Close to  100,000 volunteers in 12,000 gardens nationwide have submitted data for the bees' count. The project began as scientists were trying to explain sharp declines in bee populations in the U.S. and other countries. This month results shows: in urban areas an average of 23.3 bees per hour, compared with 30.4 bees per hour counted in rural areas, 31.6 in forests and wildlands, and 31.9 in deserts.