By Charley Cameron
(Inhabit) Honey bees are vital to US crop production; they are responsible for the pollination of one third of U.S. crop species, which make up a total of 75 percent of all farmed domestic crops. There are several potential causes of CCD, including “a host of new pathogens from deformed wing virus to nosema fungi, new parasites such as Varroa mites, pests like small hive beetles [and] nutrition problems from lack of diversity or availability in pollen and nectar sources,” reports the USDA.
