Tag Archives: almond pollination

Beekeepers becoming wary of pollination

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Ron Miksha

  Compared to almonds in California, blueberry pollination in British Columbia is small potatoes. But there are some similarities. Commercial beekeepers migrate long distances from cold northern prairies to the mild coast with thousands of colonies. They are paid for … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Beekeeping, Pesticides, Pollination | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Bees That Watch Bees

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Picture this. A bee with her tiny face pressed against a window, spying on other bees so she can see where the treasure is hidden. Sounds ridiculous to me, but it turns out to be true. The experiment In 2013, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Upside-Down Almond Pollination

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Ron Miksha

It’s September, but some beekeepers are just wrapping up almond pollination and moving their bees to canola.  Sounds late. California’s almonds finished in March. Canola blossom ended months ago, too. But not for Australian beekeepers. Here’s a news piece from … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Pollination | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Almonds, Water, and Bees

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Ron Miksha

February is almond pollination month in California. A couple of nights ago, the CBC aired a story about almonds, water, and bees. They try to cover everyone involved – the consumer who loves the heart-friendly food, the almond grower who … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey Plants, Pollination | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Robo-Bees to the Rescue!

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Beekeepers are having a tough time keeping their hives alive. So far, they have been succeeding – there are more colonies of honey bees in the world now than there were 20 years ago. (Contrary to hype, honey bees are … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Pollination, Save the Bees | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Dead and Dying

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Ron Miksha

California almond pollination season is finished. And so are many of the bees which made the trip to the west coast to participate in the largest honey bee mosh pit ever in the history of beekeeping. (For those of you … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Pesticides, Pollination | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Almonds Need Bees

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Ron Miksha

Almonds need bees. And beekeepers need almonds – to pay their bills. In California – which produces about 80 percent of the world’s almonds – hundreds of thousands of acres stretch from Red Bluff to Bakersfield. Each acre ideally has … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Pollination | Tagged , , | Leave a comment