Tagebuch einer Biene (2021) - full transcript

DIARY OF A BEE

They say,

winter can be very beautiful.

I don't know if that's true...

because I've never seen it.

But, I can feel it.

Its stillness, its coldness.

I must never meet it.

Although I even bear its name:

I am a winter bee.

We've been holding out for months.



In here.

Together.

We keep each other warm.

I was born in the fall,

into the cold...

as well as my sisters.

We winter bees
have only one task:

To bring our people
through the long, frozen time,

where nothing blooms for us.

It's good to feel the others.

Their scent, their warmth.

From time to time,

each of us is allowed
to warm up in the middle.

And there where it is warmest,



she is too:

Our queen.

Our mother.

Without her, we wouldn't be here.

And without us, she would be lost.

The cold is consuming.

I'm hungry!

Luckily, we have supplies...

honey.

If it's too cold, it's hard,

and we can't drink it.

Only if we keep
the nest warm enough,

flows the sweet spring.

How that tastes!

For light and warmth...

and for blossoms
that I've never seen.

Our summer sisters
made the honey for us...

when it was warm,
and the world glowed.

I've never been out there
collecting nectar.

We winter bees spend
most of our lives in the hive.

Hold out until the time comes.

The queen is the first to feel...

when winter loses its strength.

Then she gives us new life.

Only she can lay eggs.

It matures in this egg...

the first summer bee of the year.

It takes three days
for the larva to hatch.

Will this worm
ever grow into a bee...

now depends on me.

I am her nurse now.

With the last reserves,

my body produces
food for the larva.

Our form of breast milk:

Royal Jelly.

Seven days later.

I gave everything.

The little larva is well fed and healthy.

She is ready for metamorphosis.

For that, she needs to be undisturbed.

It's time to close her cell.

She stays alone
in the soft sweet dark.

It will be day and night again ten times.

And every time,
the sunlight comes earlier,

melts snow and ice.

Light is life.

And now, it is also
awakening in our cells:

The new life.

My comb hatches.

No bee is helped to hatch.

She has to make it on her own.

The life of a summer bee
is full of challenges.

Hatching is only their first test.

What kind of bee
do you think she will be?

It seems, we bees are
confusingly similar.

Each of us is different.

Some are tough, some are tender.

Most shy, some brave.

She just has to be healthy.

Your wings are powerful.

Outstanding!

The feelers?

Movable! Wonderful!

With them, we recognize each other.

The first summer bee!

I will call you: Bee.

Welcome to life, Bee!

You must be hungry.

Wait, I'll get you something.

Your first honey.

It will give you strength.

She hasn't had anything
to eat for eleven days.

Not only Bee has just hatched.

New summer bees are now
emerging from all combs!

Our colony grows every day...

by around 2000 bees.

And everyone is hungry.

It's time for me...

to do something
I've never done before.

I will leave the hive.

I don't know exactly
what that is outside.

But I know,
there's something there...

what we urgently need.

The power of winter
is still not broken.

Will I find food for us?

Will I make it back?

Only if I stay in the sun,
do I have a chance?

Cold is my death.

If the temperature falls
below ten degrees,

I can't fly.

I can't even breathe.

But someone has to start.

After five months in the hive,

this is my first collecting flight.

I need something that blooms,

now, at the end of winter.

Anything.

Pastures!
We are saved!

Mm!

Bee pollen.

Just right for Bee...

and the other young bees.

Just honey is not enough.

They need the protein in the pollen,

so they grow fast.

I alone will never get enough
for the new offsprings.

I need help.

Each of us will now
harvest 3000 flowers.

Every day.

Only we old bees fly out
and collect pollen and nectar.

But not everyone is coming back.

The world out there is beautiful,

but dangerous.

That's why little Bee
has to stay in the hive.

Even if the outside lures you.

Young bees are far too
valuable to our community.

We mustn't lose a single one.

Just be patient, Bee.

Your big day is yet to come.

For three weeks,

I flew to the willows every day.

Bee was in the hive the whole time.

But, she wasn't bored.

Since Bee was born,
she has been working.

Clean cells, feed larvae,

make honey, build honeycomb.

