jan-feb-2020

CULTIVATING SUSTAINABILITY avoid complaints from neighbors. Place water near hives as soon as they arrive and use new containers or ones that have been thoroughly cleaned out. A proper “landing” area is essential for successful water collection, so bees don’t drown. This can be achieved with floating cork, marbles, leaves, grass, or straw. For buckets or drums, most commercial beekeepers use burlap. Burlap, fastened by clothespins, is draped over the sides allowing water to wick up the sides. Change out water if it has been contaminated with pesticides or looks unclean. The recommended rate of water is about a half-gallon for each hive for the duration of pollination, which is roughly equal to one 55-gallon drum for every 100 hives or, one 5-gallon bucket for every 10 hives. Bee Nutrition / Forage Many producers use cover crops to help them achieve their goals of improving soil quality, pollinator health and economic viability. Growers that plant alternative sources of nutrition like blooming cover crops before and during the bloom of their cash crop do so to create a positive feedback loop within the hive. This positive feedback loop helps ensure healthy and more bees for pollination. As pollen is brought back to the hive, the queen lays eggs. In three days, the eggs hatch into larvae. The immature larvae that beekeepers call “brood” secretes a pheromone that drives adult foragers to go find more protein, in the form of pollen. The smell of the brood pheromone is the hive’s way of communicating the urgency in which bees need to collect resources to support the next generation of bees. Preliminary results from an Almond Board of California funded study conducted by Dr. Elina Niño measures the impact Seeds for Bees cover crops in or near almond orchards has on colonies. 2 She found that hives in orchards with access to the PAm Mustard Mix were on average three frames more populous than hives without access to supplemental forage. Planting bee forage cover crops is a great way to get more brood pheromone in the hives you rent for pollination, giving them a boost before the bloom and increasing foraging behavior (pollination). Just as almond growers are finding it increasingly difficult to get reliably strong colonies, beekeepers are facing greater challenges to keep their hives alive. Varroa mites and loss of habitat/poor nutrition are two of the biggest health threats honey bees face in modern beekeeping. To help mitigate other stressors to their bees, beekeepers often look for orchards with supplemental sources of forage for their bees. Planting cover crops that will bloom before and after almonds can help growers attract high- quality beekeepers with healthy hives. Some beekeepers even give growers a discounted rental rate for hives if there is access to supplemental sources of food. References: 1. Almond Board of California. Honey Bee Best Management Practices For California Almonds. Modesto, CA. www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/ALM_189395_ HBBrochure_ForWebsite_8_5x11_F5.pdf 2. Niño, Elina (2016-2017) Longitudinal Evaluation of Honey Bee Colonies on Different Forage Regimes. Almond Board of California Annual Research Report Billy Synk, Director of Pollination Programs, Project Apis m. Billy@ProjectApism.org solid stainless staples p ayne M achine & F abrication llc Sales: Jennifer (661) 746-6242 jpayne381@aol.com (661) 203-5544 • 6", 8" and 10" Length For Safe and Secure Drip Line Placement • Grade 316L Resists Corrosion from Acidic Water & Fertilizers in All Soil Types • Reduce Labor One Time Install compared to Using Plain or Coated Staples • Save Money Avoid Constant Hose & Fitting Repairs MADE IN USA 1 8 A L M O N D F A C T S