Survey finds slower decline of bee colonies

Survey finds slower decline of bee colonies

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FRESNO, Calif. - The decline of honeybee colonies has slowed slightly since last fall, but a mysterious combination of ailments is still decimating the insect's population, federal researchers say.

U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers found that honeybee colonies declined by 29 percent between September 2008 and early April. That's an improvement over the last two years, when researchers found that 32 percent and 36 percent of all beekeepers surveyed lost hives.

Domestic honeybee stocks have been waning since 2004 because of a puzzling illness scientists called colony collapse di

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This is supposed to be a positive story that there has been a slower decline but its still declining so I'm going to say we are far from out of the woods.

Bees are so important to plants, the food chain and the entire ecosystem. It is scary to think about what would happen if they continue to die off.

Could the death of bees be the end of humanity? If all the plants that require bees to reproduce started dieing off in a short amount of time, what would this do to the food chain? I would guess that the effects would race right to the top, eventually effecting us.

Again, maybe this is a good sign that the declines have slowed but I wont feel better until the numbers stop declining. What is causing this? Pesticides? GM crops? Overuse or synthetic fertilizers? We really need to find out and put a stop to whatever is causing it.

The bottom of the food chain is like the foundation of a house, the top cannot be supported without a strong bottom.

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