Near 20-Year High: Bee-pocalypse Postponed Again, Until 2017

[NickB79]

1. Personally, I'm more concerned about the decline of native bees

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/21/wild-bees-population-decline-agriculture-farming-california-midwest

The study estimated that wild bee numbers diminished in 23% of the continental United States between 2008 and 2013 in a trend driven by conversion of their natural habitat into farmland including corn for biofuel production.
Pesticides blamed for bee declines widespread in US waterways
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Pesticides and diseases were cited as other factors behind the declines among the roughly 4,000 US species of wild bees.

“Wild bees help pollinate many of our most nutritious crops, support natural ecosystems and contribute over $3bn to the US economy each year,” Ricketts said.

Their decline may prompt greater dependence on commercial honeybee colonies for pollinating crops, but honeybee numbers also are falling, added Gund Institute researcher Insu Koh, the lead author of the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.