Bees continue to disappear

So far this year, a big portion of the bees used commercially for pollinating crops have gone missing. Colony collapse disorder, which began in 2006, is continuing to cause problems for farmers in the U.S. Already 36% of colonies have been affected since January. What's particularly strange about the problem is that the dead bees are never located.

Much of our food supply is dependent on bees for pollination, so a shortage of bees can limit crop yields.

The problem, of course, is that we're using the bees as machines rather than as part of our natural environment. We truck them from location to location, feed them honey-substitutes, and force them to work for longer periods of the year than is normal for bees.

Busy as bees are, they're not ready for the rat race.