The unanswered question here, for me, is: why is there so much sugar and dye in the runoff from the cherry factory that the bees are interested in it? And why is runoff from anything being released untreated into the surface system?
(I'm glad they made explicit mention of Ms. Mayo's name, though. It was bugging me the whole time and gave the first half of the article almost an Onion-esque feel.)
The person who said it might be from run-off is a bee-keeper who has never visited the factory.
I rather suspect that the bees have found their way into the factory through a small hole, as insects are wont to do, and are directly consuming the syrup.
(I'm glad they made explicit mention of Ms. Mayo's name, though. It was bugging me the whole time and gave the first half of the article almost an Onion-esque feel.)