The Moroccan village of Inzerki claims it has the world's oldest and largest collective beehive. Although it is now springtime and bee activity should be increasing, colonies in the North African country are collapsing amid a harsh drought.

One beekeeper, Brahim Chatoui, says that in the last two months he has lost around a third of his hives. "At this time of year, this area would normally be buzzing with bees," said Chatoui, sweating under a blazing springtime sun. "Today, they're dying at a terrifying rate."

Chatoui is not alone in his concerns, as Morocco has seen a surge in mass bee deaths, a phenomenon called "colony collapse disorder."

This phenomenon is usually brought on by the destruction of nature and rampant pesticide use. However, authorities in Morocco say the colony collapses are happening because the country is experiencing the worst drought in 40 years, which has decimated the plants on which bees rely.

Investigating the root cause

The government allocated $13 million to support beekeepers amid this crisis and to investigate the cause of the mass deaths. Morocco's National Food Safety Office, which is responsible for the investigation, has ruled out disease as a reason and blamed the intense drought.

Inzerki's collective beehive sits on a UNESCO-protected 2.5-million-hectare region. Some experts say it is the world's oldest traditional collective beehive, as it dates back to 1850.

Bee expert Antonin Adam has also blamed the drought for the bees' deaths but says this may have been exacerbated by intensive agriculture, nomadic pastoral practices, as well as the desire to increase the country's honey production.

100,000 other colonies have also been lost in one of Morocco's central regions, further affirming that the problem is countrywide.

Chatoui, the beekeeper, said many Inzerki residents can't afford to revive the hives they have lost.

"Some families have decided just to give up on beekeeping completely," he said.