Bees may seem insignificant things that have no point except to sting you at picnics, but they are actually vital to humanity. Without bees there would be no pollination and hence practically no fruit or vegetables. But bee populations are falling dramatically. In Germany, according to the national beekeepers association, a quarter of the colonies have disappeared, and this is repeated across the world.
It is generally agreed that Albert Einstein knew his stuff when it came to physics, but it’s less well-known that he also had a pretty astute opinion about the importance of bees. He’s better known for his famous equation that everyone knows and few understand, but he also said ‘If bees were to disappear from the globe, mankind would have only four years left to live‘.
The fascinating documentary More than Honey takes Einstein’s prediction and looks at the importance of bees to the human race. With the subtitle One in three mouthfuls of the food we eat is dependent on pollination, you can immediately see how important is the subject of this film.
Over the past fifteen years, numerous colonies of bees have been decimated throughout the world. The causes of this disaster haven’t yet been fully established. Depending on the regions of the world concerned, between 50% and 90% of the bees have disappeared. The situation is so bad in China that humans have taken on the work of pollination. In most things humans can achieve more than bees – bees only really have the edge in making honey and pollinating crops. But that pollination is vital and to watch the clumsy attempts by humans to achieve what bees do automatically would be amusing – if the implications weren’t so dire for our food supplies.
Directed by Marcus Imhoof and narrated by John Hurt the film explains the issues by following bee keepers in different parts of the world. Nature documentaries are often based on the inherent beauty of their subject matter, but bees aren’t photogenic crowd-pleasers like zebras running through the savannah or gorillas doing things in the mist. This forces the filmmakers to work harder, and the HD close ups are graceful as the thousands of bees go about their business. I never got the feeling I must go on a Bee Safari and see them in real life, but the extreme images from inside hives and the flight slo-mos give you the experience, without the stings.
The film makes clear that though the reason for the bees dying is not fully understood, it is an epidemic. Billions of bees leave their hives, never to return. The phenomenon has been given the name “colony collapse disorder” and the interviewees explain the dangers. There are various possibilities from pesticides, parasites and mites, viruses and more. Yet pinning down the reasons is tricky.
You do not need a great knowledge of bees to find this documentary interesting. You will learn a lot about bees. I now know that drones are all male and die after mating. There were no bees in America so early colonists had to import them. They do a waggle dance to tell other bees where to get to the best nectar. It is made all the more relevant by the effects the loss of bees could have on our food supply. I don’t know how many times the filmmakers got stung during the making of the film, but it was worth it.
More than Honey is out on DVD and Blu-ray on 21st October 2013. Pre order Here
Leave a Reply