In the UK, there are around 267 species of bee, including one honeybee species and 24 bumblebee species - the rest are solitary bees. Their diversity, coupled with their exclusive diet of pollen and nectar, means bees are regarded as the main pollinators of most of our wildflowers and insect-pollinated crops.
The benefits of the pollination services provided by bees range from improving the look of landscapes, gardens or parks to helping maintain and spread populations of insect-pollinated plants that provide food, shelter and resources to other wildlife.
Pollination is also vital to the production of many horticultural and agricultural crops in the UK.
This pollination is valued at £510m per year. Crops differ in their dependency on insect pollination, from highly dependent horticultural crops like apples and runner beans, to the less dependent combinable crops like oilseed rape.