, THE VARROA MITE
CRAWLS ONTO ITS VICTIM
IN SEARCH OF A PLACE WHERE
IT CAN SUCK ITS BLOOD.
MOST HONEYBEES SIMPLY IGNORE
THESE DEADLY PARASITES.
BUT NOT THESE BEES.
THEY SHAKE THEM OFF,
AND EVEN MORE--
THEY TRY TO BITE THE MITES
TO DEATH.
BEHAVIOR THAT COULD MEAN
A BREAKTHROUGH
AGAINST THE GREATES THREAT TO HONEYBEES.
BUT TUGRUL AND JOSE
HAVE TO FIND OU WHETHER THE VARROA-FIGHTING BEES
ARE AGGRESSIVE
ONLY TO PARASITES,
OR IN GENERAL.
IT TAKES NORMAL EUROPEAN
HONEYBEES ABOUT A MINUTE
TO RESPOND TO AN INTRUDER
AND ALARM THE WHOLE COLONY.
THESE BEES LAUNCH A FULL ATTACK
WITHIN SECONDS.
[BUZZING]
WITHIN ONE MINUTE, 500 TO 600
BEES STING THE SMALL FLAG
THAT TUGRUL AND JOSE USE
AS A STANDARDIZED TARGET.
THESE BEES DON'T DIFFERENTIATE
BETWEEN VARROA MITES
OR HUMAN INTRUDERS--
THEY PROTECT THEIR COLONY
AGAINST BOTH.
THEY ARE AFRICANIZED BEES,
ALSO KNOWN AS KILLER BEES,
A NAME THAT BESPEAKS
THEIR TERRIBLE REPUTATION.
IN THE 1990s,
A FEW CASES OF DEADLY SWARMING
BEHAVIOR SET OFF ALARMS.
HOWEVER, FEARS OF A FULL-ON
DEADLY INVASION
NEVER MATERIALIZED.
AFRICANIZED BEES ARE NO A DISTINCT SPECIES.
THEY'RE A HYBRID OF AFRICAN
AND EUROPEAN BEES
WITH SOME DIFFEREN CHARACTERISTICS.
AND NOT ALL AFRICANIZED BEES
ARE THE SAME.
SOME COLONIES ARE LESS
AGGRESSIVE THAN OTHERS.
IT'S THOSE COLONIES THA TUGRUL AND JOSE WANT TO USE
FOR BREEDING.
THEIR GOAL--BREED AN AFRICANIZED
BEE THAT IS GENTLE
BUT STILL RESISTAN TO THE VARROA MITE.
IN ORDER TO BREED GENTLER BEES,
JOSE HAS TO MAKE SURE
THE QUEENS ARE FERTILIZED
ONLY BY LESS AGGRESSIVE DRONES.
ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
IS THE SOLUTION.
OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE YEARS,
GENERATION BY GENERATION,
JOSE HAS BRED GENTLER BEES.
BUT TESTS HAVE SHOWN
TO SOME EXTEN HE HAS SIMPLY BRED THE AFRICAN
GENES OUT OF HIS BEES,
MAKING THEM ALSO MORE
SUSCEPTIBLE TO VARROA AGAIN.
IT SEEMS UNLIKELY TO HAVE
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS--
GENTLE BEES THAT ARE ALSO
RESISTANT AGAINST VARROA.
IN THE WILD,
THE UNTAMED AFRICANIZED BEES
STILL ROAM FREELY
AND SHOW ONE OF THE MOS PECULIAR BEHAVIORS
IN THE INSECT WORLD.
LIKE THEIR EUROPEAN COUSINS,
AFRICANIZED BEES FROM TIME
TO TIME LEAVE THEIR HIVE
AND BEGIN LOOKING
FOR A NEW HOME,
A BEHAVIOR KNOWN AS SWARMING.
AFRICANIZED BEES
DO THIS MORE OFTEN
AND SOMETIMES EVEN TARGE AN EXISTING APIARY.
HONEYBEE QUEENS LIVE 50 TIMES
AS LONG AS A NORMAL BEE,
BUT EVENTUALLY THEY BECOME
OLD AND WEAK.
WHEN THAT HAPPENS,
AFRICANIZED BEE SCOUTS
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
AT THE COLONY.
ONCE THEY'VE IDENTIFIED
A WEAK COLONY,
THEY LAUNCH THE FULL ATTACK.
