The strange disappearance of Bees

The worry over global warming is a clear and present danger but I think this one is of more immediate concern.

Apparently there is a growing phenomenon of colonies of bees collapsing.  I came across this report in the UK Independent newspaper while surfing – Are mobile phones wiping out our bees? by Geoffrey lean and Harriet Shawcross.             

If you want to make a disaster movie, this gives you the main premise, (not the suggested connection with mobile phone use but the prospect of life without bees.)

Can anyone read statements like this:

“The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast.

CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. And last week John Chapple, one of London's biggest bee-keepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.”

The Independent 15 April 2007

and not be very afraid?

[Update:  I see Digg was onto the story a couple of hours ahead of me]