Where are the bees?

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 05:00:00

Where Are The Bees?

Beekeeper Jeff Lee

Scientists and beekeepers are stumped at the mysterious and seemingly sudden disappearance of billions of honeybees.

More than a quarter of colonies in the US have been lost. It's more serious than the simple prospect of higher honey prices. One third of the nation's food supply depends on pollination by the tiny insects.

Dick and Lee - click for a larger view

Dick visits beekeeper Jeff Lee at a North Carolina apiary in Mebane, N.C., learns about his business of renting out colonies, and gets a first-hand lesson in beekeeping.

Dick later has a conversation with entomologist Dewey Caron from the University of Delaware, who has been researching bees for over 40 years and is now working with a team of scientists trying to unravel the mystery of the bees' disappearance.

Dewey Caron

It is not pleasant, after that many years, to go into colonies and not find what should be ... you know ... the norm. As a person with bees, with this interaction with this critter for so many years, I'm also very saddened, because it is still a mystery. It is something that makes your stomach turn. It makes you sick to see this loss, and feel helpless.
- Professor Dewey Caron

Find out more about Jeff Lee's business, Lee's Bees
Learn more about Colony Collapse Disorder

Music heard in this story: A Taste of Honey by Lizz Wright for the album Dreaming Wide Awake

What's the Buzz by Ted Neeley & Yvonne Elliman for the album Jesus Christ Superstar (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album)

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Pixie Martin lives in Geneva, Switzerland, where she podcasts The Story. She wrote to us to say that in 1971 she was a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching in Mukah, a coastal town in Malaysia. The thing is this: Pixie came from a long line of teachers and she never wanted to be a one. She never even wanted to go to Asia.

Then one after one month of teaching, she writes, "I rode my Chinese blue bike to the town to see the nightly showing of a Chinese sword flick."

What she saw on that bike ride changed her life.

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The Story from American Public Media - Where are the bees?

Where are the bees?

Where Are The Bees?

Your Story: Pixie Martin