These are bees as you've never seen them before.

There are more than 20,000 known species of bee and they are vital to life on Earth, as they help keep plants thriving. A new immersive exhibition in Liverpool explores their lives, and the threats they now face.

A collaboration between artist Wolfgang Buttress and World Museum, Liverpool, it uses close-up photography, sound, sculpture and light to show the impact the modern world is having on bees, inspired by photos like these in the World Museum's entomology collection. "Bees can be seen as sentinels of the earth," said Buttress.

"Their health and wellbeing mirror the health of the Earth and they are dying in unprecedented numbers. "Their existential challenges reflect our own - they die and suffer, we die and suffer." Bees are threatened by a number of factors including the use of pesticides, their loss of habitat, and intensive farming, according to Friends of the Earth.

"We want to shine a light on the plight of bees and the devastating impact a world without bees would have on humanity," said the head of World Museum, Anne Fahy. Bees: A Story of Survival opens at World Museum, part of National Museums Liverpool, on Saturday 4 May 2024, and runs until Saturday 5 May 2025..