H. Rose Schneider reports in the Times Union that New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says the state could be doing more to protect bees and other pollinators. DiNapoli recommended doing more to detect diseases and parasites, and improving the registry and inspection of apiaries and developing new procedures to inspect honeybee shipments. Paul MacThail, the owner and beekeeper at Bee Hollow Farm and Apiary in Schodack Landing, said finding a safe place for his 400 to 500 beehives in the area has become more and more difficult as diseases, parasites, and pesticides threaten honey bees. Last year's drought conditions also worsened the rate of bee colony decline locally with MacThail saying, "I see more and more beekeepers folding.... I think that's yet an even bigger problem. Because we need more beehives.” DiNapoli agreed in his report. "New York's farmers know how important honey bees and other pollinators are to our food supply and environmental health," DiNapoli said in a statement. "The state has designed a program to protect their declining populations, and my latest audit found the Department of Agriculture and Markets can do more to detect the diseases and parasites that destroy bee colonies." Read the full story in the Times Union.