Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is a phenomenon where thriving colonies disappear overnight — fully a third of commercial beehives, over a million colonies every year. Seemingly healthy communities fly off never to return, leaving the queen bee abandoned to starve.
Three key studies point to neonicotinoid pesticides ("neonics") as a primary culprit. In the U.S., these pesticides coat a massive 142 million acres of corn, wheat, soy and cotton seeds. Research shows that neonics are absorbed by plants' vascular systems and contaminate the pollen and nectar bees encounter on their rounds. They damage bees' homing ability, which helps account for their failure to return to the hive.
Scientists believe additional factors include: destruction of bee habitats due to land development, spread of monoculture agriculture, and GMO crops containing toxic insecticides.