But upon the new year, he started noticing some odd behavior.

"New Years day I was barbequing. I had flood lights on and the bees were bouncing off the flood lights," said Flint.

Flying towards the light, abandoning the beehive, falling over and crawling in circles are all symptoms of a "zombie-like" parasite attack.

Scientists in San Francisco said a specie of scuttle fly called "Apocephalus Borealis" injects its larva into a honeybee.Then inside the bee the larva eats through tissue killing the bee. Central Coast beekeepers said it's happening here.

Flint said he had about 9 boxes of healthy bees. But in a matter of 4 months, he is down to just one bee box. He isn't the only beekeeper in the area concerned about the zombie invasion.

"A friend called me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I knew anything about little flies outside his hive. His bees had died and he was witnessing a swarm of what he called gnats," said Flint.

Scientists said the parasitic fly is contributing to the collapse of honey bee colonies. Since bees pollinate about a third of the nation's food, and California is one of the top producers of fruits and vegetables, local beekeepers are concerned.