A group of New York City prisoners may become beekeepers. That's because the Osborne Association, a nonprofit focused on providing certain tools for alternatives to longer prison sentences, took several prisoners on a beekeeping tour, reports DNAinfo.com.

In efforts to reduce the spread of Colony Collapse Disorder—the mysterious worldwide disappearance of bees leading to the failure of hives and the important pollination function bees play in agriculture—France has announced it will ban the Cruiser OSR pesticide made by Swiss chemical company, Syngenta.

Colony collapse disorder may be taking its toll on beehives around the country, but that hasn't stopped the surge of urban beehives. The latest to capitalize on the buzz: New York City's famed Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

More research on the mysterious decline of bee populations, called colony collapse disorder, has been published in the recent issue of the journal Science, and points to another possible pesticide connection that may shine light on the cause of the devastating phenomenon.

Bayer CropScience, the leading manufacturer of imidacloprid systemic-based pesticides, is the target of criticism and calls to ban the products after new research findings indicate imidacloprid as a major culprit in the recent decline of honeybee populations in a condition that's commonly referred to as colony collapse disorder. Without healthy honeybee populations contributing to the pollination of hundreds of foods, millions of farmers and fruit and vegetable crops would cease production.

As thousands of honeybee hives have collapsed in the last several years, researchers have struggled to identify the cause. Now, new research may indicate an unusual suspect: Parasitic flies.