Scientists at San Francisco State University need your help to
track sick honeybees. A tiny fly parasite is threatening the
health of honey bee colonies that are vital commerical
pollinators across the state and country. The team of
researchers is asking residents of South San Francisco to
participate in a "citizen science project" to help find out how
far the parasite has spread. ZomBeeWatch.org, a website where
citizens can upload relevant information and photographs,
launched on Tuesday. The website includes tutorials on how to
build light traps from household material and collect data for
the project. Reports of parasitized bees have come from Redwood
City, Santa Barbara, and South Dakota. SF State Professor of
Biology John Hafernik said in a press release, “what we’d really
like to see is if this parasitism is distributed widely across
North America.” “Right now is still the low season for
parasitized bees,” Hafernik explained, “but they will start
ramping up in August. In the San Francisco Bay Area, inf