Farmers work to encourage native bee habitat With honeybee populations weakened by disease and the mysterious malady known as Colony Collapse Disorder, farmers place new focus on work to benefit native pollinators. Decisions by farmers and ranchers to replace bare ground along irrigation ditches and roadways with native plants, trees and grasses, in order to encourage beneficial insects and eliminate weeds, have evolved into a movement to bring native bees back to the farming landscape. Farmers in Yolo County--the epicenter of this work--have partnered with various organizations to lead the way in protecting populations of native bees and restoring native bee habitat. "The overall goal is to increase the capacity of these farms to support native bees for crop pollination," Mace Vaughan said. He directs the Pollinator Program for the Xerces Society, a non-profit group dedicated to conserving invertebrate species....