A buzzing catalogue of some important bee-types—the rock bee, little bee, Indian hive bee, European bee, and dammer bee. *************************************** So far, we have only touched upon a few of the many things about the life of bees and what an important part they play in saving our planet. Honey is not just something sweet and tasty; but what makes it sweeter is the makers of honey—the bees. There are over 2,000 bee species across the world and not all of them make honey. In India, there are five major bee types that produce honey...

Harvesting wild honey has been the main occupation of the Cholanayakan and Kattunayakan tribes of Wayanad, in Kerala, for centuries. But the recent drought and delayed summer rain have affected the harvesting of wild honey. The number of beehives has come down drastically, by over 50 per cent from 2023. Honeybees make hives every year on the same big trees. The right amount of rain, according to the season, is crucial for honey production. But unseasonal rain is posing a huge threat to it, affecting the tribes that depend on honey collection for their survival...

Check out some amazing honeybee facts about these nature's tiny engineers and their sweet secrets. ************************************ How many eyes do honeybees have? Bees have FIVE EYES and SIX LEGS. How do honeybees share information with each other? By DANCING. They do a figure of 8 dance called the ‘waggle dance’. Through this dance, they tell the other bees where pollen, water, etc. is available.  How many flowers do honeybees have to visit to get a kilo of honey? About 40 LAKH flowers. But one bee makes only about 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime. So, you need thousands of bees to make …

A fascinating narrative by Grandpa Marigan to a curious child, discovering the sacred traditions of the Kattunayakan tribe and how it honours the bees, the bears, and trees for honey. This is the rallying call of the village elder when he invites his companions to join him in going to the forest to collect honey among other things. Marigan, the wise old Kattunayakan elder from Chembakolli village in the Gudalur Valley of the Nilgiris, has been collecting wild honey from the time he was a child.

An inspiring story of a school teacher, transforming a barren hilltop into an evergreen haven with sheer grit, indefatigable passion, and true love for nature. ******************************* My name is Jeevan Singh. I was duly appointed in government service by my state’s education department in 2010. But I got properly initiated as a teacher only when I was posted at the Government Primary School, Sidhot, based in Salooni Educational Block of Chamba district in Himachal...    

We are passing through another wave of extinction of species, and even the tiniest insects are threatened. Join Sorit on an exploration of this apocalypse that has put a deep dark shadow over this seemingly teeming world.

Honeybees are an integral part of mountain farming in Himachal Pradesh. They are a source of income, nutrition, and medicine for mountain communities. These tiny superorganisms help in the pollination of plants, which increases the productivity of crops and maintains the biodiversity of the region.Traditionally, farmers in Himachal Pradesh keep the indigenous honeybee called...

For young and curious minds, one of nature’s enduring mysteries is how an eternally busylooking, buzzing insect – the honey bee – manages to create a food (honey) that is so sublime. And added to that is the question that always comes up: is the honey that I am eating ‘really good for my health’ and ‘pure and natural’? We invite children, teachers and parents to a special Young Environmentalist MasterClass on the subject of honey and honey bees, with two well-known experts – Stan Thekaekara of Just Change India and Amit Khurana of Centre for Science and Environment.

What is the truth behind India's honey? How pure is the honey made by your favourite brand? Are you eating nature's wonder food or are the companies selling you cheap and unhealthy sugar? To find these answers let us look at the latest report by the Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment or CSE. CSE has earlier exposed pesticides in colas and packaged drinking water, antibiotics in honey, GMO's in packaged food, and excess salts and trans fat in junk foods...