Next time you're out enjoying the garden or a blueberry smoothie, spare a thought for the workforce behind these simple pleasures.
They may be feared for their stings, but the humble bee is crucial to maintaining biodiversity and our export earnings.
This little workforce is in fast decline and their demise will come at a devastating cost to us. Evidence shows that bee populations are collapsing across the world because of environmental stressors such as pesticides and the proliferation of specialised, single crop farms as well as a reduction in nectar and pollen caused by urbanisation. These stressors mean bees get weak or starve, are less able to resist disease and reduce their ability to reproduce.
'Colony collapse disorder' - which has seen the number of beehives in the US drop by a quarter over the last two decades - has resulted in massive increases in the price of commodities that rely on bees.
Some crops, such as blueberries, apples and almonds are 90% pollinated by bees. So if New Zealand follows world trends and our bees dance for the last time, you might not be enjoying affordable blueberries with your ice-cream next summer.
