There can be few creatures more recognisable and distinctive as a bee.

They provide us with an important cultural reference to the natural world, perhaps only matched by the butterfly.

Most children grow up being able to instantly recognise the black and yellow stripes and humming buzz of a bee.

Sadly, this is typically learnt from children’s books and television, much more rarely now a result of exploring a flower-rich garden or meadow.

As adults, we tend to hold on to the assumptions we were taught as children; bees make honey and bees-wax, they sting, bumble bees are too heavy to fly, but do anyway, and of course they are better than wasps.

But as with many things, and particularly nature, the truth is far stranger.

Bees have been in the news a lot recently, and for good reason, as their decline (along with a great many other insect species) has become a worry.

The disappearance of worldwide bee populations has prompted the United Nations to instigate a World Bee Day, held on the 20 of May each year.

Bees play a vital role as the primary pollinators of both native plants and agricultural crops.

The day’s main purpose is to raise awareness of the threat to bees from harmful human activities, and there are plenty of those.

Most recently the widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides was implicated in their decreasing numbers, as it was........

© Norwich Evening News