Hundreds of business honey bee colonies are transported lengthy distances to pollinate California almonds.
The California-grown almonds in your path combine or almond milk have been possible made attainable by way of the pollination providers supplied by honey bees. In the USA, all commercially grown almonds—a crop price greater than $5 billion in 2021—are grown in California. Almond blossoms largely require bugs for pollination, and honey bees are extensively used to supply this yield-supporting service. Whereas some almond growers keep their very own honey bee colonies, many decide to safe pollination providers by renting hives from beekeepers. Beekeepers typically transport their industrial honey bee colonies greater than 1,000 miles as a part of an annual journey that usually begins within the Northern Nice Plains—which incorporates North and South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota—and proceeds to California and past. Pushed by the timing of the almond bloom, between July 1, 2017, and January 1, 2018, an estimated 384,600 bee colonies have been transported into California from the Northern Nice Plains. Colonies additionally traveled from close by areas of the West and Pacific Northwest, whereas nonetheless different colonies got here from as far-off because the Northeast and Southeast. Some beekeepers reported shifting honey bee colonies greater than 2,000 miles to pollinate almonds. After pollinating almonds and different crops within the area, many beekeepers later return to the Nice Northern Plains to help colony recuperation and honey manufacturing. This chart first appeared within the USDA, Financial Analysis Service report, Honey Bees on the Transfer: From Pollination to Honey Manufacturing and Again, June 2021.
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