Did you catch Daphne du Maurier’s ‘The Birds’ on Radio 4? I did and had a serious re-think about the birdhouse and feeder I’ve just ordered for our patio (visions of Trafalgar Square condensed into a 7x10-foot space – not a pretty picture).

 

We take for granted the fragile balance of nature, but too many – or too few – of a particular species and nature turns nasty. A plague of locusts devouring fields of crops is a terrifying sight, but even cute-n-cuddly creatures would be a menace if their numbers mushroomed. Billions of bunnies or hordes of hedgehogs would quickly lose their charm.

 

I've never seen the Hitchcock film, but when The Swarm hit the cinemas, I practically broke out in hives. Like most folks cowering in their seats, I was convinced an overabundance of bees would bring about the collapse of civilisation. Ironically it may be a bee shortage that does the trick.

 

Bees are disappearing around the globe, and scientists, beekeepers and farmers are getting antsy. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) or Vanishing Bee Syndrome (VBS) is rife – many beekeepers have lost 50-90% of their colonies, billions of bees in total. The adult bees simply disappear. We could imagine they’ve all simply retired to sunny Spain where they lounge by the pool and reminisce about the good old days, but it's not a strike, it’s an epidemic. The jury's still out on the cause, but suspects include: environmental and climate changes confusing the bees; malnutrition; mites or disease; lack of genetic diversity (apparently many bees are inbred due to mail-order queens); falling fertility, pesticides or GM crops.

 

Most scientists agree that bees are definitely ‘stressed’. Stress? Honeybees? Talk about living in clover. I thought bees were immune from the anxieties of our age, no fretting about fine lines and wrinkles, orange-peel thighs, terrorism or a mortgage ten times your salary. Just buzzing about without a care in the world, nuzzling up the nectar of sweet-smelling flowers. So long as a human doesn’t come along with a rolled-up newspaper, it’s all good, right? Apparently not.

Pollinators such as bees affect 35 per cent of the world’s crop production. If bees disappear, obesity may no longer be the problem it is today. You can pollinate crops by hand, but it’s an expensive, time-consuming process (basically a person wielding a paintbrush – not practical for hectares of rolling fields).

Last week’s Chelsea Flower Show created a buzz with several bee-themed gardens. Unfortunately, at the last minute organisers banned live bees, citing health and safety.  The British Beekeepers Association display promoted urban beekeeping. If you want to do you bit to save the bees, but you're wary of hosting an entire hive, help solitary bees such as Masons or Leafcutters onto the property ladder with this bee house (£15.99, Monarch Gardens). With the UK's housing shortage, they may not get sole occupancy – ladybirds like it too.

 

Maybe the Chelsea ban got the world's bees in a pique – last week a swarm brought down a flight from Bournemouth to Portugal. Kamikaze bees filled the engines and the plane had to make an emergency landing. It seems bees aren’t the only critters with chips on their shoulders. A pair of nesting Eagle Owls in Lancashire have tired of the twitchers and they’re not going to take it anymore. They’re swooping aggressively, attacking people and dogs. Maybe they heard 'The Birds' too and now have fantasies of world domination, Lex Luthor style. If it takes more than a couple of divebombing owls to intimidate you, encourage wildlife with a colourful nesting box from Monarch Gardens (right).