Last summer, honey bee hives pollinating orchards in SoCal, from Fresno to Bakersfield, took a hard hit. Eric Mussen, an apiculturist with the UC Cooperative Extension and specialist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, points to tank mixing formulas as the culprit behind what he estimates at over 80,0000 colonies lost. According to Mussen, chemicals often not thought to be harmful to bees can turn deadly when mixed.

Which is why last month’s California Almond Board’s report detailing best practices for protecting honey bees advised almond growers not to use any tank mixing formulas during bloom. Mussen says the report includes sound information and recommendations, but it won’t mean much for the bees’ survival if not implemented by the broader agricultural community, not just almond growers.  

“This message has to reach and impact individuals like pest control advisors, who decide what chemicals will be used and in what manner, if this effort is to prove effective,” Mussen says.

Valeri Strachan-Severson oversees some 11,000 hives at Strachan Apiaries. This year, the hives she put on sunflowers near corn crops came back weak.

“I believe the GMO corn affected those colonies, so I’m doubtful I’ll do summer pollination in the future,” she says.  

While Strachan-Severson believes cooperation between apiarists and growers is a step in the right direction, she says there must be an increased emphasis on protecting honey bees prior to bloom and more attention paid to how pesticides are regulated on nearby orchards.

“It is getting more difficult to keep the bees alive,” she says. “And I don’t have answers.”

Learn more about the plight of honey bees, and keepers like Strachan-Severson, in Allison Joy’s November feature, “As the Bees Go.” Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll let you know when it’s available online.