There has been a lot of concern in the last few years about what's coming to be called colony collapse disorder. In 2007, a Pennsylvania beekeeper takes his bees down to Florida for the winter and finds that their colonies have essentially vanished. Since 2007, with this colony collapse disorder and other problems, over winter mortality is more like 30%.
Wally Thurman of North Carolina State University and PERC talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the world of bees, beekeepers, and the market for pollination. Thurman describes how farmers hire beekeepers to pollinate their crops and how that market keeps improving crop yields and producing honey. Thurman then discusses how beekeepers have responded to Colony Collapse Disorder--a not fully understood phenomenon where colonies disband, dramatically reducing the number of bees. The discussion closes with the history of bee pollination as an example of a reciprocal externality and how Coase's insight helps understand how the pollination market works.