Despite widespread declines in honeybees over the past winter, supplies of hives for pollinating tree fruits in the Pacific Northwest were expected to be adequate. Beekeepers from coast to coast have reported that bees mysteriously left their hives. The phenomenon is being called “colony collapse disorder,” though some people involved in the bee industry think that a number of different factors might be at play. Joe Traynor, a bee broker in Bakersfield, California, said losses were sporadic. “Some beekeepers definitely had bad losses, and other beekeepers are doing quite well,” he said. Dr. Eric Mussen, honeybee extension specialist at the […]