Big Buzzer: watch a live video feed from a bee colony

You’ve probably never really had the urge to stick your head into a beehive, but now, thanks to Explore and its new live feed straight from the middle of a buzzing colony in Germany, you don’t have to.

The infrared camera moves around the hive, providing a unique perspective into the (not so) private life of a bee.

The colony is housed inside a large hollow log near the town of Waal in Bavaria. The bees are currently rebuilding after a hive collapse – which was captured on video.

Explore also provides some enlightening bee facts. Some of them reveal just how important the survival of rapidly declining bee populations is to humankind. It is estimated that out of 100 crop species that provide 90% of food worldwide, bees pollinate 71. One of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators such as bees.

Live streaming video by Ustream

Further reading:

Study claims UK bees are at risk from European imports

EU member states vote to ban fourth pesticide linked to bee decline

Shared Planet: does nature have an economic value?

Government unveils strategy to end UK bee decline

‘Largest mass poisoning of bumblebees’ attributed to pesticides