Vanishing Honey Bees

"Scientists Find Clue in Mystery of the Vanishing Bees," from CNN.com (9/6/07)

Keywords: honey bees, colony collapse disorder, Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), varroa mites, agriculture industry, genetics

"Colony collapse disorder has killed millions of bees -- up to 90 percent of colonies in some U.S. beekeeping operations -- imperiling the crops largely dependent upon bees for pollination, such as oranges, blueberries, apples and almonds.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture says honey bees are responsible for pollinating $15 billion worth of crops each year in the United States. More than 90 fruits and vegetables worldwide depend on them for pollination."

This article refers to a forthcoming article in Science magazine, currently available on the Science Express website. Authors of "A Metagenomic Survey of Microbes in Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder" include researchers at Penn State and the PA Dept. of Agriculture.

Questions:

* How has the loss of honey bees affected the agriculture industry? Has the price risen for honey and crops dependent on the bees for pollination?
* What can be done to reverse this trend? Can we genetically strengthen our honey bee population?

CNN.com also has a related article about an archaeological discovery of 3000-year old beehives in Israel.