Ahh geeze... not again...
This mite almost killed out honey bees about 10 years ago. I remember as a kid seeing bees all over the place buzzing around clover blossoms. You took a risk walking through grass barefooted. Then this mite came along and for several years I saw NO honey bees at all. NONE. Not the first one. Just in the past 2 years have I started seeing honey bees again.
"Just in the past 2 years have I started seeing honey bees again."
Same up here in Wisconsin. I did see a Honeybee yesterday, though, and I was elated! They are few and far between.
We do still have a lot of Bumble Bees that do a fair share of polinating in my garden.
If you garden, you may want to add some "heirloom, open-pollinated" varieties of veggies, herbs & flowers to your garden. They self-polinate and aren't dependent upon the birds and the bees.
http://www.seedsavers.org (I used to work for them. They're a terrific organization.)