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The humble bee might be small, but it plays a vital role in the future of our planet. Wild bees pollinate food crops and other plants, but they are in global decline - and this spells trouble ahead when it comes to our ability to grow produce.

A scientific study of the bee population in the UK since 1980 revealed one-third of species in Britain had experienced a decline. While other insects, such as hoverflies, also pollinate food crops, it's too risky to rely on them, should bees decline further, according to the author of the report, Dr Gary Powney.

The study, carried out by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Wallingford, reinforces research done by other environmental bodies, such as Friends of the Earth. Around 10% of Europe's wild bee species are on the verge of extinction. The decline is caused by a loss of habitat, climate change, the use of harmful pesticides and disease.

While bees might seem like a pest if you're trying to sunbathe in your garden and they're buzzing around, you should be pleased that this amazing insect chooses to visit your domain! The beehive is a complex entity, with its own thriving community living inside, in a tiny eco-system. At the head of the hive is the queen bee.

Why is the queen bee so important?

The queen bee is the reason that the hive exists, as she gives birth to all of the other bees that live there. A bee colony commonly consists of three kinds of adult bee: the queen, workers and drones. All members have their own definitive tasks to perform.

The bees rely on each other for everything in order to keep their community running efficiently. Without one of the types of bee, the hive wouldn't survive. The worker bees are female but don't reproduce. They do all the work, such as feeding the queen, larvae and drones, doing the housekeeping and collecting the pollen and nectar.

Drones are male bees and unlike their female counterparts, they don't have the ability to sting. Nor do they gather pollen and nectar. Their primary role is to mate with the queen to keep the bee population going.

What is the queen bee's life like?

The queen bee begins her life like any other larva, but she is gradually nurtured to become a queen by being fed a special diet, mainly comprising royal jelly - a protein secreted by the young worker bees.

It's not as simple as becoming the queen - there may be several females in the hive who are able to reproduce at first, so the one who eventually becomes queen is the only reproducing female left in the hive. She has to be quite ruthless to gain this lofty position.

Her first priority, as an adult bee, is to destroy any other potential queen bees' pupae. She can cut open their shells with her stinging tail or make a unique battle call and then kill off her rivals! Once victorious, her life is unlike that of any other bee. She takes to her throne and should anyone challenge her authority, she is the only bee that can sting repeatedly, like a wasp. Once on the throne, her every need is met by the other bees.

She is fed and has her waste removed for her, so all she has to do is mate and lay eggs. Normally, she will mate with between ten and 15 drones over a three-day period. This fertilises her eggs for the next seven years. Every day, she can lay up to 20,000 eggs, which will eventually grow into bees.

How long do bees live?

A queen honeybee can live up to five years, but on average, she lives around three years. She is at her most vigorous up to the age of two years when her vitality starts to diminish. Other bees will sense when the queen's pheromone begins to decline, and the workers will start to nurture another potential queen bee to take over. However, if the current queen is strong enough to win a battle against a new contender, she can remain queen of the hive and continue to lay eggs, until the next challenger emerges. When two queen bees meet in the hive, it will be a fight to the death!

The bees in the hive eat the nectar and pollen collected by the female foragers — the older worker bees who are sent out each day to gather food. They take it back to the hive in an elastic pouch known as their "honey stomach", collecting pollen and carrying it back to the hive in their rear legs.

Male bees don't have such a great life. Once the queen has given birth to a multitude of babies and the male bees' services for mating are no longer required, they have to go out and fend for themselves. This is why you will see so many bees flying around, looking for ways to survive, over the summer months.

Workers have an average lifespan of four to six months and the drones live for only around 55 days.

What happens when the queen bee dies?

If the queen bee dies suddenly, while still on the throne, it upsets the other bees in the colony. According to scientific research, it causes temporary chaos in the hive. However, despite being upset, the worker bees act quickly to restore order, finding larvae less than three days old and placing contenders for the new queen into vertically hanging "queen cells", where they start feeding them royal jelly. The larvae are carefully nurtured and after about 15 days, they start to emerge, and the cycle begins again - one female emerges victorious and becomes queen.

Next time you're out doing a spot of gardening, enjoying a picnic or a country walk, don't shrink away if you happen to see a bee. Instead, marvel at the wonders of nature and how this tiny little creature, with its complex and organised life, plays such a huge and important role in the wellbeing of the human race.