The populations of several bee species have been falling sharply across the world, and many colonies are collapsing every day, some of which seemingly without cause. Some people would tell you that there is nothing much to be lost with much fewer bees in the world, however the reality is a lot different. Because of their unique place in many of the world's ecosystems, a large fall in bee species may well trigger a mass extinction event across every group of organisms on the planet.

Despite the fact that there are several species that can pollinate common plant species, the fact is that bees are responsible for the vast majority of this activity. Also there are several plant species, which are only pollinated by bees, and no other species at all. This meaning of course that the biodiversity of plants in many areas would become irrevocably damaged without bees there to pollinate.

The bee species that is currently being hit hardest is the European honeybee species, which is also prevalent in North America as well. Worryingly this species is also the one most commonly used for commercial honey production, as well as a lot of the pollination of many plant species.

One of the reasons that honeybees are thought o be failing is because less and less crops are there for them to feed on these days. With the emergence of genetic modification with farming, there are now many androgynous species of crops that cannot reproduce. Because of this they don't tend to flower in the same was as before, and so don't provide bees with their staple food as they once did. This coupled with the fact that there are less wild areas containing food for the bees, means that many colonies slowly shrink and starve.

So for many bee colonies finding food is a lot more difficult than it once was. Where in years past they might have been surrounded with flowering fields that provided them with an endless supply of food. Now however, fields of sterile crops that do not breed naturally and so don't feed them at all surround them. On a large enough scale, this means that there is simply no food within a suitable radius for many hive sites.

As well as this in modern times many crops are now sprayed with many different types of pesticides in order to stop them from being eaten by species such as locusts. Often as a by-product however, all invertebrate species that come into contact with these crops are killed. This is particularly hazardous for colonies of insects such as ants, wasps,

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