Honeybees have been dying and disappearing all over the country, which is bad news for farmers who rely on them to pollinate their crops.

There have been several theories as to why, including cell phone radiation, but the federal government is looking at something else.

According to WTAE Channel 4's news exchange partners at the Tribune-Review, the latest theory has to do with the same chemical that recently made hundreds of pets sick across the country.

Bees drink nectar and collect pollen. They also stock up on honey in case food becomes scarce, but there is also something called commercial bee feed.

Like pet food and fish food, bee feed is protein-rich.

A Federal Drug Administration investigation into the tainted pet food found that Chinese suppliers had been adding industrial chemicals like melamine to food ingredients in order to falsely elevate protein levels.

That could reduce their costs and make their product appear more nutritious.

At the Department of Agriculture, one researcher is trying to find out if the same thing had happened to food meant for bees.

So far, there is no evidence of contamination, but officials said it's not out of the question.

Many experts still think some kind of pathogen is killing the bees, which might have already been weakened by something else.

Melamine contamination might not be the culprit but ruling it out could be an important part of learning why bee colonies are collapsing.

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