Movie: Queen of the Sun: What are the bees telling us? a documentary!
In case you cannot tell, I really, really like bees. When you think of a bee, you probably recall that time in your second grade picnic when it stung you on the back of the hand, or that time you were in your yard and got chased out of there by an angry buzzing fuzzball. We've all been there. But bees are some of the coolest animals ever. While the most commonly studied bees belong to the Apis mellifera species, there are tons of others (bumble bees, mason bees, sweat bees, carpenter bees, small metallic blue ones, and big fuzzy yellow ones! So many!). There is a documentary, called Queen of the Sun, which focuses on the plight of the honey bees, which are commercially the most important species for agricultural purposes. As many of you are surely aware, over the past decade or so, there has been an alarming increase in the rate of colony collapse. The cause of this sudden threat to the bee populations is not known. There are several theories out there about pathogenic mites, viral infections, pesticide neurotoxicity, etc., but none of these causes alone seem to be responsible. Queen of the Sun documents the history behind the bee decline with respect to the agricultural practices of the modern world.
One thing we might consider asking is how are native pollinator species responding to the same threats? Bees are some of the most interesting species to watch and to study (and I think they are really cute!). There is a lot of work with bees that has yet to be done.
Anyhow, this documentary is extremely interesting, and well done. Also, Michael Pollan and Vandana Shiva, two of my favorite environmentalists, are interviewed in the movie. It really woke me up to the bee issues at hand, and at the very least is beautifully done. Check it out!!
One thing we might consider asking is how are native pollinator species responding to the same threats? Bees are some of the most interesting species to watch and to study (and I think they are really cute!). There is a lot of work with bees that has yet to be done.
Anyhow, this documentary is extremely interesting, and well done. Also, Michael Pollan and Vandana Shiva, two of my favorite environmentalists, are interviewed in the movie. It really woke me up to the bee issues at hand, and at the very least is beautifully done. Check it out!!
Image from http://www.queenofthesun.com/about/
Also, check out one my previous posts on bees! Discussing a Scientific American article, here it is: "News: Progress Pertaining to the Pollinator Problem" from iRNA
Also, check out one my previous posts on bees! Discussing a Scientific American article, here it is: "News: Progress Pertaining to the Pollinator Problem" from iRNA