Wednesday, March 12, 2025 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream now with the PBS app
Discover the Unique Personalities of Bees! Taking refuge from the coronavirus pandemic, wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn set out to record all the bees he could find in his tiny urban garden in Bristol, England, filming them with one-of-a kind lenses he forged on his kitchen table. See his surprising discoveries in NATURE “My Garden Of A Thousand Bees.”
The documentary, which kicked off Nature’s 40th season on PBS, follows 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.
Viewers will marvel at moments timely 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 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.
“My hope is that Martin Dohrn’s emotional connection with the bees in his garden will resonate with people and lead to a new appreciation for these vital insects,” said Fred Kaufman, executive producer for NATURE.
Watch On Your Schedule: NATURE is available to stream concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS app, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
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Credits: NATURE is a production of The WNET Group for PBS. Fred Kaufman is executive producer. Bill Murphy is series producer. Janet Hess is series editor. Danielle Broza is digital content and strategy lead. A production of Passion Planet, The WNET Group and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Ammonite Films. Filmed and narrated by Martin Dohrn, the documentary is directed by David Allen and produced by Gaby Bastyra. David Guy Elisco and Sean B. Carroll are executive producers for HHMI Tangled Bank Studios.
