25,000 Bees Discovered Dead in Oregon Parking Lot

25,000 Bees Discovered Dead in Oregon Parking Lot "National Pollinator Week kicked off with a dark twist of irony Monday, when tens of thousands of bumblebees, honeybees, ladybugs and other insects were found dead or dying in a Target parking lot in Oregon. Now, early signs strongly suggest insecticides may be to blame."

"“They were literally falling out of the trees," said Hatfield, in reference to the European linden trees under which the bees were found to be clustered. "To our knowledge this is one of the largest documented bumblebee deaths in the Western U.S. It was heartbreaking to watch.”"

"The Xerces Society immediately contacted the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), which launched an investigation into the death of the bees. It has since come to light that the linden trees were sprayed Saturday with an insecticide called "Safari" (marketed by Valent as "the fastest broad spectrum insecticide on the market") that may have been improperly applied. “They made a huge mistake, but unfortunately this is not that uncommon,” said Xerces Executive Director Scott Hoffman Black in an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting. “Evidently they didn’t follow the label instructions. This should not have been applied to the trees while they’re in bloom.”"

So lots of bees died and it was probably pesticides, but it doesn't explain Colony Collapse Disorder at all.