Anyone noticed that bees getting rare?

[Skybird]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...473166,00.html

There has been a growing ammount or reports in the german medias about the phenomenon of bees dissappearing. I live close to an institute where they are also busy with research on bees, it is a state-run agriculture research facility, and I am there several times a year and visit and observe their bee hive, I have some interest in these animals. I talked to the people working there, of course, and maybe - maybe - start to keep bees myself, of time I have more than enough. The numbers they are telling are scaring. In some regions in Europe, 90% of the former bee population have dissapeared. Bees make up for the lion share (some estimate up to 85%) of pollination in nature - other insects never could be able to compensate for that share, if bees should get out of that job. The effects of the missing pollination are already noticable in european agriculture, and declining harvests of certain types of fruits.

If eventually a worst case scenario takes place and bees really die out or get reduced beyond a certain critical level, mankind will be faced with a very very serious crisis threatening the survival of hundreds of millions.

And if it is because of the spreading of genetical manipulated plants, than we really have deserved it.

Those people and scientists in that institute are extremely worried. It's an old quote, but there is frightening much truth in it:

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." Einstein

Ironical, that the food-related survival of the most dangerous predator on earth - depends on such a small animal like a honey-bee.