According to the recently released annual survey by the Apiary
Inspectors of America (AIA) and the Agricultural Research
Service (ARS), more than a third of U.S. managed honeybee
colonies—those set up for intensified pollination of commercial
crops—failed to survive this past winter. Since 2006, the
decline of the U.S.’s estimated 2.4 million beehives—commonly
referred to as colony collapse disorder (CCD)—has led to the
disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies: Hives are
found empty with honey, larvae, and the queen intact, but with
no bees and no trail left behind. The cause remains unknown, but
appears to be a combination of factors impacting bee health and
increasing their susceptibility to disease. Heavy losses
associated with CCD have been found mainly with larger migratory
commercial beekeepers, some of whom have lost 50-90 percent of
their colonies. A “keystone” species—one that has a
disproportionate effect on the environment relative to its
biomass—bees are our key to global food security a