Bees have been around for over 100 million years, and in that time they've found a niche in almost every part of the globe. There are over 20,000 species of bees, but thanks to our close relationship with honeybees, most well-known bee facts relate to this hive-dwelling species alone.

In fact, around half of the planet's bee species are solitary, most don't make or store honey, and they can look very different to the yellow-and-black bees we're familiar with. It's a sad fact that these wonderfully adaptive insects, who've survived a whole host of changes since they first appeared on our planet, are now under serious threat. With around one-third of bee species in decline, it's a critical time for us to do everything we can to support them.

It's easy to see why the loss of bees would be catastrophic – we couldn't survive without pollinators – but their extinction would have an impact well beyond their role in providing the food we eat. Bees and other pollinators are part of our planet's delicately balanced ecosystem. If a bee species dies out, the plants and trees that depend on it affected too; in turn the creatures who feed or live on those plants are affected and so on up the food chain.