B.E.E.s

At the end of the 21st century, the thing agriculturalists and honey lovers across the world feared finally came to pass. From exposure to toxic insecticides to removal of wild flower environments and outcompeting by larger, more successful and aggressing insect populations, bees finally went extinct. 
Whilst other pollinators were available, none were so effective as bees. And the increasing size and aggression of the insect populations meant that insects were gradually becoming more of a threat than a facilitator to farmers and their crop yields. This was a serious threat to a world already at threat of starvation due to the vast ecological shifts, rising seas, shifted populations and disrupted supply lines.
In stepped the AI engineers with a proposal: Bioically Engineered Ento-units - or B.E.E.s.  These tiny units were largely mechanical with a small amount of insect and, what's more, had the ability to breed their own new units. Each colony was controlled by an AI intelligence - a queen bee. To protect the technology from theft or manipulation, each B.E.E. was fitted with a small, artificial sting.
Initially, the tests proved effective, and one of the first testing grounds for the technology was the Twilight Badlands , where insect growth had been particularly enhanced by the high temperatures.
The AI Queen was highly effective, but a bug called the "Gandi Defect" (named after the bug in the game Civilization by Sid Meyer) in the programme led her to become hyper protective of her colony. Early on, there were several instances of hives swarming "interferers", dive-bombing them, and stinging into submission anyone who approached the hives.

Because of the replicative nature of the bees, more hives gradually started to form, all aggressive to any outside influence. B.E.E.s infestations are now considered a level 2 threat in the Badlands, that requires the Twilight Rangers to deal with. And yet, the Bioically Engineered Ento-units are critical to the survival of the crops that sustain Twilight City. An uneasy truce has formed, for the most part.