Snipped from alternet.org.

There has been much discussion and debate about the causes of the disappearance of America’s honeybee. No one can seem to come up with a solid explanation basically because the bees just simply disappear never to return to the hive. No crime scene, no motive, and no evidence means no suspects excepts theories. Some researchers speculated that cell phone radiation may be interfering with their ability to navigate and find their way back to the hive. Others speculated that the deaths were due to tiny mites or bugs. Then others thought that it was due to a nasty virus that plagues honeybee colonies. Well, now we can add another speculation to the list…they are just plain worn out, tired, exhausted and just don’t want to do it anymore. Just as can happen to an overworked , modern-day American worker, in commercializing the honeybee in “honeybee factory farms”, the honeybee may have been pushed to their limits. Have we worked them to death? What have we done to our poor honey bee?

With our massive agribusiness depending on honeybees for pollination, there is a strong demand for their unique talent. There are almonds, grapes, plums, cucumbers, cantaloupe, asparagus, apples, cherries, tomatoes, soy beans and zucchini, just to name a few, all dependent on the honeybee for pollination. This used to not be a problem because wild honeybees used to take care of this vital agricultural job. But like many indigenous insects and plants, wild honeybees have been nearly wiped out by pesticides, loss of habitat and parasites like the varroa mite. So, what we have done is commercialized this vital honeybee job. And, when it comes to extracting every ounce of productivity out of a worker, bee or not, corporate America excels. But what happens as a result may only be counterproductive when honeybees start to not show up for work. Anyone who has worked for corporate America knows what I am talking about.

Here is a portion of the article that is causing scientists to scratch their heads.

Meanwhile, commercial beekeeping has come to resemble other kinds of factory farming. While the bees themselves retain more freedom of movement than almost any other living creature raised by man, a commercial bee lot is more like a cattle feed lot than a wild meadow.

Beehives are crammed close together in rows just a few feet apart; in the wild, a square mile supports at the most three or four hives. A wild colony’s diet is diverse, comprising pollen and nectar from myriad plants. To compensate for the lack of forage around bee lots, bees are typically fed high-fructose corn syrup, the same stuff that’s contributing to a human health crisis. And just like other agricultural livestock, bees become stressed when you crowd them together. They’re more susceptible to diseases and parasites, less able to function naturally.

It’s all making some bee scientists wonder: Is the epidemic known as Colony Collapse Disorder real, or are the bees simply being worked to death?

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