It’s that time of year again! In the next few weeks our almond trees burst into beautiful bloom, and our honey bees go to work in our California orchards. 

During bloom season, honey bees move from tree to tree foraging for pollen and nectar, and pollinating almond blossoms along the way. Each pollinated flower will grow into one of our delicious almonds.

And, just like almonds are a nutritious snack for us, almond pollen is very nutritious for honey bees! It provides all 10 of the essential amino acids their diets require, and is their first natural food source of the year. Consequently, our bee hives are stronger after the almond bloom allowing us to grow our apiary.

Almonds are not the only crop dependent on our honey bees' efforts as 35 percent of the world’s food crops rely on pollinators to some degree. In the United States alone, more than 90 other crops, including apples, cherries, melons, blueberries, pumpkins, avocados, and squash depend on honey bees for pollination. Once summer arrives, A & Bee Provisions' honey bees visit alfalfa, sunflowers, and clover, where they generate much of their honey.

As a full-circle orchard and apiary, we at A & Bee Provisions implement practices that promote healthy environments for honey bees, and to protect bees in our orchard and beyond. Witnessing out bees in our orchards is awe-inspiring and mighty humbling.