The world of bees has a scary, fairytale overtone - like a story from the Brothers Grimm - that I had no idea about until the past few days. It is pretty dangerous out there, what with the bee wolves feeding bees to their young, and the Stylops insect making the bee’s stomach their home and then bursting out, when it’s time to mate.

You may want your hand over your face for this one. A worm-like creature wiggles into a bumblebee queen where it fills much of her body. After this, the queen is basically neutered. For the rest of her days, instead of having a family, she must act as a carrier flying the parasite to new places.

If I was a film director I would be sketching out a pitch based on these bee stories: think Handmaid’s Tale meets Alien meets A Bug’s Life. Nottingham Trent University’s Alex Dittrich has more to reveal about the nasty things that can happen to bees, if you can bear it.

For centuries humans have indulged their desire for sweet flavours by using honey from bees in their food. These days there are far more options, from sugar to a wide variety of artificial sweeteners. Scientists are currently working on multiple experiments to see if they can replace sugar with alternatives and what the benefits would be.

Meanwhile, in parts of Ukraine, where incessant drone bombing raids mean people must spend days underground for safety, mobile puppet shows have become a popular way to entertain people and a tool of resistance.

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