Summary: When you eat a vegetable or piece of fruit, chances are there is a honeybee to thank for the opportunity. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 25 percent of our diet is the result of pollination by the insect. The recent discovery of a rapid and widespread decline of America’s honeybee populations has scientists and beekeepers mystified and very concerned. We get a sense of the severity from Bret Adee, co-owner of Adee Honey Farms, the nation’s largest honey farm, and from Jeff Pettis, head of the USDA’s bee research lab. Music: “Animal Dreams” by Bob James; “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Wynton Marsalis and Eastman Wind Ensemble
