Bee filmmaker Martin Dohrn developed a bond with a bee called Nicki.

Martin Dohrn filmed My Garden of a Thousand Bees after documenting about 60 wild bee species in his 10m × 30m Bristol garden, and his close relationship with a wood‑carving leafcutter he named Nicki is a central thread in the programme.

Martin Dohrn turned an extended period of observation during the Covid‑19 lockdown into a BBC Four documentary, My Garden of a Thousand Bees. He had long watched insects in his Bristol garden and discovered many more species than he expected. The film follows roughly 60 wild bee species and focuses on Dohrn’s unusual bond with a wood‑carving leafcutter he named Nicki. The programme explores bee behaviour, individual differences and questions about cognition in wild bees. Key facts: - Dohrn, aged 68, recorded around 60 wild bee species in a 10m × 30m urban Bristol garden. - Nicki is a wood‑carving leafcutter bee; Dohrn named her after a nick in her wing and observed behaviours he interpreted as decision‑making. - Filming took place largely during 2020; Dohrn spent about £20,000 on custom lenses and equipment and built a ‘‘Bee City’’ of drilled log and clay houses. - Dohrn describes technical challenges: bees’ small size, quick movement and avoidance of perceived threats required patient, distant filming approaches. - The programme shows nesting, mating and interspecies interactions and raises discussion of whether wild bees display forms of individual behaviour or sentience. - Dohrn has since moved to a smaller 10m × 10m garden with some of his original bee houses and is planning further projects, including a film on microscopic pond life and a book. Summary: The documentary highlights the diversity and behaviours of wild bees and brings attention to how much can be learned from close, patient observation of urban nature. My Garden of a Thousand Bees is scheduled to air on BBC Four on Wednesday 25 March, and Dohrn is continuing to work on new natural history projects.