The Economics of Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Management and Overwintering Strategies for Colonies Used to Pollinate Almonds.

Commercial honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies significantly contribute to agricultural productivity through crop pollination. Almond production requires the most colonies because there are more than a million acres of orchards that require cross-pollination for nut set.

Connecting the nutrient composition of seasonal pollens with changing nutritional needs of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies.

Free-ranging herbivores have yearly life cycles that generate dynamic resource needs. Honey bee colonies also have a yearly life cycle that might generate nutritional requirements that differ between times of brood rearing and colony expansion in the spring and population contraction and preparation for overwintering in the fall. To test this, we analyzed polyfloral mixes of spring and fall pollens to determine if the nutrient composition differed with season.