Part of a series on local food and suburban farming.

We can thank the honeybee for four of every 10 bites of food we eat, so for area beekeepers, their efforts aren't just about the honey. Many beekeepers feel they are doing their part in helping the survival of what is likely our most important domestic species. The Lou Marchi Total Recycling Institute at McHenry County College (MCC) hosted a screening of the documentary Queen of the Sun: What are the bees telling us? Oct. 25, followed by a panel discussion with beekeepers from the Northern Illinois Beekeepers Association.

The critically-acclaimed film by Taggart Seigel tells the story of the mysterious disappearance of bees through stunning photography, humorous animations, and some very entertaining and colorful beekeepers. The film looks at the 10,000-year history of honeybees as a domesticated species, from ancient times when honeybees were considered sacred to today's corporate agriculture practice of shipping honeybees thousands of miles in flatbed trucks to pollinate almond groves in California and blueberries in Maine.

In recent years, honeybees have been disappearing mysteriously; America has lost millions of colonies. The sudden death of honeybee colonies is called Colony Collapse Disorder. Beekeepers and scientists in the film point to chemical pesticides, single-crop farming or monoculture, and the industrialization of beekeeping as reasons for CCD. "Their crisis is our crisis. It's colony collapse disorder of the human being too," said Gunther Hauk, a biodynamic beekeeper who operates Spikenard Farm, a honeybee sanctuary in Virginia.

Experts in the film see bees as a barometer of the health of the world. Queen of The Sun refers to Austrian scientist Rudolf Steiner who predicted the collapse of honeybees in 1923. "The mechanization of beekeeping and industrialization will eventually destroy beekeeping," Steiner predicted.

"We have to wake up early enough to make a change," said biochemist and beekeeper David Heaf, in the documentary.