What is killing the bees?

Repost from Quartz | Todd Woody | July 24, 2013

The death of pollinating bees in Taiwan has been cause of concern for its fruit farmers. It is expensive and tedious to pollinate flowers of fruit trees because of massive decline in bee population in  a mysterious phenomenon known as  CCD (colony collapse disorder) or beemageddon.

Its cause is worse than previously thought, according to scientists.  Bees in a colony could just die suddenly and its cause has been attributed to combination of insecticide, fungicide and parasite Nosema cerenae.

The insecticide affected their ability to resist infection of the parasite.

The use of class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids has been banned because it has been linked directly to death of bees.

The bee population is low in US that 60% of the remaining bee population would be required to pollinate the whole of California

Is this a serious economic and agricultural problem?

Is is it just another bees and the bird problem?  An esoteric subject?

ANA, a Japanese carrier, makes up for lost electronics shipments with shipments of ridiculously priced fruits

Repost from Quartz by Jake Watts | July 25, 2913

ANA, (All Nippon Airways) being entrepreneurial and innovative, has made up for lost shipments of electronic consumer products by shipping high priced fruits from Japan to HK wealthy.  Such fruits command prices of up to $l,000 each:

Sample prices: 

Square faced watermelon   -    $125.00

Heart shaped watermelons -    $350.00

Fruit with a face      -            $1,000.00

Eggs of the sun mangoes        2,000.00

Shipments of such luxury fruits to China and Russia are being considered

That is entrepreneurship and innovation at its best!