Sneak Peak: Many Causes To Bee Decline

A California Congressman who got a sneak peak at the federal study into the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder says there's no one culprit in the die-off affecting bees in 30 states. "Most likely it's a combination of factors," Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-California, told the San Francisco Chronicle. That won't surprise many commercial beekeepers, who deal with a variety of threats -- from mites to viruses to pesticides. But it will also make it harder to definitively diagnose and treat the malady. And that is important, when you consider one third of all food is dependent on pollinators, and commercial honeybees are responsible for $15 billion in agricultural economic power, according to a story in the June 1 San Francisco Chronicle. To follow the latest on colony collapse disorder, read Kim Flottum's blog, The Beekeeper. In his last post, he discussed the difficulties even defining the extent of the problem, given that there is no reliable census of bees or beekeepers in the country.