Britain is undergoing widespread losses of pollinating insects in recent decades, which scientists say "highlights a fundamental deterioration" in nature.

The first national survey in Britain of its kind was published in the journal Nature Communication.  Based on more than 700,000 sightings made by volunteers across Britain from 1980 to 2013, it determined the average number of species found in a square kilometer fell by eleven.  In addition, the range of 353 wild bee and hoverfly species has been reduced by 25 percent during the length of the study. 

A severe decline in bee species occurred since 2007, coinciding with the introduction of a widely used neonicotinoid insecticide.  It has since been banned in the UK and other countries.

"Previous studies have described declines in UK butterflies, moths, carabid beetles, bees and hoverflies – this new study confirms that declines in insects are ongoing," said Professor Dave Goulson of the University of Sussex.  

Pollinating insects are critical to natural ecosystems and human food security.  Three-quarters of crops grown for food depend on them.  Or put more bluntly... no bees, no us.