Colony collapse disorder, the name for the syndrome causing honey bees (Apis mellifera) to suddenly and mysteriously disappear from their hives — thousands of individual worker bees literally flying off to die — captured public consciousness when it was first named in 2007 (1). Since then, the story of vanishing honey bees has become ubiquitous in popular consciousness.

A new article in Environmental Science and Technology (The Plight of the Bees) describes bee decline in the context of honey bees, native bees, and Colony collapse disorder.