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have evolved to consume a diversity of food sources, and a reduction infrom diverse sources increases honey bee immunocompetence. 10 exhibit superior resistance to bacterial infections and opportunistic Aspergillus species) in comparison with thoseconsuming pollen from a single pollen source, 11 and a diet of pollenfrom multiple species of plants improves the ability of bees to fendNosema ceranae, a devastating microsporidial pathogen, comparedwith a diet consisting of a single pollen type. 12Habitat loss due to landscape-scale conversion has long been aconcern in pollinator conservation, but the rates of habitat loss havebeen increasing because of changes in the economic and politicallandscape. In the United States, the Conservation Reserve Programcover, including, among others, pollinator habitat. In 2013, the totalacreage enrolled, 25.3 million acres, was the lowest total since 1988when the program had just started. In the United States Midwest,much of the land in the Conservation Reserve Program was takenout in order to plant corn for use as a biofuel feedstock, decreasingState,” less than 0.01% of native tall grass prairie remains undisturbed; Program). Landscape scale biofuel feedstock conversion had anIndiana, Missouri, and Ohio), much of the corn acreage expansion camehttp://www.ers.usda.gov/amberwaves/2011-september/data-feature-where-did-the-corn-come-from.); unlike wind-pollinated corn, soybeans provideboth nectar and pollen for pollinators. Over the 2012 to 2013 season,among the leading causes of colony failure reported by beekeepers inbackyard or sideline operations was starvation. 13Imminent starvation has other impacts on the health of honey beecolonies in that, in the absence of adequate natural forage, beekeepersoften resort to replacing honey with sucrose or high fructose corn syrup.sucrose or high fructose corn syrup) have higher levels of expression 14 Multiple Page 46 » Across the Divide » Berenbaum