THE GOAL OF THE INVADERS IS TO
GET INSIDE AND LOCATE THE QUEEN
AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
ONCE THEY HAVE FOUND HER,
THEY FORM A BALL AROUND HER.
THEY DON'T STING A QUEEN
TO DEATH,
BUT INSTEAD SUFFOCATE HER
UNDER DOZENS OF BODIES.
THE INVADERS WILL TAKE OVER
ALL OF THE SUPPLIES
THE COLONY HAS COLLECTED SO FAR.
AND ONCE THE OLD QUEEN IS DEAD,
THE NEW QUEEN CAN TAKE REIGN.
EVERY BEE THAT IS
NOT DEAD BY NOW
WILL ACCEPT HER AS QUEEN
AND WORK FOR HER.
NOT ONLY THAT, ALL THE BEES THA HATCH FROM THE LARVAE AND EGGS
WILL ALSO BE ENSLAVED.
AFRICAN HONEYBEES CAME TO BRAZIL
IN THE 1950s.
FROM THERE THEY SPREAD
ACROSS THE AMERICAS.
BIOLOGISTS FEARED
THEY WOULD WREAK HAVOC
IN EVERY ECOSYSTEM
IN THEIR PATH.
IN 1979, THEY WERE EXPECTED
TO HIT PANAMA.
David Roubik: TROPICAL FORES AND THE HONEYBEES
WERE A COMPLETELY NEW
COMBINATION
IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD.
AND I WAS SUPPOSED TO STUDY
WHAT IMPACT IT HAD
ON THE NATIVE WILDLIFE,
THE NATIVE PLANTS AND ANIMALS.
NO ONE HAD STUDIED THIS BEFORE
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
Narrator: WHEN DAVID ROUBIK
BEGAN RESEARCH
AT THE SMITHSONIAN TROPICAL
RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN PANAMA,
THE PREVAILING OUTLOOK WAS GRIM.
David: A LOOSE HONEYBEE
IN THE SYSTEM,
IT'S KIND OF LIKE
A LOOSE CANNON.
YOU DON'T KNOW
WHAT IT'S GOING TO DO,
BUT THE PREDICTION WAS THESE
AFRICANIZED BEES WOULD COME IN
AND PRETTY WELL TAKE OVER
AND CHANGE EVERYTHING
AND MAYBE CAUSE SOME BEES
TO GO EXTINCT.
Narrator: DAVID BEGAN HIS WORK
WITH ONE OF THE MANY NATIVE
BEE SPECIES IN PANAMA--
TRIGONA FULVIVENTRIS.
IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE
A COMMON NAME.
THERE IS STILL MUCH TO LEARN
ABOUT THIS BEE SPECIES,
BUT WHAT IS KNOWN IS THA IT'S A VALUABLE POLLINATOR
OF THE NONI FRUI AND FOREST PLANTS.
THEY NEST UNDER TREES WITH JUS A SINGLE ENTRANCE TUBE
TO REACH THE SURFACE.
COLONIES STAY UNDER THEIR TREE
FOR HALF A CENTURY OR LONGER,
AND GUARD BEES MAINTAIN
A CONSTANT VIGIL
TO MAKE SURE NO OTHER COLONY
TRIES TO MOVE IN NEARBY.
A FEW BEES ARE ALWAYS POSITIONED
IN THE ENTRANCE TUBE
TO FAN FRESH AIR INTO THE NES AND REGULATE THE TEMPERATURE.
AND THEY'RE PROBABLY THE SHYES BEE SPECIES IN THE WORLD.
DAVID NEEDED TO DO
A POPULATION CENSUS
OF A COLONY THREE FEE UNDERGROUND.
HIS APPROACH THEN, AS TODAY,
IS SIMPLE--
A STICK AND PLASTIC BAG
CAPTURE BEES LEAVING THE NEST.
THEN HE MARKS THE BEES...
...AND RETURNS THEM TO THE WILD.
THE NUMBER OF MARKED BEES
HE RECAPTURES LATER
TELLS HIM HOW BIG
THE COLONY IS.
DAVID HAS BEEN STUDYING
THESE COLONIES
FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES.
THEY REMAIN STABLE.
AFRICANIZED BEES MAY NOT HAVE
SUCH A DRAMATIC NEGATIVE EFFEC ON NATIVE BEES AFTER ALL.
