Project Apis m., in conjunction with the California State Beekeeper's Association (CSBA), have joined forces to encourage, educate and enlist land owners and managers to produce food resources for honey bees.  Specifically, floral diversity prior to and after almond bloom in California for the 1.4 million colonies that are brought to the state to pollinate the almond crop.  Forage plots in Kern, Stanislaus, Colusa and Glenn counties have been set in motion.  Working with land manager cooperators, PAm has established acreage, seed mixes, seed suppliers, and planting regimes.

At the 2012 North American Beekeeping Conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada, we learned about a 'Bee Smart' Pollinator Gardener App that is your comprehensive hand held guide to selecting plants for honeybees specific to your area.  Select your plants by light and soil requirements, bloom color and type.  Go to the Pollinator Partnership website at www.pollinator.org to learn more!

In March of 2012, there will be a 'Stanislaus County Honey Bee Forage Demonstration Field Day'.  Stayed tuned for details.

Concern over the decline of honey bees and the direct impact on pollination services, especially California's $6 billion in specialty crops, has prompted multiple agencies to assist farmers who are interested in planting bee forage find location-specific information.

The Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Program has a list of recommended plants to support pollinators in almond orchards.  Go to:

http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/pollinator-plants-for-almond-orchards-formatted.pdf

In addition, a seed mix has been developed for growers, 'Almond Orchard Seed Mix' that can be accessed at:

http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-seed/

The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides soils maps and data for more than 95% of the nation's counties.  To see if your county is listed, go to: http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/DataAvailability/SoilDataAvailabilityMap.pdf

If your county information is available, click on:

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/

     -  Click on Web Soil Survey - Green Circle (Start WSS)

     -  Expand the window

     -  Scroll down to the Area of Interest (AOI)

     -  Specify State and County

     -  Click on the Area of Interest (AOI) tab 

     -  Click on the Soil Map tab for more information on your area

Plants lists can be obtained at: http://www.plants.usda.gov/java/

Honey bees in Arizona foraging on Rapini (mustard family). 

Photos by:  Christi Heintz and Meg Ribotto