Episode 2

There is an elegant logic to the architecture of a bee's body.

Participants on a bee hunting course in Arizona arouse the suspicions of the US border police.

Dr Thor Hanson on the nature and necessity of bees.

Bees are like oxygen - ubiquitous, essential and, for the most part, unseen. While we might overlook them, they lie at the heart of relationships that bind the human and natural worlds. Dr Hanson takes us on a journey that begins 125 million years ago, when a wasp first dared to feed pollen to its young.

From honeybees and bumbles to lesser-known diggers, miners, leafcutters, and masons, bees have long been central to our harvests, our mythologies, and our very existence. They have given us sweetness and light, the beauty of flowers and as much as a third of the foodstuffs we eat. And, alarmingly, they are at risk of disappearing.

Read by Elliot Levey

Abridged by Polly Coles

Producer: Clive Brill

A Brill production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2018.