California Ag Network

Tag: Honey Bees

  • UC South Coast REC Bee Team Celebrates 10 Years

    Amid the constant hum of thousands of bees, open hive boxes and volunteers dressed in veils and protective beekeeping suits, the OC Bee Team apiary, hosted at the UC Ag and Natural Resources (UC ANR) South Coast Research and Extension Center (SCREC), celebrated 10 years of education, collaboration and community service.

    The anniversary celebration brought together volunteers, specialists, researchers and members of the Orange County beekeeping community, along with Wendy Mather of UC Davis. Elina Niño, director of the California Master Beekeeper Program, joined the celebration virtually via Zoom. For many participants, the event was also a reunion of people who, over the years, have built a community around caring for honey bees.

    Located in Irvine, the teaching apiary is one of the University of California’s important sites for hands-on beekeeping education. Here, the hives do more than produce honey—they serve as living classrooms where participants learn about honey bee behavior, colony health, pest and disease management and the essential role pollinators play in healthy ecosystems.

    Lindsey Pedroncelli, interim director at SCREC, emphasized the apiary’s unique role within UC ANR.

    “South Coast REC is the first and only Research and Extension Center within UC ANR to host a California Master Beekeeper Program apiary,” Pedroncelli said.

    The program supports educational outreach throughout Orange County while providing hands-on learning opportunities for volunteers, students, beekeepers and community members. According to Pouliquen, the Orange County Bee Team currently has 25 active volunteers who help care for the apiary and support its educational activities.

    Volunteers gather every Tuesday to conduct routine hive inspections. During these sessions, they examine hive boxes, locate queens, check for eggs and larvae, evaluate colony development and determine whether any hive requires special attention.

    The work demands patience, careful observation and teamwork. It also requires trust among participants, as each person plays an important role in ensuring both the safety of the group and the well-being of the bees.

    A Family Built Around Bees

    Over the past decade, the apiary has become much more than a training site. For its members, it represents a place of friendship, collaboration and belonging.

    The dedication and leadership of Karine Pouliquen, apiary manager and lead volunteer for the California Master Beekeeper Program Orange County Bee Team, have been instrumental to the apiary’s success.

    With more than two decades of experience working with honey bees, Pouliquen has mentored and trained countless volunteers. Her leadership, expertise and commitment have helped maintain the apiary as a welcoming and safe environment where people with varying levels of experience can learn directly in the field.

    “The success of the apiary comes from working together as a team, with a common goal and a shared vision,” Pouliquen said.

    During hive inspections, she explains each procedure, carefully observes colony behavior and guides first-time participants through every step. Because colonies in a teaching apiary can sometimes become defensive, making timely decisions is essential to protect both the bees and the people working with them.

    Beyond learning beekeeping techniques, participants also gain knowledge about honey bee biology, pollinator-friendly plants, seasonal changes and the proper use of beekeeping equipment. This work has been made possible through the dedication of volunteers and the continued support of SCREC staff.

    “We’re all volunteers,” members of the group often say – a simple phrase that captures the collaborative spirit that has sustained the apiary for an entire decade.

    Community and Belonging

    For Wendy Mather, co-manager of the California Master Beekeeper Program, one of the most meaningful aspects of the celebration was witnessing the strong sense of unity among the Irvine volunteer team.

    She described the apiary as much more than a place to learn beekeeping skills. Over the years, it has also become a space for friendship, collaboration and belonging.

    During the celebration, Mather noticed Pouliquen talking with another volunteer and was struck by the warmth and affection between them—a connection she described as invaluable.

    That sense of closeness reflects what the apiary has created beyond beekeeping: a community built through years of learning, working and caring for bees together.

    Many people who initially joined to learn about bees have also found lasting friendships, mentorship and a welcoming community where they can exchange knowledge and experiences.

    The participation of Mather in person and Niño virtually reinforced the close connection between university research, practical education and the knowledge volunteers bring back to their communities.

    Ten Years of Bringing Science to the Community

    Every hive inspection presents a new opportunity to learn. Conditions inside a colony can change from one week to the next, requiring volunteers to observe carefully, document their findings and make informed decisions based on what they discover.

    As bees continue flying in and out of the hives collecting nectar and pollen, the team is already preparing for the next chapter.

