People paddle through a pollen patch on Lake Leman in Villeneuve, Switzerland May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

People stand on a pontoon above an accumulation of pollen on Lake Leman in Villeneuve, Switzerland May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

An accumulation of pollen is pictured on Lake Leman in Villeneuve, Switzerland May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

An accumulation of pollen is pictured on Lake Leman in Villeneuve, Switzerland May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

People walk on a pontoon above an accumulation of pollen on Lake Leman in Villeneuve, Switzerland May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

People paddle through a pollen patch on Lake Leman in Villeneuve, Switzerland May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

A bee covered with pollen hooks itself onto a petal of a bluebell in a garden, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in West London, Britain, April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A bee covered with pollen hooks itself onto a petal of a bluebell in a garden, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in West London, Britain, April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A tractor pulls a mast equipped with small cannons that shoot pollen at almond trees, allowing them to fertilize without bees in an Almonds grove in Tel Arad, southern Israel March 4, 2020. Picture taken on March 4, 2020. REUTERS/ Amir Cohen

A tractor pulls a mast equipped with small cannons that shoot pollen at almond trees, allowing them to fertilize without bees in an Almonds grove in Tel Arad, southern Israel March 4, 2020. Picture taken on March 4, 2020. REUTERS/ Amir Cohen

Tractors pull a mast equipped with small cannons that shoot pollen at almond trees, allowing them to fertilize without bees in an Almonds grove in Tel Arad, southern Israel March 4, 2020. Picture taken on March 4, 2020. REUTERS/ Amir Cohen

"Reachy," an open-source robot by Pollen Robotics, displayed at CES Unveiled during the 2020 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 5, 2020. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Bees are seen on a honeycomb at an apiary, in Casablanca, Chile October 4, 2019. Picture taken October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

Bees are seen at an apiary, in Casablanca, Chile October 4, 2019. Picture taken October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

A queen bee is seen on a honeycomb at an apiary, in Casablanca, Chile October 4, 2019. Picture taken October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

Bees are seen on a honeycomb at an apiary, in Casablanca, Chile October 4, 2019. Picture taken October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

A bumblebee collects nectar from a flower, in Vina del Mar, Chile October 13, 2019. Picture taken October 13, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

Bees are seen on a beekeeper's finger at an apiary, in Casablanca, Chile October 4, 2019. Picture taken October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

A bumblebee collects nectar from a flower, in Vina del Mar, Chile October 13, 2019. Picture taken October 13, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

A bumblebee collects nectar from a flower, in Vina del Mar, Chile October 13, 2019. Picture taken October 13, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

Moose, a six-year-old English Bulldog with B-cell lymphoma, receives trial medical treatment at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University by vet technicians Stephanie Pollen (L) and Michele Willett in North Grafton, Massachusetts, U.S., September 13, 2019. Photograph taken September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Katherine Taylor

Moose, a six-year-old English Bulldog with B-cell lymphoma, and his owners Eric (2nd L) and Jessica Lescault are met by vet technician Stephanie Pollen (L) before Moose’s trial medical treatment at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Massachusetts, U.S., September 13, 2019. Photograph taken September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Katherine Taylor

A bee collects pollen at a flower near a Deutsche Bank office in London, Britain July 8, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

A bee deposits pollen in a honeycomb in La Bollene Vesubie, France, July 2, 2019. Picture taken July 2, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

A bee deposits pollen in a honeycomb in La Bollene Vesubie, France, July 2, 2019. Picture taken July 2, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

A bee deposits pollen in a honeycomb in La Bollene Vesubie, France, July 2, 2019. Picture taken July 2, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2019 Bee seen getting pollen from a flower as Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei plays her second round match against Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens in the background REUTERS/Toby Melville

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2019 Bee seen getting pollen from a flower as Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei plays her second round match against Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens in the background REUTERS/Toby Melville TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2019 Bee seen getting pollen from a flower as Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei plays her second round match against Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens in the background REUTERS/Toby Melville

The queen bee is seen on the frame of a hive in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Bees are seen on the frame of a hive in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

The queen bee is seen on the frame of a hive in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A bee collects nectar from a flower in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A bee collects nectar from a flower in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A bee collects nectar from a flower in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A bee is seen on the frame of a hive in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A bee collects nectar from a flower in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A bee collects nectar from a flower in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A bee is seen on the frame of a hive in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Bees are seen on the frame of a hive in a village of Ripanj near Belgrade, Serbia, April 9, 2019. Picture taken April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A bee is pictured during a cherry blossom season on a street at Berlin's Lichterfelde district, Germany, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

A bee is pictured during a cherry blossom season on a street at Berlin's Lichterfelde district, Germany, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

A bee searches for pollen among cherry blossoms on a sunny spring day in Lausanne, Switzerland March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

A bee searches for pollen among cherry blossoms on a sunny spring day in Lausanne, Switzerland March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

A bee takes pollen from a spring bloom in St James's Park in London, Britain, February 25, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A bee takes pollen from a spring bloom in St James's Park in London, Britain, February 25, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville

An insect collects pollen in Vertou, near Nantes, France, September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

An insect collects pollen in Vertou, near Nantes, France, September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

A hornet is seen in Vertou, near Nantes, France, September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

An insect collects pollen in Vertou, near Nantes, France, September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

An Asian hornet, Latin name "Vespa Velutina", is seen in Vertou, near Nantes, France, September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

An Asian hornet, Latin name "Vespa Velutina", is seen in Vertou, near Nantes, France, September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

An Asian hornet, Latin name "Vespa Velutina", is seen in Vertou, near Nantes, France, September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

A hornet is seen in Vertou, near Nantes, France, September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

An insect collects pollen in Vertou, near Nantes, France, September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

A honey bee carrying pollen lands next to the entrance of a beehive at the apiary of beekeeper Anna Lobyntseva, 66, in the village of Radkovka, in Belgorod region, Russia August 12, 2018. Picture taken August 12, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva

A bee collects pollen from a flower at a farm in Hamdan, Yemen July 31, 2018. Picture taken July 31, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Pollen flies in the wind in the village of La Estrella, Spain, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera SEARCH "SPAIN DEPOPULATION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

For more than 30 years, Juan Martin Colomer and his wife Sinforosa Sancho have lived alone in a village in Spain's eastern highlands that once had more than 200 inhabitants. "Everyone has gone, we are the fools who have stayed," laughed Sinforosa, who turned 85 this month, sitting on the steps of a pink-fronted building that was once the local boys' school. Nestled in a valley in the northeastern Aragon region, where pollen drifts over pine trees that have gradually spread across the formerly arable land, the village is at the centre of a creeping population desert. Residents began abandoning these rural towns and villages to seek work in cities when the civil war ended in 1939, leaving behind an area twice the size of Belgium that is set to become the least populated in the European Union. There are fewer than eight inhabitants for every square kilometre, and those who remain are ageing, a drastic sample of a society where across Spain deaths outpaced births last year at the fastest rate since records began in 1941. Juan Martin and Sinforosa's son Vicente was the last child to live there, and he had to go to school in a nearby village after the local teacher left and his school closed. REUTERS/Susana Vera SEARCH "SPAIN DEPOPULATION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. Matching text: SPAIN-DEPOPULATION/

Some heads of hybrid wheat are bagged to collect pollen in a greenhouse at the bio-technology company Syngenta's research farm near Junction City, Kansas, U.S. May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Dave Kaup