"Mutant Bees" on the Science Channel

[CBiebel]

I happened upon this TV show by accident (one of those cases where you are watching a DVD, and after it's over, you see what is being shown on the channel that was on).

I ended up having to search for a rebroadcast because I didn't have enough saved from it.

It's an interesting story about various aspects of bees and honey.

First, it mentioned the "killer bees" and how because of them, Brazil has a higher honey production than they normally would.

Then, the go into various ways that the study of bees is being used from everything from planetary exploration (they are trying to model unmanned aircraft after the behavior and visual acuity of bees) to bomb detectors (they can train bees to be able to "sniff" for explosives).

They then go into the various medical uses for honey. They mention that using honey on an infection can prevent the spread of flesh eating bacteria. They also mention that a doctor in India is using it to treat various eye problems in his patients, with a 60% success rate.

[Arcanum]

Neat!

Speaking of "killer bees", I read recently that they're becoming more docile. That is, hives of docile Africanized bees are becoming more common while hives of aggressive bees are becoming rarer.

Aggressive hives have been terminated with extreme prejudice for decades, so I guess that and intentional breeding for gentle hives are finally having an effect. Evolution in action!