BUT TRIGONA FULVIVENTRIS IS JUS ONE OF THE MANY BEE SPECIES
IN THIS REGION.
WOULD OTHER NATIVE BEES
ALSO COPE AS WELL?
TO STUDY ANOTHER MORE ELUSIVE
BEE OF THE TROPICAL FOREST,
DAVID USES SCENT BAITS WITH
ODORS OF WINTERGREEN,
EUCALYPTUS AND CLOVE.
AND BEFORE LONG, THEY APPEAR--
ORCHID BEES--
IN ALL SHAPES AND COLORS.
IN PANAMA ALONE
THERE ARE MORE THAN 50 SPECIES
OF ORCHID BEES.
THEY POLLINATE EXOTIC FRUITS
LIKE TREE TOMATOES AND VANILLA.
BUT THESE BEES HAVE COME
FOR A DIFFERENT PURPOSE.
MALE ORCHID BEES COLLECT SCEN FROM THE PAPER
WITH THEIR FORELEGS AND RUB I INTO SPECIALLY DESIGNED POUCHES
IN THEIR HIND LEGS.
BY MIXING SEVERAL FRAGRANCES
TOGETHER,
EACH SPECIES DESIGNS ITS OWN
DISTINCT PERFUME.
AND DURING MATING SEASON, EACH
MALE SELECTS ONE PARTICULAR TREE
AND BEGINS HIS MATING CEREMONY.
HE PERCHES ON THE SIDE
OF THE TREE
AND DISPERSES THE PERFUME
FROM HIS HIND LEGS.
IF THE CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT,
HE MIGHT ATTRACT A FEMALE.
David: COLLECTING THE ODORS IS
A WAY THAT A MALE CAN SAY
EXACTLY HOW GOOD
HE HAS PERFORMED.
HE CAN'T PRETEND HE DID MORE,
HE CAN'T PRETEND
HE'S BIGGER THAN HE IS
OR HE'S SMARTER THAN HE IS.
HE IS EXACTLY THE WORTH OF THE
ODOR HE IS CARRYING IN HIS LEG,
AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL SYSTEM.
A FEMALE CAN JUDGE WHAT MALE
REALLY SHE WANTS TO MATE WITH
JUST ON THAT.
Narrator: AND IF THE PERFUME
ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH,
IT MEANS THE MALE HAS TO COLLEC SOME MORE ODORS.
THE BAITS ATTRACT MANY SPECIES.
AMONG THEM, THE BIGGEST OF
ALL ORCHID BEES IN PANAMA--
EULAEMA BOMBIFORMIS.
A GOOD TWO INCHES LONG,
THESE BEES ARE KNOWN
TO POLLINATE BRAZIL NUTS.
AFTER 35 YEARS IN THE FIELD,
DAVID CAN TELL MORE THAN
250 SPECIES APAR SIMPLY BY LOOKING AT THEM.
AND THE RESULTS OF HIS LONG-TERM
STUDY ARE SURPRISING.
David: I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THIS
IN THREE BIG FOREST PRESERVES
IN PANAMA--
NOTHING IS GOING DOWN,
THEY ARE NOT GOING
DOWN IN NUMBER.
SO BEES ARE EITHER NOT CHANGING
OR THEY ARE GETTING
MORE NUMEROUS.
THERE ARE NOT MORE SPECIES,
THERE ARE JUST MORE INDIVIDUALS,
THERE ARE MORE OF THEM.
SO SOMETHING IS HAPPENING
THAT FAVORS BEES.
AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY
EITHER SURVIVING BETTER
OR GETTING FED MORE
OR REPRODUCING MORE,
BUT IT'S AN UNMISTAKABLE TREND.
AND I'VE LOOKED AT I FOR 35 YEARS.
I KNOW IT'S REALLY THERE.
Narrator: THE AFRICANIZED
HONEYBEE DIDN'T DECIMATE
THE WILD BEES IN PANAMA.
THE QUESTION REMAINS--WHY?
ONE STINGLESS BEE OF PANAMA
HAS PROVIDED
A WEALTH OF INFORMATION--
MELIPONA PANAMICA.
THEY'RE QUITE SIMILAR
TO OUR HONEYBEE.
THEY LIVE IN HIVES,
FORAGE FOR POLLEN AND NECTAR,
AND MAKE HONEY.
