Are beekeepers at fault for maximising production by moving hives around in trucks away from their natural habitat? If so, it is odd that the problem is so sudden given they have been carrying out such practices for decades.

Some scientists are working on a genetically modified "superbee" and also have plans to drug bees to make them work harder. Others feel that rather than solving the problem, this approach is akin to pouring petrol on the flames. "We have seen honeybees treated more like machines than animals," say Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum in their book A World Without Bees.

What is to be done? More research is always an easy demand to make. But it does seem disproportionate that so much more has gone into investigating global warming than colony collapse disorder - especially given that there is no disputing the existence of the latter phenomenon. It would also make sense that until the cause of the disorder is identified, its effects are countered by the encouragement of traditional, low-intensity bee keeping.

If you want to save the world and have a bit of space available in your garden, then become an apiarist.