Author Loree Griffin Burns begins this intriguing “Scientists in the Field” volume by taking readers into the world of a beekeeper tending her hives. She then profiles a bee wrangler, who transports bees across the country to pollinate crops, before delving into the devastating effects of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Scientists aren’t yet sure what has been causing bee colonies to die off in alarming numbers in recent years, but the potential impact extends from the bees themselves to our food supply. Burns looks at the work of four different scientists studying CCD from various research angles. Each one turned a fascination with bees into a career, and their enthusiastic appreciation for bees shines in this narrative documenting a scientific mystery for which answers are still being sought. Ample, clearly labeled color photographs, along with wonderful design elements, are an integral part of the book’s appeal. (Ages 10–15)

Without honey bees the world would be a different place. There would be no honey, no beeswax for candles, and, worst of all, barely a fruit, nut, or vegetable to eat. So imagine beekeeper Dave Hackenburg's horror when he discovered twenty million of his charges had vanished. Those missing bees became the first casualties of a mysterious scourge that continues to plague honey bee populations today. In The Hive Detectives, Loree Griffin Burns profiles bee wranglers and bee scientists who have been working to understand colony collapse disorder, or CCD. In this dramatic and enlightening story, readers explore the lives of the fuzzy, buzzy insects and learn what might happen to us if they were gone.