COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER
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 this is happening abound. Some experts point at pesticides. Others think viruses/mites may be the culprits. Even malnourishment is a possibility because of the lack of flowering vegetation. Whatever the reason, the impact could be devastating. Without honey bees, many of the foods—and beverages—we enjoy year-round would not exist.
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
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) as entire honey bee colonies are dying off under mysterious circumstances.
Theories about why this is happening abound. Some experts point at pesticides. Others think viruses/mites may be the culprits. Even malnourishment is a possibility because of the lack of flowering vegetation. Whatever the reason, the impact could be devastating. Without honey bees, many of the foods—and beverages—we enjoy year-round would not exist.
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