    Ten years after its founding, the South Coast REC apiary continues to grow—not only as a center for hands-on learning but also as a thriving community united by a shared commitment to protecting pollinators.

    The hum of the bees never stops. Inside the hives, thousands of honey bees work continuously in remarkable coordination. Outside, the volunteers do much the same: they observe, learn, collaborate and care.

    Stepping into an apiary does more than change the way people understand honey bees—it can also transform how they think about stewardship, collaboration and community.

    Apiary Tours 2026

    OC Bee Team volunteers share their knowledge and passion for honey bees with the public through guided apiary tours at South Coast REC. These hands-on experiences offer participants a unique opportunity to step inside the apiary, learn about the work volunteers do to care for the colonies, and discover the important role honey bees and other pollinators play in our environment.

    If you’re interested in seeing the apiary up close and learning directly from the volunteers, upcoming tours are scheduled for:

    Upcoming dates:
    Saturday, August 29
    Friday, September 11

    Time: 9 a.m.–11 a.m.

    Location: South Coast Research and Extension Center, Irvine, California

    Cost: $25 per person. Register online. Credit card payment is required.

    Age requirements: Children ages 12–15 must be accompanied by a registered adult. Youth ages 16–17 may participate without an accompanying adult with a parent or guardian signature.

    What to wear: Personal protective equipment (PPE), including a beekeeper suit, hat, veil and gloves, will be provided for use during the tour. All participants are required to wear closed-toe shoes. Participants are also encouraged to bring a filled water bottle.

    To read more UC ANR news, visit our newsroom at https://ucanr.edu/site/news-and-media.

    Follow @UCANR on LinkedIn, Instagram, X (Twitter), Bluesky, Threads and Facebook. — Story contributed by the UC Ag & Natural Resources

  • Honey Bees Can Detect Viruses in Food

    Honey bees encounter viruses in their environments, especially when they forage on flowers and other food sources. Being able to detect viruses is important for reducing infection and the spread of disease. Many insects, including honey bees, can detect viruses indirectly with sick nestmates, but it has been unclear if honey bees can directly detect viruses in food sources.

    To help beekeepers protect their colonies by reducing viral spread, ARS researchers from the Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology Research Unit in Baton Rouge, LA, studied if honey bees could sense viruses such as deformed wing virus, black queen cell virus, and chronic bee paralysis virus in contaminated food sources.

    In an experimental study, the researchers found that when honey bees were presented with the choice between a spiked sugar solution with viruses and a plain sugar solution, the honey bees preferred the virus-spiked solution.

    “These findings demonstrate that honey bees can directly detect the presence of viruses in contaminated food sources, which has important implications for pathogen transmission within pollinator communities and disease management strategies aimed at improving honey bee health,” said Michael Simone-Finstrom, ARS Research Molecular Biologist.

    According to Simone-Finstrom and ARS Research Entomologist Elizabeth Walsh, both co-lead authors of the study, the results highlight the need to control viral infections and spread in bee colonies.

    One major concern is viral spread from Varroa mites, parasitic pests that feed on honey bees. Currently, controlling Varroa mite populations is one of the most effective ways to protect honey bee colonies. Beekeepers can consider changing how they feed honey bees to limit outside insects from getting access to their food, according to Simone-Finstrom and Walsh.

    “Open feeding scenarios where bees from different colonies and other insects, who may carry viruses, get food from the same source may not be in the honey bees’ best interest,” said Walsh. “Beekeepers can consider an alternative like an individual colony feeder where only honey bees from one colony have access to the food.”

    It is unknown what mechanisms cause bees to gravitate towards the contaminated food sources. More research is underway to better understand honey bees’ foraging behaviors and how the viral presence affects their behaviors.

    “The study’s findings will help us with providing data-driven decisions in honey bee management and ecological decisions,” said Walsh. – By Jessica Ryan, ARS Office of Communications

  • Almond Conference Updates Growers on Best Practices for Bees & Pollination

    As almond growers prepare for pollinating their orchards — one of the most important tasks for establishing the new crop — here are insights from the Almond Conference to consider.  A “Honey Bees & Pollination” panel was moderated by Josette Lewis of the Almond Board of California (ABC).

