The Crystal Ball: Giant Honeybees Who Predict the Future

The honeybee. The ever-important pollinator for our plants is disappearing. Some call it the silence of the bees, others call it colony collapse disorder. Dr. Sammy Ramsey, our official bug correspondent, wondered, could it be due to parasites? And if so, how do we catch all of them? This question takes Dr. Sammy to the heart of a jungle in Bangladesh to look for overlooked honeybees impervious to parasites. The only problem? He can't find them. With help from a local guide named Babulall, he learns how the most overlooked bees could possibly save all the honey bees in the world. Plus, they have some killer dance moves.

Big special thanks this episode to Babulall Munda and Rubaiyat Mansur Mowgli, both of whom, by the way, will be credited on any scientific papers that come out of the work they did with Dr. Sammy in Bangladesh. 

Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC Studios. This episode was produced by Alan Goffinski, Mira Burt-Wintonick, Joe Plourde and Lulu Miller, with help from Sammy Ramsey, Rico Hernandez, Amanda Gann, Madison Sankovitz, Chris Borke, and Shin Arunrugstichai. 

​​The Terrestrials team also includes Ana González, Tanya Chawla, Sarah Sandbach, and Valentina Powers, with fact-checking by Diane Kelly. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Transcription by Caleb Codding. 

Our advisors are Ana Luz Porzecanski, Andy J. Pizza, Anil Lewis, Dominique Shabazz, Liza Demby, Princess Daazhraii Johnson and Tara Welty.

Learn more about storytellers, listen to music, and dig deeper into the stories you hear on Terrestrials with activities you can do at home or in the classroom on our website, Terrestrialspodcast.org.Badger us on social media: @radiolab and #TerrestrialsPodcast or by emailing us at [email protected].

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Support for Terrestrials is provided by the Simons Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Kalliopeia Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation.