Each year, billions of dollars of our nation's agriculture sector are the direct result of the work done by bees. In Michigan, blueberry, apple and cherry growers - among others - count on them to pollinate their crops.
However, bee populations have been in slow decline across most of the United States. While it's not quite at crisis level yet, researchers are looking for strategies to make sure the pollinators don't disappear.
MSU entomologist Rufus Issacs, who is leading this research, discusses the state of bees in Michigan.