Colony collapse disorder has killed millions of bees . Colony collapse disorder has killed millions of bees -- up to 90 percent of colonies in some U.S. beekeeping operations -- imperiling the crops largely dependent upon bees for pollination , such as oranges , blueberries , apples and almonds . Scientists suspect a virus may combine with other factors to collapse colonies . Disorder first cropped up in 2004 , as bees were imported from Australia . The disease spread quickly through the U.S. and Europe, but it was not until 2007 that scientists began noticing an increase in bee deaths across North America.
Colony collapse disorder has killed millions of bees . Scientists suspect a virus may combine with other factors to collapse colonies . Disorder first cropped up in 2004 , as bees were imported from Australia . The disease spread quickly through the U.S. and Europe, but it was not until 2007 that scientists began noticing an increase in bee deaths across North America.