In the U.S. (starting in 2006)a third to half of all hives crashed; some beekeepers reported colony losses near 90 percent. The mysterious culprit was named colony collapse disorder (CCD), and it remains an annual menace- and an enigma... Poor nutrition, chemical exposure, and also bees that have been exposed to pesticides pummel a bee’s immunities before a virus can finish the insect off. In 2010, scientists reported a possible cause of CCD. Genetic studies pointed to a particular insect virus and fungus at work together. As well, a bloodsucking mite, Varroa, also implicated in CCD, remains honeybees’ most devastating pest worldwide.
Many flowering plants would disappear, and with them apples, peaches, pears, and a host of other crops. Without pollinators there’d be no raspberries, blueberries, or even milk on your cereal (cows feed on bee-pollinated alfalfa and clover). No coffee or chocolate... and so on.
-National Geographic, “Gold Dusters” By Jennifer S. Holland (March 2011)
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