Almond Facts, May-June 2021

IN YOUR ORCHARD THE BEE BOX Dronings from the Honey Bees in the 2021 Almond Orchards This year’s almond pollination has already come and gone, and while weather conditions were conducive to good bee activity and almond nut set appears favorable, the final yield numbers won’t be in for a while. It is also early in the season to assess how honey bees have fared this year; however, we can share some of our Tech Transfer Team Field Specialists’ initial insights into the health of our 2021 honey bee pollinator workforce during the almond season. BIP Tech Transfer Team Our Tech Transfer Team is composed of six Field Specialists, spread into five U.S. regions. Each of these regions work with approximately 20 commercial operations. The Field Specialists follow the bees into the almond bloom to inspect and sample colonies between late January and early March each year. During each visit, the field specialists inspect and sample a subset of the operation, usually at least eight colonies per yard, in three to five yards. The standard colony inspection includes equipment in use, population size in numbers of frames of bees (FOB), brood pattern (one to five), queen status, Varroa Loads (by in-field alcohol wash), and any overt signs of diseases observation and categorical recording “present” (mild, moderate, severe) or “not present.” Visual conditions or diseases include Chalkbrood, European Foulbrood, American Foulbrood, Parasitic Mite Syndrome, Sacbrood, Chewed Down Brood, Melted Down Larvae, Uncapped Pupae, Mite Frass, Entombed Pollen, Deformed Wing Virus, Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus, Dysentery, Shiny Bees, Trembling Bees, Crawlers, Dead bees at entrance, Wax Moth Larvae, Small Hive Beetle adult, Small Hive Beetle larvae, Varroa. After each visit, a report is sent to the beekeepers, providing them with the information they need to make data-driven real-time management decisions. Figure 1. Map of BIP Tech Transfer Team Regions. 3 4 A L M O N D F A C T S