The work in the hive never stops.

But this first time in the hive
does not just mean work.

When Bee was only a few hours old,

she already had the most
important encounter of her life.

The Queen!

Her scent magically attracts us.

We just have to touch them.

Every bee that comes
into contact with her...

picks up her scent...

and passes it on
to the next sister.

This is how the scent of our queen
spreads throughout the hive.

And each of us knows at all times:

The Queen...

is well.

Shortly thereafter, Bee had
the next extraordinary encounter:

A very special sister bee hatched.

All the bees in a hive
are half sisters.

They all have the same mother,
our queen.

Fathers, the drones, there are many.

They die after mating.

And so none of the young bees
knows their own father.

But siblings with the same father
and the same mother...

recognize each other immediately.

And they stick together very closely,

all their lives.

Today is your big day, Bee.

You are now 21.

21 days old.

You are allowed to leave the hive...

for the first time in your life.

From today, you are a forager bee.

Bee has never spread her wings
in her entire life.

But now, she must dare.

That's good.

She must memorize this place well.

This is our home.

And this is where she always
has to find her way back.

Because here, she is safe.

Well done.

You learn fast, little bee.

Now you're ready to fly,

you just need to know where to go.

Watch me closely.

The direction, I'm dancing...

shows you the direction
you need to fly.

If I dance straight up, that means:

Fly towards the sun.

Down: Fly away from the sun.

If I dance diagonally,

you have to fly at
the same angle to the sun.

And the longer I shake my bottom,

the further away the target is.

And now, a nectar sample.

I brought it from
where we're going.

So you know
what's waiting for you.

I'll fly ahead.

I'll mark our destination with my scent.

You'll find it easier that way.

See you there!

What did my nurse dance to?

20 degrees east of the sun,

that makes now,
with this position of the sun...

yes exactly, south-southeast.

With my feelers, I can touch,

taste, even feel vibrations.

But most importantly,
I can smell with it.

I can smell my nurse's scent.

She's here somewhere.

We always work together everywhere,

not only in the hive.

Of course, we help
each other out here too.

The rest is easy, Bee.

Collect nectar and pollen.

You know how to do it
all by yourself.

My first nectar,

which I get directly
from the flower myself.

I will collect as much as I can.

Flowers and bees.

This is a very old game.

When it started,
the dinosaurs were still alive.

We bees were far from being
as numerous as we are today.

That's why there were
fewer flowers in the world.

Our ancestors were collecting...

just as covered with pollen
as we are now.

And so, they tirelessly carried
pollen from flower to flower,

and helped the plants
that bear flowers to multiply.

We made the world colourful.

What is it?

The air pressure is falling.

Back, quick.
We have to go back.

Where is Bee.

Few of us can fly through the rain.

And little Bee is definitely
not smart enough yet.

Rain can kill us.

We breathe through
small openings in our skin.

If we get too wet, we'll drown.

Safe at last.

But, where is Bee?

But not still out there?

As long as the sun is up,
Bee still has a chance.

Her scent will guide us even
when she hides behind clouds.

After sunset,

no bee finds its way home.

Bee wouldn't be the first...

not to return from her maiden flight.

My wings are so heavy.

Everything is wet.

I can't fly like this.

I have no choice.

I have to stay here.

Out here.

Alone.

It is so cold.

How long is a night?

The sun!

It will dry my wings.

Maybe, I can make it home.

My sisters come back
loaded with pollen.

But me?

Not a grain.

The rain has washed away my harvest.

My pockets are empty.

My first collection flight was in vain.

But, I live.

I'm so tired.

We bees have to sleep too.

Our brains may be tiny,

but, it's not too small to dream.

Maybe, Bee dreams of flying.

Their tentacles move like this.

A new day!

It must not be in vain again.

Spring is my time,

and I will use it.

For all of us.

I'm not flying alone this time.

My nurse and my sister are with me.

We like to fly in small groups.

And this time, we're not
flying to familiar flowers.

We are looking for new,
unknown flowers.

Scout!

They say the world
should be full of flowers.

I could already feel them
with my feelers,

smell their scent...

as they were still
many kilometers away.

