If the bee became extinct, man would only survive a few years beyond it. — Albert Einstein

A Dade City beekeeper sounds a nationwide alarm as colonies mysteriously disappear.

DADE CITY - To a veteran beekeeper like David Hackenberg, it was as astonishing as seeing water flow uphill.

Last October, he left 400 hives in a field in Ruskin to feed in Brazilian pepper tree blossoms. When he returned a month later, all but 36 of the colonies had been abandoned, right down to the part of the honeycomb filled with larvae and pupae - the future of the hives.

"I could tell the whole order of things had just gone haywire," said Hackenberg, 58, who has been keeping bees since he was 12.

Hackenberg, who spread the word to scientists and other beekeepers, is credited with sounding the alarm about what may be the most devastating honeybee die-off in U.S. history.

Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft has sent back images of a huge volcanic eruption on Jupiter's moon Io.

A massive dust plume, estimated to be 150 miles (240km) high, can be seen erupting from Io's Tvashtar volcano.

On Wednesday, the US probe flew by Jupiter, using the planet's gravity to boost its speed, reducing the travel time to its ultimate target of Pluto.

New Horizons also took photos of the icy moons Europa and Ganymede in the run-up to its encounter with Jupiter.

By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News

Enormous deep-sea squid emit blinding flashes of light as they attack their prey, research shows.

Taningia danae 's spectacular light show was revealed in video footage taken in deep waters off Chichijima Island in the North Pacific.

Japanese scientists believe the creatures use the bright flashes to disorientate potential victims.

Writing in a Royal Society journal, they say the squid are far from the sluggish, inactive beasts once thought.