late summer in barrett minnesota it is usually buzzing with activity. i think we are ready to walk down to the beehives. >> the midwest is known for the commercial bee industry. we have empty boxes not filled with honey. nothing. >> bee kooepers are witnessing an alarming problem. how many bees are we losing? >> the losses are avt ron omic am. i lost 65% of my operation last winter. we look in the ground to see if there's dead bees on the ground. most people in the u.s. would be happy staying away from the honey bee. >> they are critically important to the u.s. food supply. they provide $15 billion in revenue, and one-third relies on the industrious pollinators. the demand for pollinator crops, the fruit and vegetables, is increasing. the supply of bees is decreasing. the general term is colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon seen before, but this time it is different say the bee keepers. >> seeing a number of things that we have never seen before. bees just disappearing. >> not only disappearing, they are dying in large numbers. >> something like this,