The plight of the honey bee

The headline, a play on the famous orchestral piece "The Flight of the Bumblebee," comes from the Web site tothecenter.com, which carried a rundown this week on the oft-publicized colony collapse disorder, a mysterious ailment that is severely curtailing the country's honey bee population.

The story appears as UC Davis news service distributes a news release about a new $125,000 contribution from Häagen-Dazs to help honey bees. Half of the money will be used to create a one-half acre Honey Bee Haven on the campus, the release says. Häagen-Dazs and UC Davis will determine how the balance of the gift can best be used to benefit honey bees.

Landscape architects will want to take note. The design of the new bee haven is at the center of a competition. The winning design team will see their ideas implemented at UC Davis and will receive recognition on the Häagen-Dazs commemorative plaque in the garden. Best of all, the winner will receive a free year's supply of Häagen-Dazs ice cream.

Information on the design competition may be requested from Melissa Borel at mjborel@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-6642.

Bee dangling from guara blossom.

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