By Alyssa Tramp

 In 2006 beekeepers first learned that bees are disappearing; nearly one-third of all honey bee colonies in the country have vanished.  Seemingly healthy bees have been leaving their colonies and not returning –this is called Colony Collapse Disorder.  Why are the bees disappearing?  Scientists studying the disorder believe many things can be making them sick, including pesticide exposure, invasive parasitic mites, an inadequate food supply, and a new virus that targets the bees’ immune system.

 Who cares right? –wrong.  Many people don’t realize bees impact our lives more than giving us a sting or two. Bees actually are one of the main pollinators of flowers and agricultural crops. Without bees the U.S. can lose up to $15 billion worth of crops because foods we love wouldn’t grow such as apples, cucumbers, broccoli, pumpkins, carrots, almonds, and many more.  Almonds  Apples  Apricots  Avocadoes  Blueberries  Boysenberries  Cherries  Citrus  Cranberries  Grapes  Kiwifruit  Loganberries  Macadamia nuts  Nectarines  Olives  Peaches  Pears  Plums/Prunes  Raspberries  Strawberries  Asparagus  Broccoli  Carrots  Cauliflower  Celery  Cucumbers  Cantaloupe  Honeydew  Onions  Pumpkins  Squash  Watermelons  Alfalfa Hay  Alfalfa Seed  Cotton Lint  Cotton Seed  Legume Seed  Peanuts  Rapeseed  Soybeans  Sugar Beets  Sunflowers

 The U.S. Department of Agriculture has donated $20 million for research over the next 5 years.  The USDA has yet to find a solution 