Without bees around to pollinate, a lot of crops just would not blossom and grow to maturity. Like almonds in California; no bees, generally no almonds.
So beekeepers make a living off transporting bee colonies to the almond groves, but the process often ends up with many bees dying.
Lauren Ponisio at the University of Oregon knows bees well, and knows the almond industry from her years in California. Her research focuses in part on getting the almond industry to adopt more bee-friendly practices.
We explore this and more in this month's Curious: Research Meets Radio, our joint project with UO.