The huge disappearance of honey bees, now being called Colony Collapse Disorder, continues to mystify beekeepers and is beginning to affect food supplies and prices. The dramatic decline began in 2006, with some beekeepers losing up to 90 percent of their colonies.

Bees play a significant role in agriculture, with three-quarters of flowering plants relying on pollination, which in turn contributes US$15 billion in crop yield value. Dennis Cardoza, Chairman of the Horticulture and Organic Agriculture Panel, warns, "If there are no bees, there is no way for our nation's farmers to continue to grow the high quality, nutritious foods our country relies on. This is a crisis we cannot afford to ignore." Corporations are pledging funds to find the cause of this unexplained phenomenon, with the approval pending from the US government for approximately US$11 million in research funding.

We pray that this mystery of the declining populations of these hardworking, happy buzzing bees is soon solved. Indeed, every minute creation in nature plays a vital role in sustaining our Earth and her inhabitants.