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The honey bee plays an essential role in maintaining life as we know it, by pollinating plants. Unfortunately, bee numbers are declining and unless we take urgent action we could be facing a very differentÌýenvironment.

So it's not surprising thatÌýmany scientists are deployed in ways to help stimulate honey bee colonies – all bee colonies for that matter.ÌýAt Cardiff University this week, the School of Pharmacy has launched a project to discover whether bees have different accents. And they'reÌýurging Wales' beekeepers to help by sending in recordings and photos of their bees. The team at Cardiff has also beenÌýinvestigating the origins of a WelshÌý'superhoney', which might be used as an antibacterial agent on infectionsÌýnow resistant to antibiotics.

And at Bangor University, a team has been working on some quite ingenious ways to track bees. The thinking is that the more we know about bees and what helps them to flourish, the better we can protect future generations.ÌýÌýÌý