On World Bee Day, sponsored by the U.N., we check in on the health of the world's bee population. Plus, a viral TikTok beekeeper who specializes in removing bees from even the unlikeliest of places.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
OK. Today, this very day, is World Bee Day.
(SOUNDBITE OF BEES BUZZING)
INSKEEP: If you hear that sound, bees, and you're in Austin, Texas, call Erika Thompson, a professional beekeeper who's been relocating bees for years. She shares her work on TikTok.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIKTOK VIDEO)
ERIKA THOMPSON: The landlord wanted to call an exterminator, but the family who lived here wanted to save the bees, so they called me.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Her fans watch with glee, sometimes a little horror, as she picks up mounds of bees with her bare hands and then moves them somewhere safer.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIKTOK VIDEO)
THOMPSON: After I removed all of the comb, I started scooping bees into the new hive.
INSKEEP: All while staying calm - as one should.
THOMPSON: I've removed bees from a lot of crazy places. You know, I've removed bees from homes, from RVs, from tires and speakers and even a couch one time and a toilet.
MARTIN: Thompson's work is about more than getting millions of views per video, which she does.
THOMPSON: Bees are just a key factor in creating diverse and healthy ecosystems.
MARTIN: The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization agrees. Hence, World Bee Day.
INSKEEP: Bzz (ph).
MARTIN: Hien Ngo is one of their pollinator experts.
HIEN NGO: There are 20,000 species of bees around the world, and a lot of these bees are in decline.
INSKEEP: That includes honeybees like the ones Thompson rescues in Austin, but Ngo says they only make up a fraction of all the kinds of bees in the world. Climate change, pesticides and habitat loss are putting many of those species at risk.
NGO: Bees really provide for us in many ways - food provisioning, human well-being. They're important for our culture, dating back thousands of years in terms of heritage, inspiration of art.
MARTIN: And inspiration for TikTok.
THOMPSON: The other day I was called to a swarm of bees that were hanging from a tractor and they were hanging there in the shape of Texas. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. I'm really excited to share that one.
MARTIN: And we are excited to have shared with you all this moment. Happy World Bee Day.
(SOUNDBITE OF SHAWN LEE'S PING PONG ORCHESTRA'S "FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE")
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