What is that?

Oh, no!

Our search has taken us
farther from home...

than we ever were.

And we still have to keep going.

Our energy consumption is not high.

For 800 kilometers flight,

we need no more than
one gram of honey.

But at some point,
even our strength slacks off.

Bee's sister is
the first to turn back.

But Bee perseveres.

She remains persistent.

In every beehive, there are...

Bees that roam into the distance.

It was worth persevering.

But...

The flowers are way too deep.

I can't get to the nectar.

Is there such a thing...

flowers not made for bees?

This can not be.

What...

is that bumblebee doing there?

She...

Indeed, she drinks!

Her trunk is much
longer than mine.

So, she can reach
even the deepest flowers.

And if the trunk isn't enough,

she has much stronger jaws
than us honey bees.

She just bites a hole in
the bottom of the flower and sips.

This is my chance!

How clever and witty little Bee is!

She's learned a trick that
not many of us can master.

No, I won't call her
"Little Bee" anymore.

Bee's sister would never
have been so fearless,

and might have starved.

Each of us is different.

And that's good.

Anything we find will be shared.

This is enough to make it home.

I don't want to go home yet.

Not with empty pollen pockets again.

I just drank from
the bumblebee nectar.

I can still fly far.

Down there, something is glowing.

Is it flower?

That must be something really good.

I've never landed on such a flower.

This is cute.

Splendid.

Gives power.

Hey!

Are you attacking me?

Do you want to get stung?

Can I sting something
like that at all?

Lucky!

And again, all efforts were in vain.

I bring nothing back, but my life.

My nurse lived six months.

Pretty long.

Longer than we summer bees
will ever live.

But now,

her wings are torn as well.

We cannot live without wings.

I learned so much from her.

Dead bees must not
remain in the hive.

Otherwise, we all face diseases.

I have to take her outside.

Winter bee season is over.

Now, our survival depends
entirely on us summer bees.

From our courage, our diligence.

But instead of showing
courage and diligence,

we must exercise patience.

None of us can
fly out in this rain.

We save energy wherever possible.

No egg laying,

no honeycomb,

no more larvae.

Luckily, we still have supplies.

But they won't be enough
for much longer.

With every bad weather day,

we are closer to starvation.

We share everything...

to the last drop.

With us, the weak don't starve first.

We're all starving at the same time.

All our people.

Finally, the rain has stopped.

I can go again.

I've never been in the forest.

But in order for my search to succeed,

I mustn't let any
opportunity go to waste.

Our earliest ancestors
were forest dwellers.

The forest must have
food ready for us.

It's not nectar.

But, it's cute.

Aphids!

So, these drops come from you.

I'm sure,

we can make honey out of it...

like flower nectar.

Forest honey.

My search was worth it.

We are rich.

Together, we store the honeydew.

Each of us gives
what we have collected,

from our honey stomach
into a cell.

Enzymes in our stomach ensure...

that the sweet mass does not spoil.

Just don't let it get too wet.

Come on, sisters,
everyone fan your wings.

Then the mass thickens
and does not begin to ferment.

We fan so long...

until the sweet mass has
exactly 18% moisture.

Now, it's honey.

Just seal the lines with a wax lid,

airtight,

then the honey lasts forever.

Spring has been good to us.

Our colony is now
30,000 bees strong.

It's getting tight here.

And a strange restlessness
grips the entire hive.

What is that?

What did the sisters build there?

Very strange cells.

Four pieces!

A queen!

A new queen!

No, not just one.

Over there, another one has
already slipped out of the cell.

Not possible.

There can only be one.

They have to fight.

The life of a queen bee
begins and ends with violence.

All but one of the newly
hatched queens...

are dead an hour after hatching.

The winner stays.

But the succession to the throne
has not yet been completed.

Our mother, the old queen,

is still alive, and on the run.

It's getting restless in the nest.

Why are these workers suddenly
pumping their stomachs full of honey?

Should I do that too?

My dearest sister doesn't do it.

Something is happening here.

Something massive.

They gather at the entrance.

Hundreds, no, thousands of us.

There she comes.

The Queen.

Our old queen.

She...

is leaving the nest?

The new queen is taking over.

And we...

We swarm.

Our people will divide.

Each of us must decide.

Either the familiar hive
under a new queen...

or the familiar queen and
a journey into the unknown.

I will go.

My sister wants to stay.

From now on,
we belong to different colonies.

15000 bees make their way
into an uncertain future.

One thing out here
is the same as always:

The Queen is our focal point.

Where she settles,
we gather.

All of us.

We're vulnerable out here.

Vulnerable.

The honey in our stomachs
only lasts for three days.

And if the weather changes,
we're lost.

We need a new home
as soon as possible.

Maybe, I can find it for us.

I am experienced enough now.

I know what is important.

Old trees.

I could find what we need here.

A tree hollow.

Perfect.

It offers us protection.

However, it must not be inhabited.

What luck!

It seems to be empty.

But, is it big enough?

At the moment, we are only 15000.

Soon, we could be twice as many.

So go ahead, measure it.

On foot.

The size of a cave is
best measured in bee steps.

I believe it is it.

Only one thing has to be right:

The entrance.

It should point south-east,

so that the sun warms us...

as soon as it rises.

Precisely!

Now, I just have to convince the others.

I'll dance so wildly
and persistently...

like a bee has never danced before.

Only if I give my all,
will they follow me.

It works.

We break up.

We will build a new nest
out of nowhere.

We have everything we need with us.

We carry it within us...

beeswax.

Our wax glands come alive.

Bees don't need scaffolding.

What do we have our bodies for?

Cell by cell, we create our nest.

Cells for the supplies.

Cells for the new brood.

Soon, the new bees will hatch.

No newly established
bee colony has been easy.

Most don't get past their beginnings.

But, we did it.

It is hot.

Sweltering hot.

No rain for days.

The air is sluggish and heavy.

Especially, in here.

We need a consistent
temperature in the hive,

no less and no more
than 36 degrees.

Each degree more
can kill our larvae.

And they are our future.

Fanning helps.

But, it takes too much energy.

We can't keep it up.

We need a cool down.

I can smell the flowers from afar.

But, how do you find water?

I don't smell water.

I can't hear it either.

But, I can see the sunlight
on its surface.

Its glitter.

Here, exactly what we need.

Each of us can only
carry a few drops.

But together, we can
manage several liters a day.

Now, our fanning is worth it.

This causes the water to evaporate,

and this is how we cool our nest.

It works!
Finally, the temperature drops.

Our larvae will survive.

We have a future again.

Just a few wing beats later,
the world can already look different.

Heat follows rain,

death follows life,

and vice versa.

From now on,
only one thing counts for us.

We must prepare for winter.

For that, we need new supplies.

Everything we had
brought up so far...

stayed in the old hive.

We have to start from scratch.

In the next few weeks,

we have to collect a lot
of nectar and pollen.

At least one kilogram of pollen,

and two kilograms of nectar,

and that every day.

We seem to be on the right track.

At least for now.

We make it!

Hornets!

They want everything:

Our honey, our brood, us.

We don't stand a chance
against them in air combat.

Out here alone, I am just as lost.

I have to go back to the nest!

Made it!

If they get inside,

our offspring will be lost.

They are much stronger than us.

Still, we'll defend our nest
to the last bee.

The hornet shell is tough.

But not hard enough.

We can bite other insects
without dying.

This will not have been
the last attack.

We must find another way
to protect our nest.

The hornets are strong.

But, we are many.

We are like one tank.

The danger is over.

We bees have always survived
because we stick together.

Together, we raise our offspring.

Together, we fend off enemies.

As long as we stick together,

each and every one of us
has a chance.

We feel our age on our wings.

Now, my wings are worn out too.

For seven long weeks,
I felt light and warmth.

Drank nectar.

Fought hornets.

And even found a new home for us.

I harvested so many flowers.

At least, 50000!

I flew almost a thousand
kilometers for this.

And to get the next winter bees
through the cold time,

our people made
100 kilos of honey.

A whole teaspoon of this
is mine alone.

I lived seven weeks.

It's been a good life.

A bee life.

DIARY OF A BEE