About 20,000 bees are set to call Kew Gardens home when they are released at the attraction as part of a preservation campaign.

The honeybees will be introduced into two hives in a meadow at the botanical gardens as part of a campaign to encourage people to grow more bee friendly flowers in their gardens.

Reports from British Beekeepers' Association members across the UK suggest the honeybee population could have fallen by as much as 30 per cent between November 2007 and March 2008.

There is no definitive explanation why honeybee numbers are suffering but disease, parasites, the use of pesticides, climate change and malnutrition have been touted as possible causes.

Horticultural manager at Kew Gardens, Annette Dalton told the BBC she hoped the latest move would help stop this trend and highlight the important relationship between plants and insects.

The initiative is part of Jordan's Cereal's Big Buzz campaign - urging the Highways Agency and councils to make publicly-owned land more bee-friendly and using exhibitions to educate youngsters about bees.