The Buzz on Bees: Why Are They Disappearing?

The B uzz on Bees: W hy Are The y Disappearing? Ruth-Anne Brown 0 0 Reviewer: Ruth-Anne Brown Reading level: Preschool, Primary Rating: Outstanding Genre: Informative; Informational Books; Subject: Colony collapse disorder of honey bees--Juvenile literature; Honeybee--Juvenile literature; Books--Reviews Follow this and additional works at; http; //scholarsarchive; byu; edu/cbmr Bees are disappearing. In a period of four years, approximately one third of the honeybees in the United States have vanished. When bees abandon their hives, it is called Colony Collapse Disorder. Why is this so important? Honeybees not only make honey but also pollinate flowering plants. Without pollinating honeybees, many foods such as tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, peppers, and almonds would not grow. Honeybees also pollinate cotton plants, which people use to make fabric, and clover, that cows, sheep, and goats eat. Honeybees are the most important bees for agriculture because they pollinate more than ninety different kinds of crops. Research is underway to solve the mystery of the disappearing bees. Some theories as to why the bees are disappearing are: viruses, bacteria, fungi, stress, diet, or loss of habitat. Rotner and Woodhull compose a noteworthy informational text. The Buzz on Bees: Why Are They Disappearing? is filled with photographs by Shelly Rotner. The straightforward text effectively gets the reader concerned with the environment. The back pages offer fun facts such as, “Bees have two pairs of wings that flap 250 times a second.” More resources about bees are also listed. Teachers, parents, and children will love this colorful, non-fiction picture book. (...truncated)