Opinion: What will happen if the bees disappear?

Story highlights Marla Spivak: Honeybees, wild bees and bumblebees dying at frightening rates Bees pollinate majority of our crops, she says; fewer bees will cause food supply to shrink Spivak: Use of herbicides, pesticides are killing off flowering plants, poisoning bees Spivak: Try not to use herbicides, insecticides; put out flowering plants

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock looks into the mysterious disappearance of bees on a new episode of "Morgan Spurlock Inside Man," on Thursday, March 5, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

As thoughts turn to warm weather and gardening, it's a good time to consider planting flowering trees, shrubs and other plants that are attractive to bees, butterflies and other pollinators. You can beautify your yard, diversify the landscape and feed and protect pollinators, all at the same time.

The bees need you.

Honeybee colonies are dying at frightening rates. Since 2007, an average of 30% of all colonies have died every winter in the United States. This loss is about twice as high as what U.S. beekeepers consider economically tolerable. In the winter of 2012-13, 29% of all colonies died in Canada and 20% died in Europe.

Marla Spivak

Wild bee species, particularly bumblebees, are also in peril.

Anyone who cares about the health of the planet, for now and for generations to come, needs to answer this wake-up call.

Impact Your World: What you can do to help save bees

Honeybees and wild bees are the most important pollinators of many of the fruits and vegetables we eat. Of 100 crop species that provide 90% of our global food supply, 71 are bee-pollinated. The value of pollination of food crops by bees in the U.S. alone is estimated at $16 billion and insect pollinators in general contribute $29 billion to U.S. farm income.

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Opinion: What will happen if the bees disappear?