Scientists have found a new prime suspect in the deaths of about a quarter of America's honeybees.

Months of genetic testing have fingered a virus that was first reported in Israel just three years ago and may have passed through Australia on its way to the United States. The correlation between Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) and the mysterious bee disease — known as Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD — was reported Thursday on the journal Science's Web site.

This is the first report of IAPV in the United States. IAPV was initially identified in honey bee colonies in Israel in 2002, where the honey bees exhibited unusual behavior, such as twitching wings outside the hive and a loss of worker bee populations. IAPV has not yet been formally accepted as a separate species; it is a close relative of Kashmir bee virus, which has been previously found in the United States.

Pollination is a critical element in agriculture, as honey bees pollinate more than 130 crops in the United States and add $15 billion in crop value annually.

USDA Colony Collapse Disorder website