DADvocate

Instapundit continues to cover the disappearing honey bees story with alarming intensity. As a result, last weekend, I asked a beekeeper I know how her bees were doing. "Just fine," she said.

My friend keeps honey bees in southeast Ohio. She stated that no one seems to know why some bees are disappearing or diminishing. The three primary culprits she mentioned are feeding bees corn syrup to help them through the summer, the insecticide used to combat mites and, for commercial pollination bees, the stress of traveling in trucks.

Global warming and cell phones were not mentioned. Since she is an aging hippie type, I'm certain she would have mentioned global warming if she had the slightest inkling that it caused bee problems.

After talking with this experienced beekeeper and reading Instapundit's many posts on the subject, I see little reason for panic. But be prepared to rising honey prices that make gasoline look cheap.