Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

It sounds dreadful, and it is! We are losing our bee colonies by the thousands. Bee keepers who transport their bees from orchard, to farm, to field, are finding their colonies dead when the hives are opened up. It is a very serious dilema.
As gardeners, we all know the importance of our pollinators. We attempt to do everything to protect them. There are other creatures besides bees that pollinate, but the bees are the best and most efficient. It is critical that we protect them at all costs.

Here is an excerpt from a Reuter's News Bulletin:

"A mysterious disease is killing off U.S. honeybees, threatening to disrupt pollination of a range of crops and costing beekeepers hundreds of thousands of dollars, industry experts said on Monday.

Beekeepers in 22 states have reported losses of up to 80 percent of their colonies in recent weeks, leaving many unable to rent the bees to farmers of crops such as almonds and, later in the year, apples and blueberries.

"It's unusual in terms of the widespread distribution and severity," said Jerry Bromenshenk, a professor at the University of Montana at Missoula and chief executive of Bee Alert Technology, a company monitoring the problem."

80 percent of our bees is a HUGE amount! Be aware that this is happening, and read everything you can about it to learn more. I'm sure as time goes on, I'll have more to say about this. Stay tuned!