Bees are some of Scotland’s most loved insects. They can be found buzzing around our gardens, in grasslands, on our coasts, in wetlands and even up mountains. Whilst many will be familiar with one species in particular – the honeybee – bees are in fact very diverse: they come in many different sizes, rely on different flowers for food, and some bees live in colonies whereas many more are solitary.
The 20th May marks UN World Bee Day – a day to recognise the essential roles that bees and other pollinators play in our natural environment and in our day-to-day lives. And, with 115 different species of bee recorded in Scotland, there’s a lot to celebrate!
The theme of this year’s UN World Bee Day, as the title of this blog suggests, acknowledges the critical importance of bees and other pollinators in food production. Indeed, bees are one of the most significant groups of pollinating insects – all of which we depend upon for pollinating 80% of our wild and cultivated plants[i]. In financial terms, pollination by bees and other insects is estimated to add over £600 million per year to the UK economy, with an estimated replacement cost of a staggering £1.8 billion[ii] if we were to try to pay people to hand-pollinate crops without bees.
Despite their critical importance, these remarkable insects are under threat. In 2024, UK bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter (22.5%) compared to the 2010-2023 average[iii]. More broadly, pollinator numbers in the UK have declined by 24% since 1980[iv] and the number of flying insects sampled on vehicle number plates across Scotland has fallen by a shocking 65% since 2021[v].
With threats including habitat loss and fragmentation, the widespread use of pesticides and climate change and extreme weather, it’s clear that our wild bees and other pollinators need support. These declines also have far-reaching implications for our countryside and our ability to produce healthy, affordable food.
To mark UN World Bee Day and to raise awareness of the plight of our wild bees and pollinators, Scottish Environment LINK were joined by five MSP Nature Champions (Patrick Harvie MSP, Roz McCall MSP, Mark Ruskell MSP, Graham Simpson MSP and Evelyn Tweed MSP) for a special bee visit, hosted by the University of Stirling.
As part of this visit, MSPs heard from Senior Lecturer, Dr Gema Martin-Ordas, who is leading on some fascinating research at the University of Stirling into bee cognition. Dr Martin-Ordas took us on a tour of her lab and described how her recent research has shown that bees are capable of logical reasoning – a skill that was once thought to be unique to humans – showing just how much there is still to learn about these extraordinary insects.
MSPs were then led on a ‘Wild Bee Safari’ around the campus by LINK colleagues from Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Buglife Scotland. On the safari, MSPs were able to get up close with different wild bee species to learn about their unique characteristics, before engaging in a competitive cross-party game of ‘Wild Bee Bingo’. These organisations also provided presentations on how they’re helping to recover bee and pollinator populations through projects such as B-lines and Skills for Bees, as well as highlighting the key actions that policymakers need to take to protect and restore Scotland’s pollinators.
With much to learn and admire about these ever-busy creatures, we hope that these MSP Nature Champions were able to ‘bee inspired’ to take their learning back into the Scottish Parliament and to be a voice for some of Scotland’s smallest inhabitants. After all, we simply cannot afford to lose them.
By Andrew Marks, Parliamentary Officer
[i] IPBES (2016). The assessment report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services on pollinators, pollination and food production. S.G. Potts, V. L. Imperatriz-Fonseca, and H. T. Ngo (eds). Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Bonn, Germany.
[ii] Potts S.G., Breeze T.D., Garratt M.P. & Senapathi G.D. (2023). The Role of Bees and Other Pollinators in the UK Food System – An Evidence Update. Written evidence submitted by University of Reading, School of Agriculture, policy and Development (INS0032), University of Reading, Berkshire, UK.
[iii] Comont, R. F., & Dickinson, H. (2025). BeeWalk Annual Report 2025. Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Stirling, UK. Available at: https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/publications/beewalk-annual-report-2025/
[iv] JNCC (2022). UK Biodiversity Indicators: Status of Pollinating Insects. Available at: https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/ukbi-pollinating-insects/
[v] Ball, L., Whitehouse, A., Bowen-Jones, E., Amor, M., Banfield, N., Hadaway, P. & Hetherington, P. (2024). The Bugs Matter Citizen Science Survey of Insect Abundance. Buglife, Peterborough. UK. Available at: www.buglife.org.uk/news/bugs-matter-survey-shows-ongoing-decline-in-uk-flying-insects