A survey of bee health released Tuesday revealed a grim picture, with 36.1 percent of the nation's commercially managed hives lost since last year.

the insects are buckling under the weight of new diseases, pesticide drift and old enemies like the parasitic varroa mite, said Dennis vanEngelsdorp, president of the group.

clearly bees are dying at unsustainable levels and the situation is not improving,

Imagine if one out of every three cows, or one out of every three chickens, were dying. That would raise a lot of alarm.

About 29 percent of the deaths were due to Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious disease that causes adult bees to abandon their hives.

"What's frightening about CCD is that it's not predictable or understood," vanEngelsdorp said.