Wednesday 14 September 2016

The Hive at Kew and the Music of Bees


The Hive at Kew Gardens
I'm completely fascinated by the different sounds and movements honey bees make in the hive. They're constantly communicating with each other, whether it's by the 'waggle dance' (where a returning forager shows the others by a dance where a good source of food is) or whether it's a new queen bee 'piping' (as she emerges from her cell for the first time) or whether it's from the thousands of daily exchanges the bees make with each other that beekeepers see and hear but don't fully understand yet.


So when I heard about the Hive at Kew Gardens (designed by artist Wolfgang Buttress), I was very keen to see it as soon as possible. The Hive was opened earlier this summer and I eventually managed fit in a trip last week. Luckily (for me) there was a bit of break in the heatwave on that day and the weather was cooler and fresher - much more pleasant for wandering around the gardens.

The Hive has been constructed to highlight the importance of honey bees and pollinators to our food security and its design has been inspired by a traditional skep surrounded by a swarm of bees. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Hive is that it's linked to nearby honey bee colonies - and the intensity of sound and light in the structure is controlled by their vibrations.

This element of the design is based on the pioneering research by Dr Martin Bencsik of Nottingham Trent University into bee vibrations and communications. Dr Bencsik's work investigates the use of accelerometers in bee hives. These tiny devices can detect vibrations within hives as bees communicate and they help to predict behaviour, for example, sensing when bees are about to swarm.


Visitors to the Hive are able to feel four types of bee-vibrations in their heads by biting on a small wooden stick connected to a conductor. These vibrations include the queen's piping, begging - when one bee requests food from another, and the waggle dance. The overall sound in the Hive is the hum of a bee hive colony mixed with specially recorded music. This music is based on bees humming in the key of C. I found this gentle sound quite soothing. The only problem was the constant roar of planes flying overhead to Heathrow. I once lived for a while close to Kew Gardens and I'd forgotten how low, loud and distracting the planes are.

The ever-changing light in the Hive is from hundreds of LED bulbs placed within the 170,000 pieces of aluminium that make up the structure.

The Hive is surrounded by an area of wildflowers for pollinators, but I was obviously too late in the year to see the best of this, because most of the flowers had finished.  The bees were finding plenty of other flowers in the gardens, though, such as these alstroemeria;


After leaving the hive I went to look for 'real' bee hives and found them by the kitchen garden. These will be very lucky honey bees; they have so much forage in the gardens here all year round.

Honey bee and bumblebee hives at Kew. These colonies aren't linked to the Hive.
I do believe, then, that the Hive is worth a visit. I know I found it interesting to experience the behaviour of bees through a piece of art. The Hive also reminded me, once again, of the natural beauty of bees and how there's so much more to discover about them.

Here is a link to information on the Hive here  It'll be open until the end of 2017.

27 comments:

  1. Fascinating stuff and if it helps people understand the importance of bees and the beauty of them, then it's doing its job.

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    1. Yes I completely agree. As Kew Gardens is such a popular attraction, it'll receive lots of visits and so many people will be taking a moment to think about bees.

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  2. Goodness, what an amazing structure - it must have been right up your street, almost like being a bee yourself :) Sounds like it is well worth a visit. Studying bees is quite fascinating, there is still so much to be found out about them isn't there.

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    1. I think it's a must for beekeepers and anyone who is a bit bee-obsessed like I am! I've really found the idea of putting bee-communication to music fascinating.

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  3. Dear Wendy - I knew nothing at all about this Hive in Kew Gardens and it sounds so fascinating, and looks really interesting. Kew Gardens is a place that I have been wanting to revisit for a while as I am keen to visit the Marianne North Gallery which was done up two or three years ago - I love Marianne's work and her story - she was one of those intrepid Victorian ladies that went off around the world painting flowers in remote jungles and locations.

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    1. I wish I had had more time in the gardens. I'd forgotten how much there is to see and missed so much on this visit. That is interesting about the Marianne North Gallery. I've decided to back to Kew next summer (probably around mid-summer) and I shall explore the gallery then.

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  4. What fascinating creatures bees are! The Hive sounds amazing and how wonderful to be able to go inside and experience the sounds and movements your own bees experience:)

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    1. I loved the connection to the real bee colonies and experiencing their different communications when they made them. And it was a warm, sunny day so the bees were very active.

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  5. Glad you got the chance to go. I visit often with my baby, love showing him all the flowers.

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    1. Yes, I had to see it, Emily. It is lovely that you live close enough to go to Kew often. It is such an interesting place at different times of the year.

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  6. It looks such an intricate structure. I could imagine it feeling like being inside a hive. What happens inside a hive in winter. Are the bees all asleep?

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    1. It all depends on the weather. On warmer, sunny days, even in winter, the bees will be flying and foraging. On cold, wet days, they'll all cluster around the queen and stay inside. They'll maintain the right temperature to survive (damp kills bees more than cold does in winter)

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  7. The hive is an amazing bit of sculpture, how wonderful to be able to experience what it is like to be a bee!

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    1. Yes, just for a moment it is a glimpse into their world. It has certainly made me think more about the sounds and vibrations in a hive. This'll now be on my mind more when I open up my own colonies.

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  8. A fascinating post Wendy and what an experience it must have been to experience some of the bee sounds and vibrations. Must admit I hadn't heard of the Hive at Kew but it certainly looks well worth a visit - a very clever idea :) As Suzie says it is a wonderful way to get people interested in bees and help them learn more about them.

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    1. I hope lots of children have visited the Hive over the summer and it's appealed to their imagination. It would be great if it's interested them enough to ask more questions about bees. I also noticed several people just sitting silently absorbing the sounds; it is somewhere you can just sit for a few moments and enjoy the experience.

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  9. Thats an interesting form of art Wendy. However, I tend to view swarms of bees from a considerable distance normally as I did earlier this year in the woodland that I walk sometimes.{:))
    Fascinating subject though.

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    1. I think you're very wise not to get too close to a swarm, Roy! Occasionally the bees can be bad tempered. I wouldn't want to be close to them without a suit in that situation.

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  10. Hello Wendy, this has been on my list of things to do and your post has reminded me that I really need to fit in a visit to Kew before it closes! Best wishes, Helen

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    1. Hello Helen. I don't know if they'll consider extending the date of the Hive beyond the end of next year. Apparently it's also been open on certain evenings as well - I think they turn these occasions into more of a special event. Hope you get to visit!
      Best wishes Wendy

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  11. How fascinating. I'm pleased that it will be there until the end of next year - plenty of time to fit in a visit!

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    1. It's a bit vague at the moment about when at the end of next year it will close, but it does give a nice long time to go and see it. I believe it gets closed in certain 'bad' weather conditions, though.

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  12. That looks a really interesting exhibit, a lovely sculture in its own right, shame I'm not close by to go and visit.

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    1. It would be great if they could move the Hive to other areas of the country.

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    2. It would be great if they could move the Hive to other areas of the country.

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  13. That looks amazing and a good way to appreciate and learn more about bees. Did you visit the new large herbaceous gardens when you visited Kew? Sarah x

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    1. Unfortunately I didn't have much time at Kew in the end - I'd forgotten how long it takes to get there from where I am. I have lots of things in the gardens on my list for my next visit.

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