RATHER THAN USE WAX
TO MAKE HONEYCOMBS,
THEY BUILD THEIR NES WITH RIVER STONES.
BUT TO GLUE THE ROCKS TOGETHER,
THEY NEED ANOTHER
BUILDING MATERIAL--
RESIN FROM TREES.
BUT PATCHES OF RESIN ALSO
ATTRACT PREDATORS
THAT PREY ON BEES.
EVENTUALLY,
THE BUILDER BEES PREVAIL,
ENSURING A SAFE HAVEN
FOR THE BEES
RETURNING FROM THEIR
FORAGING TRIPS...
...WHO RETURN TO THEIR COLONY
WITH MANY TYPES OF POLLEN
STICKING TO THEIR LEGS.
THAT POLLEN HOLDS CLUES TO
WHERE THE BEES HAVE BEEN,
WHICH FLOWERS THEY USE
TO FEED THE COLONY.
DAVID'S GOAL IS TO DETERMINE IF
AFRICANIZED BEES AND NATIVE BEES
COMPETE FOR THE SAME FLOWERS.
SAMPLES OF THE POLLEN
THEY BROUGHT TO THEIR NES ALLOW HIM TO ANSWER
THAT QUESTION.
MELIPONA BEES STORE THEIR
POLLEN, LIKE THEIR HONEY,
IN SMALL POTS MADE
OUT OF CERUMEN,
A SPECIAL, FLEXIBLE TYPE OF WAX.
BUT POLLEN SAMPLES ARE
ONLY THE BEGINNING
OF A TRULY SISYPHEAN
UNDERTAKING.
POLLEN IS LIKE FINGERPRINTS.
EACH SPECIES OF PLANT HAS
A DISTINCT CHARACTERISTIC.
IF YOU LEARN HOW TO READ IT,
YOU CAN IDENTIFY THE FLOWERS
THE BEES HAVE VISITED.
THE ONLY PROBLEM IS
THE DIVERSITY
OF THE TROPICAL FOREST.
ON BARRO COLORADO ISLAND ALONE,
THERE ARE ABOUT 2,000
FLOWERING PLANTS.
OVER THE COURSE OF DECADES,
DAVID AND HIS TEAM IDENTIFIED
AND DESCRIBED POLLEN FOR
THOUSANDS OF PLANTS,
SHOWING THA AFRICANIZED HONEYBEES
AND NATIVE STINGLESS BEES
ARE INDEED LIVING OFF
THE SAME FLOWERS.
HOW CAN BOTH NATIVE AND
HONEYBEES BE THRIVING
IF THEY COMPETE FOR
THE SAME FOOD SOURCE?
DAVID LOOKS FOR THE ANSWER
150 FEET UP IN THE AIR.
IN THE TROPICS,
MOST FLOWERS ARE ON TREES,
AND THAT MEANS THIS IS
WHERE THE BEES ARE.
UP HERE, DAVID HAS CATALOGUED
DOZENS OF NATIVE BEE SPECIES
AND WHAT THEY FORAGE ON.
AND TIME AND AGAIN, HE SAW
AFRICANIZED HONEYBEES FORAGE
ON FLOWERS, LIKE THIS PALM TREE,
IN HARMONY WITH THE NATIVE BEES.
David: WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE
LIKE AN ATOM BOMB DROPPING,
WE THOUGHT THE AFRICANIZED
HONEYBEE WOULD JUST FAN OU IN ALL DIRECTIONS
AND TAKE ALL THE FOOD,
AND FOR ANYTHING ELSE THA WANTED FOOD FROM FLOWERS,
THEY'D JUST BE OUT OF LUCK.
BUT DOWN THE ROAD, THEY GIVE
BACK WHAT THEY'RE TAKING.
THEY'RE POLLINATING WELL,
IT MAKES THOSE FLOWERS MORE
ABUNDANT THAN THEY WERE BEFORE.
THIS IS WHAT WE'VE FOUND.
Narrator: WHAT IS TRUE FOR
THE TROPICAL RAINFORES HAS ACTUALLY BEEN DEMONSTRATED
IN AGRICULTURE AS WELL.
THE BEST POLLINATION EFFEC HAPPENS
WHEN BOTH HONEYBEES AND
WILD BEES ARE PRESENT.
BUT FOR WILD BEES TO THRIVE,
THEY NEED UNTAMED,
DIVERSE HABITAT.
