Honey bee nest, Waal Live Cam

An infrared camera sits inside a honey bee colony living in a hollow log at Waal, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The bees cover the comb in a dense mass, and the picture stays grey because the nest is lit with infrared rather than visible light.

The colony lives in a hollow trunk rather than a beekeeper's hive, which is how wild honey bees nest when they can choose. Workers fan air through the cavity, feed the brood in the centre of the comb and repair the wax, and the cluster shifts position over the course of a day.

The stream is run by explore.org, which operates a network of nature cameras. Activity rises through spring and summer; in winter the colony draws into a tight cluster and moves very little.