By now you’ve probably heard honeybees are dying off in record numbers, about a quarter of the 2.4 million commercial colonies in the U.S. Locally, beekeepers are reporting losses but apparently not in the same numbers as other parts of the country (http://beealert.blackfoot.net/~beealert).

I talked with extension agents and beekeepers for a column published today (http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/05/31/100hg_hg6debcol001.cfm). We already have a shortage of honeybees in this area ever since varroa mites swept through in the 1980s.

Honeybees are nearly 100 percent responsible for pollinating for many, many crops. They play a part in about a third of the things we eat, so you can see why researchers are scrambling for answers.

Nobody knows exactly what’s causing the problem, but theories abound. Mites, viruses, even a honeybee rapture have been floated as theories.

Snohomish beekeeper Tim Bueler suggests the losses might have something to do with the practice of most of the hives traveling to California annually to pollinate almonds. Greg Giuliani, a Woodinville home tree fruit grower, thinks the problem may have to do with the increase in pesticide use during the last 40 years.

Salon posted an interesting discussion with a roundtable of experts:

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/05/29/missing_bees/?source=newsletter

What are your thoughts?