Bee Conference

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The buzz around Marshall University
this week will be about the importance of honeybees.
Bee experts will gather at the Heartland Apiculture Society's
annual conference in Huntington, West Virginia.
Honeybee populations continue to decline and farmers face
increased production costs, meaning consumers could ultimately have
to pay more for produce. One expert says "about one out of every
three bites of food that we eat" is a direct result of
pollination.
There will be an update at the conference on the mysterious
disappearance of entire bee colonies that has been reported in at
least 35 states since 2006.
Scientists blame drought and parasites.
The Agriculture Department says there were five million
honey-producing bee colonies in the 1940s. Now there are half that
many.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)