The Bee Buzz

San Francisco's 100 or so urban beekeepers are crossing their fingers as they monitor the ominous bee plague — Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD — thundering across the country, ravaging bee colonies everywhere and leaving thousands of hives in its wake mysteriously abandoned. The bee plague first appeared on the East Coast six months ago and has been working its way West ever since.

Peter Sinton, a beekeeper in the Richmond who lost two of six hives to wintertime ailments, says he does not know how he or anyone can prepare for the mysterious symptoms of CCD. "It's tough, because we don't know what we need to be protecting against," he said. "People's bees just disappear."

Many local beekeepers believe that the seasonal importation of more than 1 million migrant beehives into California's Central Valley for the pollination of the year's almond blossoms is the leading vehicle in the introduction of mites, diseases, and genetic deficiencies to local honeybee populations — all factors that may be fueling the rampant spread of CCD.

But Philip Gerrie, a beekeeper in Noe Valley, says the bee disease may have difficulty crossing the barrier presented by San Francisco Bay. "We're essentially an isolated island here, because bees travel in a radius of two or three miles at most. If Colony Collapse is caused by something the bees are bringing into the hives, it's probably due to agriculture, which our bees have nothing to do with."

Gerrie lost four of his six hives this winter and his last two linger in a greatly weakened state, but he says that the loss might be nothing more than the usual winter die-off. "Until a few more seasons pass, there's no knowing for sure. If these bee declines continue for several more years, then we've got a problem."

San Francisco's beekeepers produce an estimated two to four tons of honey each year, most of which is sold at select local retailers. Get it while it's still there.