(KGW) - Oregon's multi-billion-dollar wine industry is facing a new crisis and it's not because of the heat or too little rain.

It's all about the bees. The critical pollinators are dying by the thousands.

John Paul first noticed the problem last month. The honey bees he kept in his two hives began acting sluggish and then they were gone.

Only when he opened the hives did he learn they had all died.

"This is the saddest view in the world to open up a hive and there's nothing in there," said Paul.

Bees that is critical to Paul's vineyard, Cameron Winery in Dundee.

Paul has used honey bees for decades to pollinate the cover crops which, in turn, provide the essential nutrients for the grape vines to grow.

It's a practice most Oregon wineries follow.

Paul says, in recent years, he's experienced some bee deaths, but this year it was the entire colony.

"Normally there would be bees all around here," Paul explained.

But in the hours we spent at his winery, we only found two honey bees.

"It's just quiet and it's kind of creepy in a way," Paul said.

So why the sudden die off?

Paul suspects powerful pesticides called neonicotinoids are to blame.

They're used by farmers and nurseries miles away.

Lisa Arkin is executive director of the group Beyond Toxics, which is pushing for stricter federal regulations on the class of pesticide.

"Bee deaths have been linked directly to neonicotinoid exposure, there's no doubt about that. We've had seven major bee kills here in Oregon," said Arkin.

That includes one, two years ago, when some 50,000 bees died in a Wilsonville Target parking lot.

This month, the city of Portland banned the use of the chemical on all city property.

But experts say any of us could have it on our yards and we wouldn't even know it.

"People may not spray them on their plants but if the seeds are coated with these insecticides which a lot of times they are - those end up in the plant," said Paul.