Wet spring weather in Scotland has reduced the sex drive of queen bees and threatens the future of the country's hives.
Alan Teale, vice president of the Scottish Beekeepers Association, told The Scotsman that the past two years have been bad for bee reproduction.
"The appalling summer last year was one of the worst in living memory for bees and that was followed by this cold and windy spring, and the bees haven't been able to get out of the hive and do their usual spring activities, like gather pollen and nectar," he said.
Queen bees mate with a dozen or so workers in the spring in mating flights and then retreat to the hive to produce 2,000 eggs. Wet weather keeps them inside, and they tend to be stressed when they do emerge.
Teale said the association is surveying its members to determine the extent of the problem.
Many scientists believe global warming is the reason for the increasingly wet weather.
