Honey Bees need clean water sources. These guidelines offer ways that growers can help keep the bees in their orchards stay healthy and strong during the almond bloom. ​

The Bee Informed Partnership (BIP) and Project Apis m. (PAm) have a long history of partnership.  Since 2012 PAm has deeply supported the BIP Tech Transfer Teams (TTTs), who are the “boots on the ground” to survey honey bee health, and often acting as liaisons between research, and beekeepers.   Their unique position not only allows them to share research developments and management practices with commercial beekeepers, but they also understand the most current beekeeping needs and trends and can help inform researchers about what is going on in the beekeeping industry that needs to be addressed.    
 
Commercial beekeepers who work with the Tech Transfer Teams on average lose 30% fewer colonies each year than beekeepers who do not.  That is significant!  Quite a few participating beekeepers have also reported saving money by working with TTTs - some very major losses have been avoided, and many beekeepers report overall improved condition of their bees as well.  

​Four PAm funded research projects recently published results or reviews, and we share those with you here.  These publications represent several areas of research focus that PAm has invested in over the years including Varroa research, long term stock improvement/queen quality, honey bee diet and nutrition, and exposure to agrochemicals.  Below you will find overviews and excerpts from each publication, as well as links to the published papers.

The Honey Bee Health Coalition and The Almond Board of California have both released new Best Management Practices (BMPs) this January.  ​

The 2019 growing season is upon us. This time of year is eagerly awaited by everyone involved with agriculture.  In particular, the short 4-6 week window of almond bloom is a critical time in which growers and beekeepers need the strongest, most populous hives available. When February and March are cold, overcast and rainy the need is even greater due to reduced flight hours.  If each day of bloom has only a few hours of ideal conditions for bee flight, hives with a greater number of bees are especially important because they send out more foraging bees in that window, and can still get the job done. Blooming cover crops mixes, like the ones provided by the Seeds for Bees® program, do an excellent job of boosting the pollination potential of each hive by increasing the duration, diversity, and density of available nutrition. ​