This week, Los Angeles took a step closer toward permitting residents to keep beehives. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council passed a draft proposal that allows hobbyist beekeepers to keep hives in their backyards.

In Los Angeles, the practice hasn't been given permission in residential zones, but huge numbers of residents are keeping beehives anyway. They are driven by concern regarding recently declining honeybee populations.

Jose Huizar, LA Councilman, said that for the past one year, he and his staff have been working on the ordinance along with bee experts so as to make sure ensure that the practice is regulated properly.

As per Los Angeles Times, Mr. Huizar said, "We want to enable this increasingly popular activity even while we preserve the rights of the city to address any complaints about poorly maintained hives".

The Times reported that scientists and farmers have issued a warning that the decline in bee populations along with California's ongoing severe drought is likely to threaten agriculture around the state.

Keeping in mind the concerns over the bees declining population, other US metropolises have also started working to help.

According to an annual survey done by researchers at the Honey Bee Lab at the University of Maryland, beekeepers reported the loss of around 50% of honeybee colonies from April 2012 to April 2013.

The reasons behind the decline are still unknown and have remained mysterious. It might have happened because of a number of factors, including new parasites.