And the answer is....

Nine years ago I posted about the decline in the bee population and suggested that this could have serious repercussions for food production.  Well now it seems that science has established that the main cause is the use of a class of pesticide called neonicotinoids which are used to protect oilseed rape plants from a certain predatory beetle.  But of course, oilseed rape is an important crop and the National Farmers Union insist that neonicotinoids - or something similar - must be employed to ensure a good harvest, and that a small decline in bee population is a price worth paying.  Watch this space.