Study: Honey Bee Numbers Still Declining

San Fransisco, CA (AHN) -- A report released Tuesday by the Apiary Inspectors of America showed that the number of honey bees continues to decline.

The honey bee population fell 36.1 percent over the last year. The year prior it fell 32 percent. Experts cite new diseases, pesticide drift and the parasitic varroa mite for the dwindling numbers.

Scientists know some of the reasons for the decline of these insects, but they are baffled by other findings, including colony collapse disorder, or CCD, in which adult bees abandon the hive. Researchers are trying to understand this phenomenon.

"For two years in a row, we've sustained a substantial loss," Dennis vanEngelsdorp, president of the AIA , said, according to the AP.

"That's an astonishing number. Imagine if one out of every three cows, or one out of every three chickens, were dying. That would raise a lot of alarm," he said.

Although the numbers aren't conclusive enough to show a trend, the bees are dying faster than they can be saved. He said the situation does not seem to be improving.

According to an article in the southeast farm press, "Honey Bees are the foundational, keystone pollinator specie of modern production agriculture. Albert Einstein said, 'If the honey bee becomes extinct, mankind will follow within four years.'"