Resident Wants to Relocate Bee Hives Instead of Killing Them

CITYWIDE — Whenever Daniel Salisbury comes across a bee hive while walking around Santa Monica, he doesn't run for cover or call the authorities. Instead, the antique dealer and amateur bee keeper goes out of his way to collect them and relocate them to his property in Morro Bay.

Why?

It's not to make money from their honey. Salisbury, who said his roughly 20 hives produce about 100 pounds of sweet honey each year that he gives away to friends and family, is concerned about the shortage of bees needed to pollinate valuable crops such as almonds and oranges.

Salisbury and some entomologists believe bees are under attack from a variety of sources and if something is not done, bees could become extinct, posing a serious threat to the food supply. Roughly one-third of the food people consume is pollinated by insects, including honey bees, experts said.