Bees

Bees have been around for over 100 million years, and in that time, they've found a niche in almost every part of the globe. There are over 20,000 species of bees, but thanks to our close relationship with honeybees, most well-known bee facts relate to this hive-dwelling species alone. In fact, around half of the planet's bee species are solitary, most don't make or store honey, and they can look very different to the yellow-and-black bees we're familiar with. It's a sad fact that these wonderfully adaptive insects, who've survived a whole host of changes since they first appeared on our planet, are now under serious threat. With around one-third of bee species in decline, it's a critical time for us to do everything we can to support them. It's easy to see why the loss of bees would be catastrophic - we couldn't survive without pollinators, but their extinction would have an impact well beyond their role in providing the food we eat. Bees and other pollinators are part of our planet's delicately balanced ecosystem. If a bee species dies out, the plants and trees that depend on it are affected too; in turn, the creatures that feed on or live on those plants are affected, and so on up the food chain.