To bee or not to bee
When gnats besiege my brow on a summer’s evening pigeon shooting, I’m the first to complain and reach for the Jungle Formula. And when caterpillars of white butterflies reduce my cabbages to shreds, I am not amused. But these minor nuisances certainly do not stop me lamenting the overall decline of Britain’s insect population in recent times. And continued expert analysis merely confirms what is obvious to the average countryman.
Numerically, at least, insects are the most important class of animals on earth, and must be the concern of us all. A relatively small number of insects aesthetically enrich our lives, notably the butterflies whose bold colours brighten what is often a relatively dull
