When you think of the tools of agriculture, what comes to mind? For some it may be a simple trowel and watering can, for others it might be giant threshing machines and sprinklers that span the length of an entire field; for us, it's the honeybee. They're the most successful pollinators in the world, pollinating 80% of all flowering plants, and their ceaseless efforts are behind one of every three bites you eat. These tiny marvels are what make food production possible, and they are in danger. Pesticides, diseases and parasites, and environmental destruction have all had a hand in a phenomena called colony collapse disorder. Read on to learn more about the role of honeybees in the environment and why it's so important that we protect them.

- Pollutants -

Bees are fascinating creatures, with olfactory sensors covering their antennae that are so powerful they can detect scent trails while in flight. These form the basis of everything from their ability to find food to their complex social interactions. When pollutants fill the air, they interfere with that sense of smell. Beyond this, the release of pesticides into the environment kills all insects, both those that are beneficial and harmful. The effect of these can be mitigated by using specialized instead of universal pesticides or chemicals that dissipate quickly, but the expense and inconvenience of these lead many farmers and agricultural corporations to forgo them for their more damaging counterparts.

- Habitat Degradation -

As is the truth in so many instances, the greatest threat to bees is human activity. When a swathe of forest or wild land is parceled out into subdivisions and malls and parking lots, even if some green areas are left they're often too few and far between to support hives. A single bee will visit more than 5,000 flowers every day. The hive will visit hundreds of millions. This is why it's so important that these wild spaces are protected, and why it's so devastating to native populations when they aren't.

- Parasites -

Since the old world and new first came into contact hundreds of years ago, thousands of plants and animals have crossed the Atlantic and were, whether deliberately or as a result of ignorance, allowed to spread. These invasive species often carried diseases and parasites to which native animals had no immunity, and it's led to massive population die offs or even extinction in some cases. This is one of the major causes of colony collapse; mites and viruses carried by non native honeybees brought in to aid in agriculture have spread to native populations and are killing them faster than they can adapt.

- Climate Change -

Rising global temperatures have a twofold effect on the evironment: they make some areas too dry and hot, killing off plants and animals, and they make more northern areas habitable for species that were formerly prevented from living there. As plants start flowering earlier and spread through those areas, the animals that feed on them don't always move as well and that can lead to the death of the hive.