Bees are vital for the pollination of crops and wildflowers. However honey bees have been hit by disease and a fall in the number of bee-keepers, and wild bees, such as bumble bees, are also undergoing declines in their populations.

'Pollinators in peril: bees, genes and conservation' will be presented by bee expert Prof Andrew Bourke (pictured), from the university’s School of Biological Sciences.

He said: “To help reverse these declines, we need to know more about the basic natural history of wild bees.

“Our group and our collaborators have been applying techniques from genetics to try to work out how far bumble bees fly to forage and how common their nests are in the countryside.

“In this lecture, I will describe our findings so far and suggest how they can help conserve wild bees.”

The event is part of the Talking Science series, which has been organised to stimulate discussion about the world class research being carried out at the university, and engagement with the local community.

The event takes place on December 8 at 7.30pm in the Nouvelle Suite at the Assembly House, Norwich. Admission is free, however advance booking is advised. To find out more or to book tickets, please email sci.talks@uea.ac.uk.