Obama Starts Task Force To Prevent Bee Deaths The task force will have to come up with a strategy within six months to reverse this decline. In the announcement President Obama said he will also set aside $8 million for new honeybee habitats. The initiative doesn't only focus on bees but also addresses other pollinators like butterflies. The Federal Government will also work to restore the Monarch butterfly migration using research and habitat improvements that will benefit Monarchs as well as other native pollinators and honey bees the statement said.What's going on with bees? As the White House noted the decline is blamed on various factors from a lack of good habitat to exposure to certain pesticides to mite infestations and viruses. Part of the total $50 million is slated to enhance research as to a cause for the bee deaths.Some environmental groups said that Obama didn't go far enough and should have specifically done some about neonicotinoid pesticides which have been linked to bee deaths. The administration should prevent the release and use of these toxic pesticides until determined safe Friends of the Earth president Erich Pica told the AP.