BACK IN WEST VIRGINIA,
THE DIVERSE VEGETATION
OF THE UNCULTIVATED AREAS
BETWEEN FARMLANDS
IS HOME TO THE BEST-KNOWN
RELATIVE OF THE HONEYBEE--
THE BUMBLEBEE.
SOME BUMBLEBEE POPULATIONS
ARE IN DECLINE--
A TRAGEDY, SINCE THEY ARE AMONG
THE FEW BEES
CAPABLE OF BUZZ POLLINATION.
THIS TECHNIQUE IS THE ONLY
EFFICIENT WAY TO POLLINATE
PLANTS LIKE TOMATOES, EGGPLANTS
AND BLUEBERRIES.
THE BUMBLEBEE GRABS THE FLOWER
BY THE ANTHERS,
DECOUPLES ITS FLIGHT MUSCLES
FROM THE WINGS
AND USES THEM TO SHAKE
THE FLOWER VIOLENTLY...
THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE BLOSSOM
TO DISLODGE ITS POLLEN...
...WHICH THE BUMBLEBEES BRING
BACK TO THEIR COLONY.
T'AI ROULSTON AND HIS TEAM
ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OU WHY SOME BUMBLEBEE POPULATIONS
ARE IN DECLINE.
LIKE HONEYBEES, BUMBLEBEES ALSO
LIVE IN COLONIES
AND EVEN STORE THEIR HONEY
IN LITTLE POTS.
BUT THE COLONIES' HUSTLE
ONLY LASTS FOR ONE SUMMER.
TO TRACK THE BEES COMING
AND LEAVING THE HIVE,
HE GLUES RFID TAGS
TO THEIR BACKS.
SIMILAR TO PET CHIPS, THEY ALLOW
HIM TO IDENTIFY EACH BEE.
AND WITH THEIR LITTLE
TRANSPONDER BACKPACK,
THEY ARE RELEASED
BACK INTO THE WILD.
AN ELECTRONIC GATE
AT THE HIVE ENTRANCE
TRACKS THE DEPARTURE AND
ARRIVAL OF EVERY BEE.
BUT THE DATA IS PUZZLING.
Woman: LOOK, THE SAME BEE STAYED
OUT AGAIN THE NEXT NIGHT.
T'ai: SO IS THIS A CASE WHERE...
WE GOT TWO OVERNIGHTS IN A ROW.
IS THAT THE SAME BEE?
Woman: THIS IS THE SAME BEE,
SO THIS IS INTERESTING.
T'ai: WITHOUT ANY
FORAGING TRIPS IN BETWEEN.
Woman: IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE
MAKING A LOT OF ASSUMPTIONS
ABOUT WHAT BEES ARE DOING,
YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY AT NIGHT,
'CAUSE YOU EXPECT THA THEY'RE ALL GOING TO COME HOME
BEFORE THE END OF THE WORKDAY.
AND NOW IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S
PRETTY CONSISTENTLY
NOT THE CASE.
T'ai: RIGHT.
Narrator: AT DUSK T'AI AND
HIS TEAM ARE SEARCHING FOR
THE A.W.O.L. BEES.
THEY FIND THEM RESTING
UNDERNEATH LEAVES,
ALMOST IMMOBILIZED BY
THE COOLER TEMPERATURE.
T'ai: OK, JUST SCOOP IT UP.
GET THE SAME VIAL AS LONG AS
I'M QUICK ABOUT IT.
Narrator: CLOSE OBSERVATION
REVEALS WHAT'S GOING ON.
ANOTHER INSECT IS HATCHING FROM
THE BUMBLEBEE'S CARCASS--
THE CONOPID FLY.
THIS FLY LURKS NEAR FLOWERS
TO CATCH BUMBLEBEES
AND LAYS ITS EGG INTO
THE STILL-LIVING BEE.
THE BUMBLEBEE WORKS
AS LONG AS POSSIBLE
WHILE THE LARVA DEVELOPS
INSIDE HER.
[BIRD CHIRPS]
AT NIGHT THE INFECTED BUMBLEBEE
STAYS OUT IN THE COOL AIR
PROBABLY TO SLOW THE DEVELOPMEN OF THE LARVA.
BUT EVENTUALLY THE LARVA
IN THE BUMBLEBEE MATURES
AND TAKES CONTROL OF THE BEE,
COMMANDING IT TO
DIG ITS OWN GRAVE.
