Located in Fresno, CA. USA

Honeybee rental prices vary depending on supply and demand. Each year our bee colonies come through the winter with different survival rates. We work through our colonies and asses them according to how many bees are present and determine the price based on supply and demand fundamentals. 

Pollination recommendations for Almonds

3rd leaf ....4 frames per acre

4th leaf ....8 frames per acre

5th leaf ....12 frames per acre

6th leaf ....16 frames per acre

Exception to the rule. In general the rule of thumb is that if you expect to make 1000 lbs of nuts per acre you will need 8 frames of bees per acre to do the job if the weather is expected to be good for the bees to fly.

Exception to the rule. If a grower wants additional frames of bees to allow for expectations of rainy or cool weather conditions during the pollination season. A grower will use the additional frames of bees he rents as insurance that during the few days of good flying weather the bees will be in greater numbers for the small window of flying time to do the job. In such insurance minded growers I suggest on renting up to 24 frames of bees per acre or more.

Definitions.

A Colony is a family of bees. It can have any configuration from all deep boxes to all shallow boxes or anything in between. The most common configuration is double deeps. This refers to the 9 5/8th inch box as a deep and when 2 are on top of each other you have a double deep configuration.

A Frame is a unit of measure in the honeybee and pollination business. It is referred to by state and county alike and refers to a 9 1/8th inch tall frame. When it is covered with bees at 60 degrees F with no wind on a sunny day with no wind the county bee inspector (see your county agricultural commissioner's office) will count the frame as a frame of bees when it is at least 2/3s covered on each side having a certain amount of bees per square inch of surface. A frame that is smaller in size and is 6 1/8th inches tall is called a mod or modified frame and is counted by the county as 3 of these equal 2 of the standard frames in surface area.

Rule of 3. This refers to the distance you can move a colony of bees. If you move a hive less than 3 feet the bees can still relocate the hive by smell and sight and find their way back home to the colony. However if you move them 15 feet some of the bees will land on the ground or spot where the colony was before the move and perish in poor weather. In warmer weather these bees may find themselves lost and perch on a branch, pipe, ground or tractor or anything that the find handy. These bees are now without a queen and will die of old age and predatory birds and other animals that eat bees if left uncared for. (these bees can be very aggressive as well when homeless) The other part of the rule of 3 is that you must move the bees over 3 miles from the last place they were sitting in order to keep the colony population together. The move must take place at night in warm weather or can take place at any time during cold weather. So when you have the beekeeper move the bees into your field make sure you have them in the exact spot you want them because moving them even across the road is not good for the bees.

Helpful suggestions for increased pollination.

Place the bees in the sun. Since bees fly based on the temperature outside, they will warm up faster if sitting on the sunny side of the road. Avoid placing bee colonies inside the orchard under the tree canopy. This shade (made even more shady when the blooms open) keeps the bees inside until the air temperature has warmed up enough to allow the bees to start flying for the day. That temperature for most honeybees is approximately 55 F.

Placing the bee colonies next to your neighbor's orchard will reduce the pollination of your field if the varieties are the same. If the varieties are different it may actually help pollination crosses and increase the yield to your field.

Providing water near colonies (with the proper flotation measures) will help reduce the amount of water searching activity the bees perform. Water is necessary for young bee development and cooling of the hive in warm weather and is required for optimum humidity within the colony. Honeybees prefer water that is clean and easy to get. Standpipes of cement with some water in them and the edges of natural waterways make water gathering easier for the colony. Growers can provide water in 1/2 barrels with shade over the water and floats of Styrofoam sheets to aid in water collection. This allows more foraging for pollen and nectar flights by the bees which increases yield.

Placement of colonies. Colonies should be placed around the field in such a way that the farm work can be preformed by the farmer without jeopardizing the safety of the colonies or the farm worker. If colonies are placed on the end of rows, every other row should be skipped when placing the colonies out to avoid obstructions for farm equipment in the orchard such as berm sprays, mummy removal, bloom sprays, mowing and other tasks.

Dust and bees don't mix. Slow down when passing colonies to keep dust and dirt from entering the colony. Dust must be removed from the cells inside the colony which take up valuable time that could be used for gathering food which means flying to the flowers instead of house keeping by the bees.

Field setup prior to planting. It is best to set up an almond orchard and think about how you will get the bees to the center of the field before the trees go in. Since bees do their best work within the first 880 feet from the hive, cut outs should be made inside fields and roads need to be accessible to the cut out. One of the best ways to achieve this is to have a road every 1600 feet in an orchard. This will allow for better access by the beekeeper targeting the heart of the orchard. Inside large orchards at intervals of 1600 feet a few trees should be missing to allow colonies to be placed. Roads should be wide enough so that when the trees are full grown that the truck carrying the bees will not be brushed by limbs that will disturb the bees. Roads that are smooth and have dust control are a huge asset to the grower for spider mite control and bee management into and out of the orchard.

Number of colonies in one place. Since bees do their best work in 880 feet it is not necessary to place bees closer than this distance from each spot in or around the field. This allows for larger drops of bee colonies in one place and help the bees relocate their home by creating a large artificial swarm in the air above colony drop sites.