Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Wgbh Boston
• VHS Release Date: August 1, 2000
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004REQS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,401 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When we buy a bottle of honey, we don't give it much thought. We might give it more consideration, though, if we were bees; it requires nectar from a staggering 10 million flowers to produce one liter of honey! With droll narration and amazing up-close photography, Nova looks at the world inside the hive and the incredible array of instincts hard-wired into each bee. The hives are run like military operations, with guard bees at the hive's entrance, workers toiling away inside, more workers making the rounds for pollen, and drones impregnating the queen to ensure future generations. The documentary follows the life and times of a hive even as they give up one location and relocate (with bee engineers taking measurements to start construction of a new hive). As with many Nova segments, the nature photography in this documentary is nothing short of astonishing. David Ogden Stiers provides the narration. --Jerry Renshaw

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable Photography - You Are THERE In The Hive!, May 4, 2000

By 

S. Wussow (WI, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nova: Tales From the Hive [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video features some of the most incredible close-up photography ever shot. FLY on the back of a bee as it harvests nectar and pollen... CRAWL through the hive as the queen lays thousands of eggs each day... You'll be treated to watching bees measure, using their bodies, for new hive construction, and seeing them as they swarm to look for a new home. See how they interact with their human keepers, and how they protect their home from marauding neighbors. You will never look at bees again the same way after watching this video - it is stunning, informative, entertaining AND educational.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Biology Teacher's Dream, May 16, 2001

By 

Leslee Kientzler (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nova: Tales From the Hive [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I use this in my applied biological science classes and have found that high schoolers are amazingly quiet while it is on! The footage is so fascinating and the video accurately explains the life cyle of the hive and its queen, the mating process, the duties within the hive, survival against predators, and social aspects of the hive. I am an insect fan and I LOVE this video. Even my three year old likes the video. She may not understand it but seems to like watching it. I would recommend this for 6th grade and up as part of a science course.....If you are just a BEE - FAN - then this is the video you MUST have!