They wrote it right into their business plan -– an expectation that, each year, at least half the stock on which their livelihood depends would die.Building a business around bees is not for the faint-hearted. “You have to be a little crazy,” says James Cook, who, with wife Samantha Jones, started beekeeping eight years ago. They knew well the challenges their bees face –- parasites and the impact of pesticides among them.

The global attention has been brought to the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy following a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2017 declaring May 20 as the “World Bee Day (WBD)”. The first observance of WBD was held on 20 May 2018 in Ljubljana, Republic of Slovenia. Each year, observation of WBD highlights the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping ecosystem healthy.

Bumblebees acquire a taste for food laced with a pesticide known to harm them, according to a study suggesting the chemicals pose an even greater threat to pollinators than previously thought.