James Van Leuven is a research assistant professor in University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.(Joseph Pallen/University of Idaho Photographic / University of Idaho Visual Productions)

If you had an apple lately, you can thank a honeybee for making it happen.

Bees pollinate 85% of flowering plants and most of the stuff we eat that gets grown in the ground, but bees are dying. Each year, beekeepers lose up to 40% of their bees.

A new study says we could lose 97% of all western bumblebees in the next 30 years. A University of Idaho researcher is trying to help bees by helping them fight off a nasty disease in a brand new way.

James Van Leuven is an Assistant Professor in the school’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and he joined Idaho Matters to talk more about this problem.