    Hives Per Acre for Self-Fertile Cultivars: Elina Niño

    Following a string of bee losses over the past twenty years, 2025 was especially severe, with a 62% loss.  According to Elina Niño, apiculture scientist at UC Davis, the losses are becoming unsustainable.

    Niño pointed out that, in spite of having only 0.6 million of the 2.5-2.7 million colonies in the US, California ranks third in honey production, after North and South Dakota.

    Niño conducted a study of the pollination needs of self-fertile cultivars.  She excluded bees from some trees and for others used one or two hives per acre.  She counted the number of bees per flower per hour and after harvest she measured the kernel mass of 100 nuts per tree.

    The results showed that the number of visits per flower was similar for one hive as for two hives per acre.  Although the trees set more nuts and yielded more weight when one or two hives were present, kernel mass was higher where bees were excluded, presumably due to spreading the trees’ resources over fewer nuts.

    State of the US Commercial Beekeeping Industry: Matt Beekman

    The biological state of the beekeeping industry is precarious, according to Matt Beekman, a beekeeper based in Hughson, California who spends summers in North Dakota.  He presented a biological and financial State of the Beekeeping Industry report.

    Parasites & Pathogens: Varroa Mites & Viruses

    The varroa mite parasite continues to afflict beehives.  Reproducing quickly, the mites vector viruses that then spread from bee to bee in the densely populated hive.  The viruses can also spread in semen.  Area-wide applications of miticide help manage the mites.

    Only one chemical had been approved to suppress varroa mites since 2005.  That chemical, Amitraz, was registered for beehive use in 2013 in California, the last state to do so.  Some softer chemistries are available, but they are temperature dependent.

    California approved two new products in 2025, one oxalic acid-based and the other RNA-based.  They are expensive, though, costing $74 per colony per year.

    Nutrition: Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

    Each hive needs about 50 pounds of pollen and 100 pounds of nectar year.  With fewer acres enrolled in the federal Conservation Reserve Program, pollen and nectar may be scarce.

    Alternatively, almond growers can plant cover crops in the orchards to meet the need.  Seeds for Bees supplies free, appropriate cover crop seeds the first year and a discounted price the second year.  Many growers continue buying the seeds annually after seeing how effective they are.

    Pesticides: No to Organosilicon Adjuvant

    Used to amplify the effectiveness of pesticides, organosilicon surfactants harm bees.  Growers should ask their PCA to use one of the available alternatives instead.

    Beekman said that fungicides need to be sprayed during bloom, but advised using no tank mixes, adjuvants or insecticides during bloom, and applying fungicides in the early evening when bees are not flying.

    Financial Snapshot

    The net profit for beekeepers in 2024 was $11 per hive.  Overtime wages adversely impacted beekeepers, who need workers to do nighttime maintenance and overnight travel.  US honey production is declining due to fewer locations where bees can be placed to collect nectar.  The bees need more access to public land.

    Meanwhile, honey imports are increasing.  Imported honey is sometimes cut with synthetic sugar syrups.  Since honey is one of the few commodities for which the US does not have a standard definition, ambiguity and adulteration occur.

    India is now the largest exporter of honey into the US, with prices of $0.99-1.08/lb.   The US price is $2.69/lb., and the yield is declining.   

    Endangered Pollinator Species: Alexi Rodriguez

    Some insect species have been proposed for endangered species status for the first time, according to Alexi Rodriguez of the Almond Alliance.  One such insect is the monarch butterfly, which has little overlap with agriculture except for coastal sites in winter.

    A 2018 petition proposed adding four bumblebee species.

    Rodriguez said that if growers take reasonable, research-based steps to support pollinators, they will be immune to prosecution if incidental harm occurs.  The steps include using IPM (Integrated Pest Management) and planting pollinator habitat.

    Questions from the Audience

    Q: Is it worth getting mason bees to complement honeybees?

    A: Yes — blue orchard bees (a type of mason bee) — but you have to contract it separately.  They fly in colder temperatures and in rain.

    Q: Was there a bee shortage in 2025?

    A: That was not studied, but growers were saying that they did not get the number of frames they contracted for.  It’s possible that insufficient bees caused the lower yield last year, because everything else was good in 2025.

    Q: What about indoor cold storage of bees in empty warehouses to break the varroa mite cycle?

