#2. A Bee-normous Problem
The most promising theory behind colony-collapse disorder is that a virus is responsible for wiping out
perhaps as much as a quarter of the commercial U.S. honey bee population, which is responsible for pollinating such important
crops as apples, peaches and soybeans. In September, researchers at Penn
State and Columbia found that a disease known as Israeli Acute Paralysis
Virus was present in more than 90% of the afflicted hives. But many in the
scientific community think other parasites or pesticides may be to blame.