A CAUSE FOR ALARM
No one is exactly sure why honey bees are dying, but the trend is alarming—and getting worse each year. The scientific term for it is Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) as entire honey bee colonies are dying off under mysterious circumstances.
Theories about why abound. Some experts point at pesticides. Others think a virus may be the culprit. Still others think that cell phone signals may be causing the honey bees to lose their remarkable ability to navigate home to the hive over long distances.
Whatever the reason, the impact could be devastating. Without honey bees, many of the foods—and beverages—we enjoy year-round would not exist. The list of fruits, vegetables, and nuts that could be affected is long and varied throughout the regions of the country.
It all adds up to a $15 billion problem*. That’s the estimated value of crops that are wholly dependent on honey bee pollination each year.
* American Beekeeping Federation data