Sudden bee deaths

UNDATED (WJRT) - (06/29/07)-- Bees are dying off in record numbers in a crisis that could have a severe effect on your favorite foods.

They're vital for pollination of plants, but lately, they've been disappearing by the billions. This phenomenon could possibly put food supplies at risk.

Lots of people fear the buzz of a bee. But don't be afraid of the buzz.

If it wasn't for bees, many fruits and vegetables we enjoy wouldn't exist.

"We need them for the food that we eat, for the color and variety that's on our plate," said entomologist Dewey Caron.

This year, however, bees are dying by the billions, threatening to wipe out crops dependent on them for pollination. Fewer bees could cost us all at the grocery store.

"What was striking is the suddenness with which the bees disappeared," said Jay Evans, a geneticist with the United States Department of Agriculture.

Entomologists call the mass disappearance "Colony Collapse Disorder," or CCD.

The most likely cause is toxins that make bees more susceptible to, or cause disease.

"We've seen collapses of colonies in the past, thought they were related to stress, related to nutrition, this seemed to be very widespread," said Caron.

Bees pollinate 80 percent of fruits and vegetables by transferring pollen from one flowering plant to another. This starts fertilization that helps the plant grow seeds that turn into the food we eat.

"It's really this pollination service that we cannot live without if we want the very inexpensive food, the abundance and the variety of foods that we're accustomed to," explained Caron.

Bee keepers are now taking steps to control CCD.

in one study, it was found that bees add about $15 billion a year in value to our food supply.