The disappearance of bees in the west is a severe threat to California’s economy. The biggest almond crop in the world is in the state’s central valley. But the bees have left for reasons still unexplained. California farmers see no other option than bringing in even more undocumented workers than in the past.

Almond grower, Hugo Deskew, has tens of thousands of trees stretching for many acres. “It’s hard to get any of my other work done,” he says, “without the background buzz of bees. But I’ll probably have to get used to it.”

In his field were hundreds of workers, each wearing fingertip appliances, going from blossom to blossom and touching them lightly. “Those Mexicans are working with pollen thimbles. It’s something I designed.” He displayed one. “See, it’s covered with yellow and black bee fuzz, and has six legs made from teflon brush bristles. Even the bee’s mouth parts are glued to it. But the bees are much faster than these fellows,” he said, indicating the men and women with their yellow and black tipped fingers. “We simply need more.”

Can leaders of the agricultural industry sit down with immigration experts at Fox News and elsewhere and convince them that a third of the nation’s food depends on a fifty-fold influx of workers from south of our borders?

If not, get used to Korean oranges at $40 a dozen.