The Mesa campus has been invaded by thousands of our little pollinating friends.

A large hive connected to a crape myrtle tree outside of the LRC has been the cause for commotion. This hive is the seventh hive found on campus this spring.

“I’ve talked to people who have worked here for years and have never seen this many hives,” Mesa groundskeeper Stan Diaz.

Some of the staff is speculating that the East County fires last year have caused the bee colonies to seek the lush Mesa campus as refuge.

The campus gardeners have been cutting the hives down, and relocating them to the canyon, but with no flora in the canyon to sustain them, the bees quickly find their way back.

Some students are concerned that they might be attacked and stung, but others, like Ricky Warner, are more concerned for the life of the bees. Warner spent much of the morning of April 10 frantically making phone calls to find someone that could ensure the hive’s safe removal.

“I feel bad, all the bees are dying, there is an epidemic and I’m just worried that they are going to terminate the hive,” Warner said.

Warner is talking about colony collapse disorder, an epidemic that is killing masses of bee colonies across the country and making it difficult for farmers who rely on bees to pollinate their crops. Researchers are still unsure of the cause for the disorder but are considering possibilities such as radioactivity from cell phone towers and genetically modified organic crops as causes.

Students took action to make sure that this particular hive found a sanctuary. Many farms that are desperate for bees for the pollination of their crops have posted ads on classifieds like Craigslist, notifying locals to contact them for the safe, humane removal of hives.

La Milpa Organica, located in Escondido, was contacted by a Mesa student who found their ad on Craigslist, and made arrangements with Mesa gardener Tony Provenzano to remove the hive.

“The fires destroyed all of the wild colonies and the areas they go to forage,” said Steven Ogenvi of La Milpa Organica. “Bees do quite well in residential areas, because people plant lots of flowering plants, and keep the ground watered even during dry spells.”

Provenzano said that now that the school has found a quick and easy method for the removal of the hives, they would continue to contact these farms in the future.