What is killing our honey bees and can we save them? Bees don't just make honey, they pollinate a third of our food supply - but bee colonies are disappearing at an alarming rate in the United States. In addition to being ecologically essential insects, bees are highly social and complex creatures that have been subjected to a barrage of attacks ranging from parasitic mites to high levels of exposure to pesticides and herbicides. In recognition of Earth Day, **Noah Wilson-Rich** from Best Bees and **David Hackenberg**, apiarist and owner of Buffy Bees, examine the plight of the poor honey bee. (Photo: [Flickr/Martin LaBar](https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinlabar/14164641808/ "All About Bees butterflyweed"), image cropped)
Noah Wilson-Rich is a behavioral ecologist, a beekeeper, and the founder of The Best Bees Company™. He is a 2007 graduate from the Bee School at the Essex County Beekeeper’s Association in Topsfield, MA. Noah earned his B.S. in Biology at Northeastern University (2005) and his Ph.D. in Biology at Tufts University (2011).
David Hackenberg began keeping bees as a FFA project in 1962 at Mifflinburg Area High School in Pennsylvania, and by the time he graduated high school he had already started his own business maintaining several hundred hives. After serving as the president of the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association and the American Beekeeping Federation and as a member of the National Honey Board, Hackenberg is presently chairman of the Honey Bee Health Advisory Board. He and his son run Hackenberg Apiaries, with 2400 active bee colonies, and own Buffy Bee Honey. Hackenberg Apiaries is involved in the areas of pollination, trucking, honey production, and education in the beekeeping industry. Hackenberg's life's work contributes to the overall pollination of six states: Florida, California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Maine, and New York.