Declining bee population will mean changes to countryside

SUMMER wouldn’t be the same without the drone of bees, as they busily and noisily convert nectar extracted from flowers to honey.

But Ireland’s bee population is facing a range of problems which are leading to a sharp drop in numbers.

Honey bees are under attack from a tiny mite, while almost half of the country’s bumble bee species are also in decline, with several of them in danger of extinction.