THE CHANCES FOR THE FLY TO
SURVIVE THE WINTER
ARE MUCH HIGHER IF THE BUMBLEBEE
IS UNDERGROUND.
T'AI AND HIS TEAM SUSPEC THAT THE DISAPPEARANCE
OF DIVERSE VEGETATION
HAS A DOUBLE HI ON BUMBLEBEE POPULATIONS.
NOT ONLY DO THEY LOSE THEIR
HABITAT AND RESOURCES,
THEY MAY ALSO BE MORE LIKELY TO
BE ATTACKED BY PARASITES
LIKE THE CONOPID FLY, SINCE THEY
ARE CROWDED ONTO FEWER FLOWERS.
LOSS OF HABITAT IS THE GREATES THREAT TO WILD BEES
AROUND THE WORLD.
WE'RE JUST BEGINNING
TO FULLY UNDERSTAND
THE COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN FLOWERS, BEES,
AND THEIR HABITAT.
TUGRUL GIRAY HAS COME FROM
MEXICO TO PUERTO RICO
TO STUDY THE FASCINATING
DEVELOPMEN OF AFRICANIZED BEES
ON THE ISLAND.
Tugrul Giray: FIRST KILLER BEES
ARRIVED IN PUERTO RICO IN 1994.
THE FIRST FOUR YEARS,
EVERY YEAR ONE PERSON DIED.
THE LAST ONE WAS
A TWO-YEAR-OLD KID
WHO WAS KILLED BY THESE BEES.
Narrator: EVERY YEAR
THERE WERE ALSO HUNDREDS
OF NON-LETHAL INCIDENTS.
[BUZZING]
BUT WHEN TUGRUL TOOK
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE DATA,
HE FOUND SOMETHING STRANGE.
THE NUMBER OF ATTACKS
WAS GOING DOWN.
WITHIN JUST A FEW YEARS,
THE BEES SEEM TO HAVE BECOME
DIFFERENT--GENTLER.
Tugrul: BUT THERE HAS BEEN
NO DEATHS SINCE '97.
SO WE THINK THEY HAVE CHANGED.
Narrator: IN PUERTO RICO,
AFRICANIZED BEES CAN NOW BE
HANDLED LIKE NORMAL BEES.
TUGRUL AND HIS TEAM REGULARLY
CAPTURE AFRICANIZED BEE SWARMS
TO STUDY THEM.
ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS IDENTIFY
THE QUEEN, CAPTURE HER,
AND THE REST OF THE SWARM
WILL FOLLOW.
TUGRUL WANTS TO UNDERSTAND WHY
THE AFRICANIZED BEES
IN PUERTO RICO
HAVE BECOME SO GENTLE.
ONE POSSIBILITY IS
THAT THEY INTERBRED
WITH EUROPEAN HONEYBEES.
BUT GENETIC TESTS INDICATE
THIS IS NOT THE CASE.
HE OBSERVES COLONIES
ALL OVER THE ISLAND.
HIS SUSPICION IS THAT THE BEES
MAY HAVE CHANGED
THE WAY THEY ORGANIZE
THEIR COLONY.
EACH BEE IN A HIVE
HAS A SPECIFIC JOB.
FOR INSTANCE, THE BEES
THAT PROTECT A HIVE
AND WILL STING ANY INTRUDER
ARE CALLED SOLDIERS.
THE BEES THAT LEAVE THE HIVE
LOOKING FOR POLLEN AND NECTAR
ARE CALLED FORAGERS.
THEY ARE MUCH LESS LIKELY
TO STING.
THE TEAM USES A FUNNEL TO COUN THE NUMBER OF FORAGERS
THAT LEAVE THE COLONY.
ASTONISHINGLY, IN PUERTO RICO,
COLONIES OF AFRICANIZED BEES
HAVE MORE FORAGERS IN RELATION
TO THE COLONY'S SIZE
THAN AFRICANIZED BEES
ANYWHERE ELSE.
THERE COULD BE MANY
REASONS FOR THIS.
BUT TUGRUL HYPOTHESIZES THAT THE
ENVIRONMENT MIGHT BE A FACTOR.
PUERTO RICO IS AN ISLAND,
AND THE BEES CANNOT ESCAPE
THE SEASONAL CHANGES HERE.
