I am an ex bee keeper. My colonies repeatedly died off.
There is no question that bee populations are diminishing. The question is the cause.
Pesticides can be blamed but most believe the cause is biological.
BTW..... until we learn to communicate with bees, we can forget about communicating with extraterrestrials
Do you think limiting moving bees across state lines would slow spread of disease? I would think orchards would be better off if they partnered with local beekeepers instead of moving the bees so far and often. Of course having local hives would not work until they stopped bring in hives and diseases from other states. This is just an opinion but I would love to see a study on the issue. That seems like a much more likely problem than some vague pesticide.
According to Doctor Who, bees ARE an alien life form - http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Bee - from the planet Melissa Majoria in the Medusa Cascade. ;-)