This year the bee eaters that arrived in Malta last month were numerous. They even stayed over for many weeks. I have never seen so many of them. One does not have to watch for these birds because their calls are so noisy that you cannot but look up.

I do not mind their noise but the fact that they attack bees on their pollinating duties worries me. Trees do not bear fruit if their flowers are not visited by these wonderful insects. These not only produce our fantastic honey but also cause our delicious fruit to start life from just a flower.

Now bees are having it doubly hard because various viruses have decimated a high percentage of hives, which are costly to replace. The brunt of the cost of this tragedy is shouldered by the farmer and those who prefer local fruit.

BirdLife protects birds. Unfortunately there is no one to protect bees which are more useful and vastly more productive.