Bee keepers across U.S. suffering losses
Beekeepers across the United States are noticing a large loss in hives from year to year and it is being attributed to colony collapse disorder.
Montezuma County, Colo., beekeeper Lynn Ellis inspects his hives every spring to see how the bees made it through the winter, this year there was nothing but bad news when he opened the boxes, The Cortez (Colo.) Journal reported Monday.
Nearly half his bees had either disappeared or died.
Ellis' case is not an anomaly, beekeepers across the country have been reporting similar findings.
It is being attributed to colony collapse disorder, which Ellis said is being investigated by experts.
Jerry Cochran, apiary program manager for the Colorado Department of Agriculture, said the disorder hits a lot of beekeepers who use their bees as a pollination service.
But, Cochran said, "people researching this have come up with no single cause."
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
