Just now making the news, beekeepers are alarmed that honey bees are disappearing in record numbers. Thats right, I said disappearing: The male drones leave the hive and simply never return, leaving the queen for parts unknown. Some beekepers have lost as much as 40% of their bees in the last three weeks.

Dubbed "colony collapse disorder", if this trend continues unchecked the loss of honeybees could have a serious affect on North American agriculture. Honeybees are the unsung heroes of our modern world, being taken to fields laden with blossom, helping ensure pollination, then packed up by their beekeepers and moved to another crop. Other insects simply can't do the job, as they lack the fuzzy 'hind legs' which distribute pollen from flower to flower as the honey bee visits them.

So what could be causing this particular problem? There are a number of theories being bandied about the web right now, which we will review. I'm also including a news feed where you can keep informed about the problem, and please - do leave comments. Are there more honey bees in your area? Less? Let me know!

#1 - They are being infected with some sort of parasite or disease, and are dying before they return to the hive.

This seems the most likely theory. Many of the dead bees that HAVE been found seem to have varioud diseases or abnormalities. It is uncertain how they have contracted them, but one theory is that bees which are stressed (where the hives are movied frequently) might be more susceptible to disease and parasites. Certainly this describes many of the bees which have disappeared.

#2 - Genetically altered crops are wiping them out

With many crops now being bioengineered to produce their own native pesticides, one theory is that honey bees are being killed in an unintended side effect of this modification. It's hard to decide whether this theory could be true, but it does play on the whole 'frankenstein' fear of genetically modified foods.

#3 - Cell phone tower radition

In this theory, radiation from cellphones appears to affect the bees' homing abilities and disrupt their ability to communicate with each other, causing them to get 'lost'. This seems to me the least likely theory, since there have been recorded honey bee die offs before as early as 1896 - and I'm fairly sure they didn't have cell phones then.

What do YOU think? Leave a comment and tell us!

I've always been morbidly fascinated by all the ways our species could suddenly disappear - wiped clean from the face of the universe. Do I think this will happen? No, but it's very life-affirming to note that out of all these possible ways we could either be destroyed, or destroy ourselves, - none of them have happened yet! I thought that the current HoneyBee Die Off was a great place to start, since it has all the factors of a good mystery.

I'm putting together a series of pages called "The Daily Armageddon" which will detail all these different possible ends for life as we know it aka TEOTWAWKI (standing for The End Of The World As We Know It) I think it's a fascinating topic - and if you're here I bet you do too! Make sure to check back for more ways we might all bite the big one via the links at the bottom of the page. And if you found it informative or interesting, please do me a favor and click the green "Thumbs Up" icon at the bottom of the page. Thanks!