But in recent years the species has come under threat and beekeepers have seen the numbers dwindle.

It has been estimated that the number of British honeybees has halved over the last 25 years and scientists claim there are only enough to properly pollinate a quarter of the country’s crops.

Experts have warned that the collapse of bee colonies could buy plavix without prescription trigger a farming crisis, but why populations are being hit so hard has remained largely a mystery.

It is thought populations could have plummeted as the insect’s meadowland habitats were concreted over and their wildflower food supply killed by herbicides.

A recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has added weight to the theory that even low doses of an insecticide have an adverse effect on hives.