2 Million Bee Hives | Bee Tradition

2M beehives imported to California for almond bloom

Honybee hive(BigBlueStudio)

By ED BOLING / The Packer

California grows 1.5 million acres of almonds, and each spring, all of that acreage should be pollinated.

With almond blossoms being a wealthy supply of meals for honeybees, it’s a pure symbiotic relationship. The issue in California is that there aren’t sufficient bees to pollinate such numerous almond timber.

To assist mitigate this downside, the state imported roughly 2.1 million beehives for the 2021 almond pollination. Assuming every hive accommodates roughly 20,000 employee bees, this comes out to 42 billion bees. Hive imports will seemingly enhance in 2022, as extra almond acreage enters bearing age, in response to Jacob Wenger, assistant professor of entomology at California State College, Fresno.

There are a number of causes for the hole in honeybees to pollinate almond orchards. One motive has to do with the expansion of the almond trade. California’s local weather additionally performs a job, as does crop range.

“With the growth in almond planting, demand has skyrocketed and extra hives have needed to be imported,” Wenger stated. “On the flip facet, it’s difficult to extend hive provide in California as a result of state’s Mediterranean local weather, which limits the supply of floral assets in the summertime and fall. One other problem is elevated agricultural intensification, which has led to much less crop range, once more decreasing the supply of flowers for honeybees to feed upon.”

That being the case, the variety of imported hives the state wants is 5 instances higher than its personal hive inhabitants.

“It’s advisable to make use of two hives per acre throughout pollination. So, for the California almond crop, 3 million beehives are advisable,” stated Josette Lewis, chief scientific officer on the California Almond Board.  “Sadly, solely about half 1,000,000 beehives exist in California. The remainder should be imported.”

Almond timber should be pollinated, they usually produce numerous nectar that feeds the honeybees.

“The honeybees are solely in almond orchards for 4 to 6 weeks, though they spend a number of months within the state. They’re imported in November and December. Beekeepers home the bees to allow them to regulate to the California local weather,” Lewis stated. “Then, they’re moved to almond orchards round early February when blossom season begins. Lastly, as soon as their work is completed, most of the honeybees are shipped again throughout the U.S.”

The return house continues to be triggered by nature, after the almond bloom is over.

“Most hives will depart shortly after almond petal drop in mid to late March,” Wenger stated. “It is because outdoors of the bloom season, almond orchards are a veritable meals desert for honeybees with little to no flowering crops for them to forage on.”

Not all bees return to their house states, although. Some will transfer north to the state of Washington to help within the pollination of apples, pears and cherries, in response to Buzz Landon, president of the California State Beekeepers Affiliation.

A small variety of hives will keep in California for a number of months to pollinate different smaller acreage crops, equivalent to stone fruits, cane berries, apples, melons, squash and seed crops, Wenger stated.

About 40% of business beehives journey to the higher Midwest due to the pure prairie grasses and conservation farms in these states, which offer the honeybees with quite a lot of forage. Similar to people, honeybees, Lewis stated.

Because it seems, the journey additionally boosts the honeybee inhabitants.

“Many beekeepers double their hives through the almond pollination,” Lewis stated. “Most hives are much less energetic in winter. They’re not rising as hives. The hives come out stronger from almond blossom.”