Rapture of the Bees:
Today's NYT has a fascinating article about the mystery of collapsing bee colonies. In over two dozen states, as well as in several foreign countries, bee colonies have simply collapsed. There have been dramatic declines in bee populations before, but some scientists fear this is more than a simple population drop induced by a natural pathogen. This is an important issue as a significant portion of American agriculture has become increasingly dependent upon honeybee pollination.