[Pollinator] Bee shortage worsening with expanding almond plantings

[Matthew Shepherd (Xerces Society)]

Bee shortage worsening with expanding almond plantings
By Heather Hackings; 1/29/06
Full article in Chico Enterprise Record, at: http://www.chicoer.com/local_news/ci_3449001

It's easy to take a buzzing insect for granted, but for the California almond industry, those fuzzy, busy bees are vital to a good nut harvest. 
In the past few years the price to rent bees has sprung up from $55 a hive two years ago to $125-$150 this year. Last year one box of bees for almond pollination rented for about $85 a colony. Each acre of almond requires about two hives, while more mature acreage might require three hives per acre. 
Almond pollination is a scramble for providers of bees because almonds are among the earliest to bloom — February and March — and the California almond bloom requires about 1.5 million colonies. That's two-thirds of the bees in the United States. 
Because almonds are a lucrative crop right now, more acreage has been planted, a trend expected to continue. This will mean more pressure to get enough bees as time goes on. 
Almond and walnut grower Dan Cummings is chairman of the Almond Board's honey bee task force. Cummings said that the current problem isn't that there aren't enough hives. Rather, the hives that are rented out are weak. Whereas a normal, healthy hive might have 8 frames, where bees build their honeycomb and raise larvae, many of the hives going into field have only 4 frames. A hive with half as many bees will be less than half as productive at pollination than a full hive. 
Cummings, who is part owner of a beekeeping business, said in the past bees made up about 8 percent of his almond cultivation costs. That figure has jumped to about 22 percent this year. 
To meet demands, bees are being shipped from all over the country, places like the Dakotas and Florida. To battle the bee shortage problem, Cummings said the industry is working to open up the borders to Canada, to allow Canadian bees in for pollination. Some growers also buy packaged bees from Australia, but these tend to have about 31/2 frames per hive, and Cummings said he doesn't think they do that well for pollination the first year.
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The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Protecting wildlife through science-based advocacy, education, 
and conservation projects since 1971. To join the Society, make a 
contribution, or read about our work, please visit www.xerces.org.

Matthew Shepherd
Director, Pollinator Conservation Program
4828 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR 97215, USA
Tel: 503-232 6639 Fax: 503-233 6794
Email: mdshepherd at xerces.org 
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