Project Apis m.

You've put the effort into planting for pollinators, and now the bees are out and about foraging on that food! It is the perfect time to practice your bee ID skills. By taking a photo, you can reference your visitors against a diagram and meet who your pollinators are! This bumble bee, foraging on wild rose (Rosa nutkana) is likely Bombus huntii, based on the location and pattern of the orange hairs on its abdomen. Pro-tip, not all bees are present in every area of the U.S. so select a guide as specific to your area as you can find to narrow down your choices when ID-ing! The USDA systemic entomology lab has plenty of free resources online! #foragefriday https://www.ars.usda.gov//pollinatin/docs/id-a-bumble-bee/

It's Forage Friday and today we are celebrating with a press release from PAm's newest Cause Marketing Partner, Flagstone Foods! "Flagstone Foods Announces Intent To Source 100% Of Its Almonds From Bee-Friendly Farms By 2025: A First In The Private Label Nut Industry" Follow the Link to Read the Press Release and learn more: https://loom.ly/Ibm2wOQ... #foragefriday #beehealth #honeybees #forage #seedsforbees #beefriendlyfarming #workingtogetherforpollinators #pollinators #almonds #californiaalmonds #flagstonefoods #healthybeeshappysnackers

Project Apis m. is excited to welcome our newest board member, Christine Gemperle! Christine brings years of almond farming experience to PAm, and currently manages 135 acres of almonds with her brother in California's Central Valley. Gemperle Orchards has hosted several research and forage projects over the years and is at the forefront of adopting sustainable technologies in the orchard. Check out this video to see what's happening in the orchard with Christine! https://loom.ly/XiIm5dU

We hope you have a meaningful Memorial Day! A day to honor the fallen, and support our friends and family in the military and their families.

This honey bee is foraging on a Seeds for Bees Wildflower Mix planting. Each bee has a role in the colony and as they age, those roles change - the younger and less experienced bees have tasks in the hive, like feeding brood, cleaning, and resource management. The older bees leave the hive and do the more risky tasks like foraging and water collection. You can tell that this is an older forager (by bee standards) because of her tattered and beat-up wings. The species of this flower is Phacelia tanacetifolia and it is an excellent plant for pollinators, beneficial insects, and integrated pest management. Phacelia is also sometimes used as a green manure or cover crop for weed suppression and soil conditioning among other benefits! https://loom.ly/Odbpyd0

Crews unload bees in California almond orchards after sunset. Timing is important when transporting bees. Arriving after dark helps ensure that the bees will stay safely in their hives until morning when they can fly and orient themselves so they can find their way back home. The bees will be anxious to fly in the warm weather so they make cleansing flights to eliminate bodily wastes that they have been holding in for 80-90 days. Last night the Browning's Honey crew unload...ed 4 semi-trucks and placed them in the orchards in Southern Fresno County. Each semi-truck holds over 400 colonies which are moved to smaller trucks and then distributed at intervals throughout the rows of almond trees. As the bees are dropped off at each location in an almond orchard, a beekeeper checks the hives to make sure that each pallet contains an 8-frame average - as agreed upon in the pollination contract. #honeybees #pollination #beekeepers #almonds #californiaalmonds #truckers #bees #browningshoney See more

Beekeepers are noticing new layers of mulch between the almonds. It turns out, pruning orchards creates an opportunity to return organic matter to the soil by way of the woodchipper. (as opposed to burning, another means of disposal). When entire orchards are moved out of production, this process is called whole orchard recycling and according to the Almond Board of California’s website, the benefits include: incorporating the tree biomass into the soil, returning nutrient...s, improving the soil quality, and potentially sequestering the carbon contained in the wood chips. Not only does research back up this management style, but programs exist that help with the cost of chipping. To learn more, UC Davis has an online resource for growers, check it out! https://orchardrecycling.ucdavis.edu/growers-guide-wor #commercialbeekeeping #pollination #pollinators #honeybees #beekeeper #californiaalmonds #almonds #commercialbeekeeper #polllen #pruningtrees #wholeorchardrecycling #UCDavis #almondresearch #soil #mulching @californiaalmonds @ucdavis

After yesterday’s highway closure and a few re-routed loads of bees, the weather cleared up enough today to cross the border in Truckee, CA. We waited briefly in Reno for the chain requirement to be lifted before joining the line of trucks carrying bees at the agricultural inspection station, waiting for their inspections and paperwork to enter California. #honeybees #pollination #bees #pollinationmigration #almonds #californiaalmonds #beekeepers #truckers

By the time Browning's Honey's bees have descended into California's Central Valley on trucks from cold storage in Idaho, the weather change has often already triggered the queen to start laying eggs. After being placed in almond orchards, the bees are given a day to become oriented and are then fed with Type 55 High Fructose Corn Syrup. This is a high calorie food for the bees and is a good "grocery" to help them weather dearth (a lack of natural forage available on the lan...dscape). This helps the bees get started with brood rearing and after about a week they will be fed with pollen patties - a high protein food that the bees will use to feed the developing larvae. Browning's Honey Co, Inc beekeepers deliver the liquid feed with trucks carrying tanks of the Corn Syrup. As always, weather plays a role in how and when bees can be fed - on Sunday, Jan 24th, this organized crew worked together like clockwork - rushing to get the bees cared for before the rain began which can create muddy, impassable conditions in many orchards. #honeybees #almonds #almondorchards #california #californiaalmonds #bees #beekeepers #pollination #pollinators #beekeeping See more

Stopping to fuel up needs to be planned strategically when hauling bees. Yesterday's cool and overcast conditions were ideal - warm air, sun, and even bright lights can cause the bees to fly out of the carefully secured and netted hives. It takes a specialized truck driver to transport honey bees successfully - Brothers Merle and Earl from Burley, Idaho, have been trucking honey bees for 30 years. They expertly navigate and adjust for temperature, weather, light, routes and... timing to deliver safe and healthy bees. The snow on the trucks this morning is a good start to the day - chilled bees are busy keeping the queen and cluster warm and are less likely to fly, even after descending over the mountains into the California Central Valley where temperatures are warmer. In warmer weather, drivers cannot stop even briefly during the day, or they risk losing bees. #honeybees #pollination #almonds #longhaultruckers #truckers #beekeepers #beekeeping #bees #californiaalmonds #almondpollination See more

We are on location this weekend documenting bees moving from an indoor storage facility in Idaho to California for almond pollination. The normal route goes over the Donner Pass from Reno to Sacramento but we just got word that the pass will be closed because of a storm. Now the bees need to be re-routed through Southern Nevada. Stay tuned. #honeybees #beekeeping #almonds #pollination #almondpollination #bees # 1in3bitesoffood

Sharing an important update on the Western Monarch population from the Monarch Joint Venture about the record low numbers of monarchs counted at overwintering sites this past year. Here are a few additional links to habitat efforts designed to help the population, and how to get involved. Check them out! https://shop.milkweedmarket.org https://biosurvey.ku.edu/application-free-milkweed-nonprofi... https://monarchwatch.org//free-milkweeds-for-restoration-/ https://www.westernmonarchcount.org

Beekeepers arriving in California for the almond bloom, or moving bees within the state, will need to register their colonies to comply with state laws. BeeWhere CA is a convenient option for registration and is supported by the California State Beekeepers Association and the Almond Board of California. Registration of colonies increases awareness and communication between beekeepers, growers, and local officials. Importantly, registration helps beekeepers to get notified of pesticide applications in the area. Please help share this convenient website! https://beewherecalifornia.com/register-here/ #pollination #commercialbeekeepers #honeybees #almondgrowers #almonds #migratorybeekeeping #honeybee