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What makes bees special? We go inside a hive

Brad Weaver
/
Unsplash

In a new National Geographic docuseries, viewers get a look inside a bee hive. The series is called Secrets of the Bees — and since there’s nobody we know who loves bees more than entomologist Sammy Ramsey, we brought him on the show to share some of these secrets. We cover how bees play together (yes, play!), their ability to fend off predators four-times their size and a mite wreaking havoc on honeybees everywhere.

If you liked this episode check out past episodes on liquid gold (a.k.a honey), and honeybees. 

Email us your questions about insects, critters – or anything else to do with science at shortwave@npr.org. We may turn it into an episode in the future!

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Kwesi Lee. 

Emily Kwong (she/her) is the reporter for NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. The podcast explores new discoveries, everyday mysteries and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes, Monday through Friday.