I had my hopes up about the honey bees, but the truth is beyond the pale.

[RadiationTherapy]

Some posters had recently commented that they had been, anecdotally, seeing more bees around.

The sad truth: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24500059/


updated 7 minutes ago
SAN FRANCISCO - A survey of bee health released Tuesday revealed a grim picture, with 36.1 percent of the nation's commercially managed hives lost since last year.

snip

"For two years in a row, we've sustained a substantial loss," he said. "That's an astonishing number. Imagine if one out of every three cows, or one out of every three chickens, were dying. That would raise a lot of alarm."

The survey included 327 operators who account for 19 percent of the country's approximately 2.44 million commercially managed bee hives. The data is being prepared for submission to a journal.

end excerpt

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The article does not attribute all losses to Colony Collapse Disorder; it includes losses to parasites, etc.