    A: It did not go well when tried in Kern County.

    Q: Does supplementing the almond orchard with pollen help with pollination?

    A: There is no research on that, but it is unlikely to help based on flower anatomy and the need for insects to get into the blooms to move pollen.

    Q: Does it help to move hives around during pollination?

    A: Yes, but it is a tradeoff economically due to the cost of labor to move the hives.  The most important variable is having morning sun on the hive to warm the bees enough to fly.  The bees will fly over the entire acre once they are warm.

    Q: What is a fair contract between grower and beekeeper?

    A: Eight frames average per hive; four to five frames minimum, 60% coverage.

    Q: Do herbicides impact bees?

    A: There is no research on that, but herbicides are not needed during bloom anyway.

    For more information about preparing for pollination, see Honeybee ABC.  – By Nancy Power, PhD, Assistant Editor, Pacific Nut Producer

  • California Master Beekeeper Program Creates Quite ‘The Buzz’

    The UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program created quite “the buzz” when they presented an educational and entertaining program at the Vacaville Museum Guild’s annual Children’s Party, held in the Museum courtyard.

    CAMPB introduced the children, ages 3 to 9, to  “the wonderful world of bees.”

    CAMBP members displayed a bee observation hive and encouraged them to “find the queen’; answered questions about bees; and engaged them with arts and crafts activities. The “ingredients” included crayons, paper plates, googly eyes, popsicle sticks, papier-mâché, pipe cleaners and other materials.

    Staffing the bee tables were four CAMBP members: Wendy Mather and Kian Nikzad, co-program managers of CAMBP; Samantha Murray, education and garden coordinator  of the UC Davis Bee Haven; and Rick Moehrke, beekeeper and retired Vacaville teacher who is working on his CAMBP master-level beekeeper project.

    Amelia Vasquez-Fuller, 6, of Vacaville searches for the queen bee in the California Master Beekeeper Program’s bee observation hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

    If the children found the queen, they could win a prize. If they spun a wheel and answered a question correctly, another prize. The questions included:

    • How many legs does a bee have?
    • Why do bees have fuzzy bodies?
    • What do bees eat?
    • What is royal jelly and who makes it?
    • What is the job of a worker bee?
    • How many eyes does a bee have?
    • Name a crop that bees pollinate.

    The crops included strawberries, which tied right into the strawberry and blueberry ice cream that Fenton’s Creamery and Restaurant, Vacaville, donated.  Fenton’s generously donated 10 3-gallon tubs of ice cream: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint chocolate chip, and blueberry.

    The children delighted in looking for and finding the queen.

    Question: “Can you find the queen? She’s in here with the worker bees and drones. The worker bees are the girls and the drones are the boys.”

    Chlld: “What does the queen look like? Is she wearing a crown?”

    “No, she’s wearing a number!”

    Child:”I see her! There she is! I found her!”

    The event offered a wide variety of activities, including games, arts and crafts,  face-painting, chalk art, a petting zoo of farm animals, Mother Goose storytime, books, live music and more.

    Ford Devine, 3, of Vacaville, hugs the costumed bee. Kian Nikzad, co-program manager of the California Master Beekeeper Program, wore the costume and answered questions about bees (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

    Photo Caption: Ford Devine, 3, of Vacaville, hugs the costumed bee. Kian Nikzad, co-program manager of the California Master Beekeeper Program, wore the costume and answered questions about bees (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

    The Hive,  part of Z Food Specialty at 1221 Harter Ave, Woodland,  provided honey sticks (straws) at the Children’s Party. “Queen Bee” Amina Harris of The Hive, served as the founding director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, part of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, until her retirement in 2023.

    Bee scientist Elina Lastro Niño, professor of Cooperative Extension, Apiculture, founded CAMBP in 2016 and continues to serve as the founding director. She’s a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, and the director of the UC Davis Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly demonstration garden located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis and open from dawn to dusk.

    CAMBP offers science-based information to educate stewards and ambassadors for honey bees and beekeeping. It provides “provide science-backed, practical training informed by the latest research and industry best practices.” It’a train-the-trainer kind of program offering classes. Beekeepers can advance from Ambassador and Apprentice to Journey and Master levels. The general public–including those who are contemplating becoming beekeepers–can learn about bees at the Ambassador level.

