Birds, bees, and bats continue to perish in great numbers around the world. These massive die offs affect not only their specific communities of life, but also our natural world and our food supply.

Our winged relatives weave essential threads through the whole of life as they carry pollen from plant to plant and cause the land to bloom. Their loss to earth is inestimable. The ongoing decline of pollinators is one form of global change that will alter the shape and structure of the land and our capacity to live upon it.

This recent report on the evolving status of the bees comes from writer Jodi Peterson at High Country News:

“It’s been more than two years since High Country News reported on the West’s  disappearing honeybees. Since then, parasitic  mites and a mysterious syndrome called colony collapse disorder have  killed off thousands more hives.

“Honeybees pollinate 80 percent of the  fruits and vegetables we eat, and many wild species essential to  ecosystems. In China, hive collapse has forced farmers to start  pollinating fruit trees by hand with brushes.

“Now, researchers at  Washington State University think they’ve figured out the major causes of  colony collapse disorder…”