Honeybee live cam offers glimpse into a rapidly declining population

August 16, 2013

From: The Guradian

Explore.org, the site that brought us ‘bear cam’, has launched two live feeds that feature bee colonies in Germany

Amanda Holpuch

The live cam gives a glimpse into what life is like for the honeybee.

The average, unprotected human generally steers clear from a buzzing bee hive. As of today, however, people can safely explore the inside of a hive online.

Explore.org –  the site that brought the world the bear cam – launched two live feeds that feature a bee colony in Germany that has settled in a hollow log.

The camera moves around the colony, showing hundreds of bees as they build combs, crawl around the hive and produce honey.

It also shows a small glimpse of what life is like for the honeybee, an insect that’s population is rapidly declining under the threat of Colony Collapse disorder – the mystery disease that has wiped out more than 10m beehives in the past six years.

Another live cam, best viewed between 6am and 9pm Central European time, shows the traffic at one of the entrances of the beehive – with the creatures constantly taking off and landing as they crawl in and out of the hive.

These bees are based in the small town of Waal, in Bavaria, Germany.  The colony is rebuilding after a hive collapse – which was captured on video and is thought to be one of the only videos that shows the inside of a collapsing beehive.