Bees

In the first of a new series of Beyond Belief, Ernie Rea is joined by three beekeepers. Bees have been important to humans for thousands of years. Honey was found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, Aristotle and Virgil wrote about beekeeping and bees and honey get an honourable mention in the scriptures of many religions. There is a whole surah (chapter) in the Qu’ran called ‘The Bee’ ('An-nahl') and the Old Testament refers to Israel as ‘a land of milk and honey’. Bees are vital to our world ecology and they pollinate a third of our crops but their numbers are in decline. To discuss the role of bees and honey in different religious traditions, Ernie is joined by three urban beekeepers: Salma Attan looks after her bees on the roof of the East London Mosque, Rabbi Kelley Gludt tends a hive in Baltimore, Maryland and Adrian Rhodes was the 'Canon Apiarist' at Manchester Cathedral. Producer: Helen Lee