Honeybee colonies around the U.S. have plummeted by 35 percent since 2008 according to recent studies. Beekeepers have reported up to 90 percent colony losses on their lands. 
Some suggestions for the causes for losses range from stress due to environmental changes or pesticides are taking their toll on the honeybees. Cell phone radiation and genetically modified crops have also been included as possibilities. Most likely, it is a combination of factors. The researchers say infections by hidden parasites in the genetically susceptible bees provide a “perfect storm” that could overwhelm the bees’ defenses. Scientists from the University of Leeds are investigating possible causes of the widespread increase in honeybee deaths around the world. And they think they have the fix — lots and lots of sex, with multiple partners. By having a high number of diverse male partners, the queen honeybee could help protect her children from disease. Imagine the need for Royalty to have more sex to help propagate their existence. It’s not an image one likes to keep in their head. These same scientists feel that queen bees and their hives need the genetic diversity that indiscriminate copulation can provide to a hide. Queen honeybees will typically mate with up to 12 different male partners in a matter of minutes. Some will mate with up to 20 different males — and that isn’t even a record. The queen bee of the Asian honeybee variety typically takes on 40 male partners, and was found to have mated with more than 100 different male partners. The one area the research report did not discuss is that potentially there could be a lack of interest on the part of the queen to seek out multiple partners. One of the sobering points of their report is that if bees in general disappear from the surface of the Earth, man would have no more than four years to live. Survival of the bee is vital to the protection of our food supply. The number of crops that are pollinated by bees is quite extensive. A list of crops that are pollinated by bees can be found at this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated_by_bees
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