By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON – Researchers have a pair of new suspects in the mysterious collapse of honey bee colonies across the country.
The widespread damage to the bees has caused concern because the insects are needed to pollinate scores of crops.
Researchers say samples collected from hives affected by the syndrome indicated the presence of a virus as well as a fungus. The two pathogens were not found in bee colonies not affected by the syndrome, called colony collapse disorder, the researchers reported in Wednesday’s edition of the journal PLoS ONE.