Bee Bees were " insects [ . . . ] with sting s on their tails " according to the Fourth Doctor , and a non - sentient species found on Earth . They were domesticated by human s for the production of honey , and even an average human like Donna Noble knew that they were experiencing a profound global downturn in their population during the early 21st century . ( TV : " Delta and the Bannermen " , " Partners in Crime " , " Planet of the Ood " ) According to the Seventh Doctor , Aristotle wouldn ' t stop " wittering on about " bees . While stuck at a tea party with Thomas Jefferson , he wouldn ' t stop talking about bees , either . The Doctor regretted not listening to either . He claimed to have known many beekeeper s . ( AUDIO : " Survival of the Fittest " ) Bees and bee - like creatures existed outside of Earth , as well . Migrant Bee s , from Melissa Majoria , were generally assumed to be Earth bees when they resided on that planet . ( TV : " The Stolen Earth " ) Space bee s made the pollen which was turned into an alcoholic beverage that Chris Cwej ' s father enjoyed . ( PROSE : " Original Sin " ) Life cycle : hives and honey . Many bees lived in colonies , collecting pollen to be created into honey . Bees were domesticated by human beekeeper s for their honey . They were a hive society with a fertile queen , male drones , and infertile female workers . Bees could make a new Queen to make new egg s . ( TV : " Delta and the Bannermen " , AUDIO : " Survival of the Fittest " ) According to the Eighth Doctor , worker bees gave female bees special jelly , what Goronwy called royal jelly , when they needed new Queens to form a hive . ( AUDIO : " The Creed of the Kromon " , TV : " Delta and the Bannermen " ) In 1959 , Goronwy kept bees . He gave the Seventh Doctor a jar of his rare 1928 hibiscus blossom . The Bannermen invaded his honey store and were covered in the substance ; this caused the bees to attack them . ( TV : " Delta and the Bannermen " ) According to the Seventh Doctor , the Vrill had a similar lifecycle to bees . The Vrill Authority had a role quite similar to that of the Queen bee . ( AUDIO : " Survival of the Fittest " ) Disappearance . For some time , Earth ' s bees lived alongside — and human s never knew that they were different from — visiting , sapient Migrant Bee s of the planet Melissa Majoria . When the Migrant Bees suddenly left Earth in the early 21st century , scientists were flummoxed as to the cause of the sudden drop in the bee population , unaware that they were studying the wrong type of bee for an answer . ( TV : " Partners in Crime " , " Planet of the Ood " , " The Unicorn and the Wasp " , " Turn Left " , " The Stolen Earth " ) Eventually , the Earth ' s native bee population dwindled to near - extinction levels . However , bees were being reintroduced to the United Kingdom in June 2027 , and , according to Ace , the bee problem would be solved by 2040 . ( AUDIO : " A Death in the Family " ) Bees and the Doctor . The First Doctor , Barbara Wright and Susan Foreman were startled by a bee that almost fell on them after it was killed by ingesting the illegal insecticide , DN6 . Because they were miniaturised at the time , the bee ' s mass posed a grave risk of injury to them . ( TV : " Planet of Giants " ) The Fourth Doctor professed to be rather fond of bees . ( TV : " The Robots of Death " ) Romana I compared K9 ' s greeting to the computer , Mentalis , to the identification dance used by bees . When asked what bees were , the Doctor replied , " Insects ! With stings in their tails " . ( TV : " The Armageddon Factor " ) Donna Noble repeatedly mentioned the disappearance of the bees to the Tenth Doctor who eventually realised that they were Migrant Bee s returning home . He was able to use their Tandocca Scale to help track the missing Earth . ( TV : " The Stolen Earth " )