Bee buzz

More coverage on the shortage of bees for pollination, this time focusing on the immediate needs California.
From the AP story:

Harsh weather across the country, pesticides and mites are blamed for killing off billions of bees needed to pollinate just about every crop throughout the year -- oranges in Florida, apples in Washington, blueberries in Maine and California's $1.4-billion-plus almond crop, according to some preliminary research by scientists with Pennsylvania State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The number of commercial honey bee colonies is less than half of what it was 25 years ago, said Maryann Frazier, a bee expert at Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. A colony is defined as a queen bee and thousands of her workers.


TK: Again, there are more questions than answers. Speaking of the vulnerabilities U.S. agriculture, it is apparent that even the inauspicious honey bee is critically important in the balance of supply and demand.