Youngsters were buzzing with excitement when they dressed up to celebrate Bee Day.

The Year 1 pupils from Riverview Infant School, Cimba Wood, Gravesend, welcomed local beekeepers to talk about their conservation work and the importance of the insects as part of their ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ topic.

Children dressed up in yellow and black outfits on the day, as well as enjoying tasting honey.

Katherine Baird, who works in the school office, thought it was an enjoyable day for the children.

She said: “It was great fun and the event was very successful.

“The children engaged with all the activities. It was really good and they enjoyed it.”

During the day, the children were taught about the life cycle of a bee in the UK, and beekeepers explained the functions of a bee living in a colony. According to environmental group Friends of the Earth, bees are facing many threats in the United Kingdom from habitat loss, climate change, pesticides and diseases. As a result their future in the UK remains uncertain and one in 10 species of wild bees in Europe are facing extinction.

The Gravesend Beekeepers’ Association said there were approximately 44,000 beekeepers looking after around 240,000 hives in the UK.