Experts are at a loss to explain the fall in honey bee populations in America, with fears of that a new disease, the effects of pollution or the increased use of pesticides could be to blame for "colony collapse disorder". From 1971 to 2006 approximately one half of the US honey bee colonies have vanished.

Over the last year, large die-offs of commercial honeybee colonies, from unknown causes, have raised concern that an agricultural crisis is at hand. Now, however, some expertsare questioning how unusual the die-offs are, saying commercial beekeeping has long had a pattern of die-offs, and there is not enough information to know if anything new or calamitous is happening.

A tiny mite that has devastated mainland honeybee populations showed up in Honolulu hives for the first time this month and has now been confirmed in bee colonies across Oahu.

Varroa mites are most likely responsible for the enormous number of bee deaths during the 2004-2005 winter. Normally beekeepers expect to lose 5-10% of their bees, but this winter may beekeepers are losing more than 50% to mite infestations

According to apiarists in Arizona, Africanized bees and organically raised European bees are not being affected by CCD and mites to the same extent that other bees are, suggesting that normal practices like geneticaly engineering bees and feeding them protein supplements may be destructive in the long run.

Penn State researchers answer common questions about colony collapse disorder. Penn State has taken the lead in studying CCD.

Tiny mites from East Asia have infected American bee populations, lowering their immune systems and damaging developing bees. The mites can damage a hive very quickly.

Many crops require bees as pollinators, but intense modern farming wipes out local bee populations, forcing farmers to rent bees for a price. Less invasive farming techniques could take advantage of wild bee populations, saving producers money and time.