    The Hive,  part of Z Food Specialty at 1221 Harter Ave, Woodland,  provided honey sticks (straws) at the Children’s Party.

    Pamela King, who chaired the Children’s Party, described it as “amazing” and “a great success. We drew more than 300 people, all smiles and happy faces.”

    Although the Vacaville Museum Guild launched the Children’s Party in 1984, the price of tickets, $3, remained the same. It is more of a “fun-raising” party than a fund-raising program.

    Beekeeper and CAMBP member Samantha Murray, the education and garden coordinator for the UC Davis Bee Haven, works with youngsters in creating bee-themed arts and crafts at the Vacaville Museum Guild’s annual Children’s Party. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

  • The Value of Honey Bees in Self-Pollinating Almonds

    A foraging honey bee approaches an almond blossom.

    Almond growers have a lot of inputs to consider to produce their crop. They must balance the cost of labor, pest management, water, and bees for pollination.  Those costs are not fixed year-after-year, especially renting the bees. The fact is the cost of colony rentals for pollination has steadily increased, and remained, at a premium. And almond acreage is projected to outpace the number of available colonies sometime in the next decade. Growers take these factors very seriously and it is not surprising that self-pollinating almond varieties have been a hot topic lately.

    “Bearing acres of almonds (trees old enough to produce fruit) are typically stocked with 2 colonies per acre of trees. If the trends of the last five years continue (a ~20% increase in acreage and a ~1% increase in honey bee colonies), pollination demand in almonds could exceed the supply of honey bees in the next five years.” Chart and caption are excerpted from The Bee Health Collective.

    Data shows that interest in self-pollinating varieties of almonds has translated into acres planted. ‘Independence’ almonds, in particular, are a proprietary varietal that now represents a noticeable chunk of new orchards over the last decade. Growers reported planting 3,155 acres of Independence almonds in 2019, which is about 15% of the total of new acres planted across all varieties. 

    This chart was created using data reported in the NASS 2019 Almond Acreage Report and shows the acres Independence almonds planted compared to the total new acres of all varieties planted (conventional and otherwise).

    Adapted from the Tuono variety Spain, self-pollinating trees have been modified for use in the U.S. where pollinator reliant almonds are most common. Pollinator reliant almonds are “self-incompatible” meaning that at least two varieties must be present to provide pollen for each other. Typically, the honey bee is brought in to transfer pollen from one row of trees to another, pollinating the trees and increasing nut set. 
     
    Even though Independence almonds do not require honey bees, research published in the journal Nature earlier this year demonstrated that honey bees are beneficial in those orchards, increasing fruit sets by 60% and kernel yield by 20%. This is an interesting finding as growers and beekeepers continue to work together towards a successful crop year after year. 
     
    All stakeholders are concerned that honey bee health challenges, and more recently declines in native pollinators,  will impact the availability of insects to pollinate almonds in the future. To continually meet this demand beekeepers have made adjustments to their yearly routines, adapting new technology to improve colony survival over the winter, and provide the high-quality colonies most useful for pollination in Almonds in February. One example of this is the increasing practice of indoor storage during the winter.
     
    Growers are stepping up to support pollinators as well. By planting forage in the form of cover crops, habitat plots, or hedgerows which provide food for bees, has been shown to increase colony size. A larger, healthier, colony will be able to supply more foragers to pollinate the trees more efficiently (foragers raised in a pollen abundant setting communicate better). Forage plantings can also improve soil quality and volume, prevent erosion, and break up compacted soil.  

    The Seeds for Bees® program mustard mix is growing between rows of almond trees. The mustard mix is planted in the fall and begins to bloom in plenty of time to feed the honey bees that are beginning to arrive in the area for the almond bloom. In addition to mustard varieties, this mix also contains canola (a honey bee favorite) and daikon radish which grows down and breaks tough soils.

    The takeaway is this: healthy and abundant pollinators, native or managed, can increase production for all types of almonds. Beekeepers and growers continue to work together to plan for the coming years. Increasing forage is an especially effective tool that can be put into place now. PAm has made forage an integral part of our organization, through acres planted and research, to support beekeepers and growers at the crucial interface of almond pollination. — By Grace Kunkel, Project Apis m.