You might be forgiven for wondering what impact the decline of wild bees could have on food produced at the Speyside Specialities plant in Buckie.
But the role of the six legged insect in the food chain is of far more importance than you could ever imagine.
Without their pivotal role in the pollination of crops many of the ingredients we need to create our produce would be lost.
Did you know that more than three quarters of global food crops need pollination to survive?
Scientists recently studied the pollination of more than 40 crops in 600 fields across every populated continent and discovered wild pollinators were twice as effective as honeybees in producing seeds and fruit on crops including oilseed rape, coffee, onions and tomatoes.
Trucking in of managed honeybee hives didn’t replace wild pollination when these pollinators were lost.
The decline of honeybee colonies due to disease and pesticides has lead to concern from food scientists.
If they were to die out completely the agricultural demands of the growing human population would never be met.
An industry study recently published revealed that more than half of the wild bee species were lost in the 20th century in the US.
This is in part due to widespread forests being reduced to the fragments that remain today.
So what is being done to help save bees and similar wild insects?
People are being encouraged to stop using pesticides, plant bee friendly plants, and to support or even become a beekeeper themselves.
What food would you miss the most if it wasn’t on your shelves?
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