Life inside the hive
A colony includes a queen, workers and, seasonally, drones. Their different roles support the colony’s life. Observing bees is best done with a trained beekeeper.
Bee Academy
A little curiosity goes a long way.
Get to know the life of a colony, the work of a beekeeper and the journey from flower to honey.
Reading the seasons
Flowering, climate and colony health influence activity and harvest. A quieter period is part of the natural cycle; it does not mean the colony has stopped needing care.
From flower to jar
Traceability records connect a harvest to its source hive, extraction and packing. Good records work together with separated batches, careful handling and quality checks.
Explore the library
Daily foraging: how bees share the route to flowers
BBC Earth explains the waggle dance: how returning foragers communicate a route to food. Daily flight activity varies with weather, season and available flowers; there is no single fixed trip count for every bee.
BBC Earth
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
Wax moths: the hidden threat to honeycomb
Learn about wax moths and the damage their larvae can cause to comb, especially in weak colonies and stored frames.
University of Florida / UF IFAS Honey Bee Lab
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
Hornets at the hive: a battle for survival
Documentary footage of bees facing hornets. Defence strategies depend on the bee species; this is not a defence available to every honey bee colony. Includes natural predation scenes.
National Geographic UK
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
Drones: why the colony needs male bees
A closer look at the biology and reproductive role of drones, the male members of a honey bee colony.
University of Florida / UF IFAS Honey Bee Lab
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
Why the queen leaves with half the colony
Swarming is the colony reproducing: the old queen leaves with roughly half the bees, while the remaining colony raises a replacement. The proportion varies. Learn how beekeepers recognise and manage this natural process.
University of Florida / UF IFAS Honey Bee Lab
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
Meet the queen: the mother of the colony
Dr Jamie Ellis introduces the queen and her role in the honey bee family. Learn what makes her different from workers and drones.
University of Florida / UF IFAS Honey Bee Lab
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
Royal jelly: a conversation with an entomologist
An interview with entomologist Syeda Durrenajaf about royal jelly and beekeeping.
BeeWareOnline
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
Making a beeswax balm
Follow a demonstration of turning beeswax into a finished product.
Bees for Development
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
From honeycomb to clean beeswax
A practical film about processing beeswax, with English subtitles.
Bees for Development
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
Reading the frames: a colony inspection
Paul Kelly demonstrates how a beekeeper examines frames and colony conditions.
University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
What is inside a beekeeper’s hive?
A guided explanation of the parts of a managed beehive.
Sager Family Farm
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
From larva to bee — a close-up time-lapse
Anand Varma captures the development of bees inside their cells.
National Geographic / Anand Varma
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
How bees get their jobs
Meet the workers whose different tasks keep a colony running.
National Geographic
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
The hidden world inside a beehive
Documentary footage takes a closer look at life inside the colony.
National Geographic WILD UK
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
The Hive — Secrets of the Bees
Full documentary: follow a bee and her family into the hidden world of the hive.
National Geographic
Original recording; subtitle options depend on YouTube. Independent educational content, not footage from your Bee Guardian hive.
Play loads the YouTube player. Open on YouTube ↗
Honey harvesting in Ghana
Meet beekeepers harvesting honeycomb in Ghana. Practices and hive types differ by region. Independent educational recording, not a live Bee Guardian apiary feed.
Source: Bees for Development
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Inspecting frames before harvest
An inspection of Flow frames before harvesting. This equipment-specific demonstration is not a Bee Guardian operating procedure. Independent educational recording, not a live Bee Guardian apiary feed.
Source: Flow Hive
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From hive to honey jar
See how honey travels from the university apiary to the jar. Independent educational recording, not a live Bee Guardian apiary feed.
Source: Loughborough University
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A little hive quiz
Does the weight of a hive tell you exactly how much honey was harvested?
Discover the answer
No. Hive weight includes the structure, colony, stores and other contents. Harvest is measured separately when it is collected and extracted.