Pollination of the nation

Pollination of the nation

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Small as they may be, honeybees play a huge role in U.S. agriculture by pollinating plants that produce about a quarter of the food consumed by Americans, from apples and almonds to blueberries and beans.

Commercial beekeepers like Robert Harvey (pictured above) transport colonies of bees across the United States so they can carry out this vital work.

. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

The roll of bees in farming is in trouble, however, as in recent years the animals have been dying at a rate the U.S. government says is economically unsustainable

Scientists, consumer groups and bee keepers say the devastating rate of bee deaths is due at least in part to the use of certain pesticides sold by agrichemical companies to boost yields of staple crops such as corn.

The companies have pointed to other factors, such as mites, as causes of bee deaths.

In attached audio, commercial beekeeper David Hackenberg (pictured above) talks about the issue.

. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates total losses of managed honeybee colonies at 23 percent over the winter of 2013-14 – the latest in a series of annual declines.

The White House recently announced a plan to fund new honeybee habitats and to form a task force to study how to reverse the drop in honeybee populations.

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Slideshow

A beekeeper, or apiarist, moves beehives onto a truck to be transferred to another crop after they finished pollinating a blueberry field near Jonesboro.
. Jonesboro, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

A beekeeper, or apiarist, moves beehives onto a truck to be transferred to another crop after they finished pollinating a blueberry field near Jonesboro.

Commercial beekeepers like Robert Harvey (pictured above) move hundreds of crates with honeybee colonies from one farm to another to pollinate crops.
. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Commercial beekeepers like Robert Harvey (pictured above) move hundreds of crates with honeybee colonies from one farm to another to pollinate crops.

Harvey transports the insects.
. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Harvey transports the insects.

He uses a fork lift to transfer the bees.
. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

He uses a fork lift to transfer the bees.

A honeybee, which beekeepers said was an Italian mixed with an Africanized breed, flies near the headlamp of a truck.
. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

A honeybee, which beekeepers said was an Italian mixed with an Africanized breed, flies near the headlamp of a truck.

Italian honeybees buzz around Robert Harvey.
. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Italian honeybees buzz around Robert Harvey.

Keepers use a bee smoker to calm colonies before transferring them to another crop.
. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Keepers use a bee smoker to calm colonies before transferring them to another crop.

The insects buzz through the air above a beekeeper.
. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

The insects buzz through the air above a beekeeper.

A beekeeper uses a forklift to stack beehives on a truck.
. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

A beekeeper uses a forklift to stack beehives on a truck.

Beekeepers secure a cover over the hives.
. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Beekeepers secure a cover over the hives.

They stand on the truck as the insects fly around them.
. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

They stand on the truck as the insects fly around them.

David Hackenberg, 65, prepares the hives to be transferred to another crop.
. Columbia Falls, UNITED STATES. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

David Hackenberg, 65, prepares the hives to be transferred to another crop.