The cause of a large scale bee die-off last autumn involving 16 hives located near each other in Montecito remains murky, but a recent pesticide screening of hive and honey samples showed several “commonly used pesticides” were found. Though this does not prove that the bees — approximately 750,000 — were done in by pesticides, according to a statement by the Santa Barbara Beekeepers Association, “It does point to them as a possible factor.” Witnesses reported seeing bees “twitching and stumbling around, unable to fly.”