DURING THE DRY SEASON,
FLOWERS ARE ABUNDAN AND THE COLONIES THRIVE.
BUT THERE IS A SECOND SEASON...
[RAIN FALLING]
THE WET SEASON.
THIS IS A MUCH MORE DIRE SEASON
FOR THE BEES.
THERE ARE FEWER FLOWERS.
AND HEAVY TROPICAL RAIN
DETERS THE BEES
FROM FORAGING TRIPS.
SINCE FOR HALF A YEAR
FOOD IS HARDER TO COME BY,
TUGRUL SUSPECTS THE COLONIES
NEED MORE FORAGERS
THAN SOLDIERS,
MAKING THE COLONY AS A WHOLE
MORE GENTLE,
WHILE RETAINING
VARROA-FIGHTING AFRICAN GENES.
RESEARCH IS ONGOING,
BUT TUGRUL IS OPTIMISTIC.
Tugrul: UNDERSTANDING THE GENES
IMPORTANT FOR THIS CHANGE
CAN BE USEFUL FOR CHANGING
AFRICANIZED BEES
OR FOR BREEDING OTHER BEES.
THIS MAY BE THE HOLY GRAIL
OF BEEKEEPING,
SO IT'S GENTLE BEES AND
RESISTANT TO VARROA.
Narrator: BUT NEVERTHELESS,
T'AI ROULSTON BELIEVES
WE SHOULD NOT CONTINUE TO
MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES.
T'ai: ALL OF AGRICULTURE RELY ON
A SINGLE SPECIES REALLY MEANS
THAT A LOT OF THE FOOD
THAT PEOPLE EA HINGES ON THIS ONE SPECIES
DOING WELL.
AND THE PROBLEMS ARE TACKLED
ONE AT A TIME,
THEY ARE NEVER SOLVED.
SO HAVING OTHER BEES AROUND
THAT ARE CONTRIBUTING
TO AGRICULTURAL POLLINATION
PROVIDES A SAFETY NE FOR AGRICULTURE IN GENERAL.
Narrator: BUT FOR THIS
SAFETY NET TO EXIST,
WE MUST NOT TURN EVERYTHING
INTO FARMLAND.
BEES NEED WILD FLOWER ZONES
NEAR OUR FIELDS
AND LARGE AREAS OF RICH,
DIVERSE VEGETATION.
David: THIS IS
A POLLINATOR RESERVE.
YOU DON'T GO AND BUY POLLINATORS
ON SOME OTHER PLANE AND BRING THEM HERE AFTER YOU'VE
CAUSED THEM ALL TO GO AWAY.
SO WE'VE GOT TO PLAY
THIS GAME RIGHT.
AND WE'RE REALLY CLOSE
TO THE POIN WE HAVE TO DECIDE
HOW MUCH AGRICULTURE,
HOW MUCH POLLINATOR RESERVES,
AND HOW MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF
POLLINATORS THAT WE CAN MANAGE
AND HAVE IN THE RIGHT PLACE,
THE RIGHT WAY,
IN THE RIGHT TIME.
Narrator: BACK IN CALIFORNIA,
RECENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS
HAVE MADE IT DIFFICUL FOR GORDON WARDELL TO DIVERSIFY
THE VEGETATION.
BUT HE IS NEVERTHELESS
EXPERIMENTING
WITH A DIFFEREN SPECIES OF BEES.
HIS INTENTION IS TO SHARE
THE LOAD OF POLLINATION
BETWEEN HONEYBEES AND A SPECIES
CALLED BLUE ORCHARD BEES.
THESE SOLITARY BEES STAY IN
A COCOON OVER THE WINTER,
AND IN SPRING THEY ARE READY
TO HATCH AND GET TO WORK.
Gordon: IT'S NOT A LUXURY
ANYMORE, IT'S A NECESSITY.
AND WE HAVE TO MANAGE THE WILD
POLLINATORS INTO THE ORCHARDS,
INTO THE FIELDS TO POLLINATE
THESE CROPS THAT FEED THE WORLD.
Narrator: ON AVERAGE,
BLUE ORCHARD BEES VISI 50 TIMES AS MANY FLOWERS
AS A HONEYBEE--
A POLLINATION SERVICE
BADLY NEEDED.
IT'S A PROMISING STAR FOR GORDON,
AND A TESTAMENT TO THE LESSONS
BEING LEARNED AROUND THE GLOBE.