Bringing the bees
Beekeeper Robert Harvey crosses over a barricade as he works to transfer Italian honey bee colonies pollinating a blueberry field near Columbia Falls, Maine, June 23, 2014.
Bees have been dying at a rate the U.S. government says is economically unsustainable. Honey bees pollinate plants that produce about a quarter of the food consumed by Americans, including apples, watermelons and beans. A lawsuit has now been filed by environmental groups seeking an injunction restricting the approval of a controversial class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, or "neonics." These pesticides have become a subject of scrutiny in Europe and the U.S. as concern has mounted that they harm honeybees and other pollinators. Other groups have sued the Department of the Interior to have the honeybee listed as endangered.
Pollinating Americas crops
Beekeeper Robert Harvey transfers Italian honey bee colonies from a blueberry field to pollinate crops in different fields near Columbia Falls, Maine, June 23, 2014.
Pollinating Americas crops
Beekeeper Robert Harvey transfers Italian honey bee colonies pollinating a blueberry field near Columbia Falls, Maine, June 23, 2014. Over recent years, bees have been dying at a rate the U.S. government says is economically unsustainable.
Pollinating Americas crops
A honey bee, which beekeepers said was an Italian honey bee mixed with an Africanized honey bee, flies near the headlamp of a truck transferring bee colonies to pollinate crops in Columbia Falls, Maine, June 22, 2014.
Pollinating Americas crops
Beekeepers use a bee smoker to calm colonies before transferring them to another crop after pollinating a blueberry field near Columbia Falls, Maine, June 23, 2014.
Pollinating Americas crops
Honey bees hover around the suit of beekeeper Robert Harvey as he transfers bee colonies from a blueberry field near Columbia Falls, Maine, June 23, 2014.
Pollinating Americas crops
Beekeepers use a bee smoker to calm bee colonies before transferring them to another crop after pollinating a blueberry field near Columbia Falls, Maine, June 23, 2014.
Pollinating Americas crops
A colony of Italian worker bees congregate outside their hive while pollinating a blueberry field near Columbia Falls, Maine, June 22, 2014.
Pollinating Americas crops
Beekeepers, or apiarists, secure a cover over bee hives stacked upon a truck as they prepare to transfer the bees to another crop after they completed pollinating a blueberry field in Maine, June 23, 2014.
Pollinating Americas crops
Beekeeper David Hackenberg, 65, rests by the side of his truck at the end of the evening after transferring bee hives from a blueberry field near Columbia Falls, Maine, June 22, 2014.