A beekeeper in Woodland Hills, CA inspects a hive in his back yard.
Bees have been mysteriously disappearing since about 2006, in a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder. They vanish from the hive leaving behind just the queen and the honey. Scientists don't have a clear explanation, but they theorize that pesticides and mechanized agriculture are to blame. That, essentially, we are killing the bees. A documentary out today called Queen of the Sun explores the disappearance of bees. Madeleine spoke to the director of the film, Taggert Siegel. And Kirk Anderson from Backwards Beekeepers is on hand with tips for people interested in keeping their own honeybees.
The group Backwards Beekeepers is dedicated to promoting natural backyard beekeeping.
Here's a video of Kirk (AKA Kirk OBeeO) extracting honey from one of his hives in Silverlake.
Queen of the Sun opens today at the Laemmle theaters in Santa Monica and Woodland Hills.