You still see the poor old bee floundering on the floor – dying of old age?  But apparently Western honey bees across the world are being hit by a mysterious condition whereby whole hives just suddenly die; no one cause is found, instead many different infections are found eg mites, fungus, nosema, even within the same bee, suggesting immune deficiency – bee AIDS?  Pesticides have been blamed; organic hives have not been affected. 

Some scientists believe that bees and flowers evolved
together. Bees are wholly or partially responsible for the
pollination of thirty percent of crops and ninety percent of wild plants; their importance is probably increasing as other natural
pollinators have disappeared.  Many crops are wholly
pollinated by bees, including apples, cranberries, pears and pumpkins.