Beekeeping

SOMETHING strange is happening to honeybees. They're vanishing. In parts of the country, bees are leaving hives and not returning. The phenomenon, dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder, has wiped out a quarter of the hives of commercial beekeepers since last summer, according to the American Beekeeping Federation, and set off a flurry of debate about how to stop it, whatever it is, and what it all means.

A fungus that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe and Asia may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder that is wiping out bees across the United States, UC San Francisco researchers said Wednesday. Researchers have been struggling for months to explain the disorder, and the new findings provide the first solid evidence pointing to a potential cause.

Archeologists in northern Israel have discovered evidence of a 3,000-year-old beekeeping industry, including remnants of honeycombs, beeswax and what they believe are the oldest beehives ever found. The findings this summer in the ruins of Rehov include 30 intact hives dating to about 900 BC, archeologist Amihai Mazar of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said Tuesday. He said the discoveries offer unique evidence that an advanced honey industry existed in biblical times.

MARY ELLEN MASON was a busy music video producer when she first started thinking about bees about 10 years ago. In her Los Feliz apartment, she read book after book about beekeeping. "They seemed like these perfect creatures," she says. "They produce a product you don't have to do anything to." When Mason decided to take a sabbatical from the music business, she took a part-time job as a baker to decide what her next step would be.

Face it: We all like honey, but nobody wants to get too cozy with the bees. Pressed with the task of finding a bee-friendly location in urban Orange County, a handful of beekeepers have decided to go where the people aren't. The result has been an unusual partnership with the county that allows beekeepers to rent space for their hives in the more than 30,000-acre wilderness park system for a nominal sum.