Almond milk has become a widely consumed dairy alternative. However, the large-scale production of almonds, particularly in California, involves practices that significantly impact honey bee populations. This exploration delves into the specific challenges bees encounter due to the demands of almond cultivation.
Almond Cultivation’s Reliance on Bees
Almond trees are not self-pollinating, meaning they require cross-pollination to produce nuts. This biological necessity makes honey bees indispensable for commercial almond cultivation. California’s Central Valley, where approximately 80% of the world’s almonds are grown, relies heavily on managed honey bee colonies for this purpose. Each year, around 2.5 to 2.6 million bee colonies are brought into California for the almond bloom. This accounts for nearly 90% of all commercially managed honey bee colonies in the United States. Growers typically place two to three hives per acre to ensure sufficient pollination, with each hive containing roughly 14,000 to 19,000 pollinating bees.
Intensive Pollination Demands and Bee Stress
The immense scale of almond pollination places considerable stress on bee colonies. Beekeepers transport their hives long distances, often over 1,000 to 2,000 miles, from states like North and South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota, to California. This extensive travel involves loading hives onto trucks, and requires continuous movement to prevent suffocation. The vibrations and temperature fluctuations during transit can cause significant stress, leading to queen losses and chilling of bee brood.
Once in the orchards, millions of bee colonies are concentrated in a relatively small area. This intense concentration disrupts natural foraging patterns and forces bees to work in conditions far removed from their typical diverse environments. Bees are also aroused from their winter dormancy earlier than is natural to meet the early almond bloom. These combined stressors can weaken bee immune systems, making them more vulnerable to other threats.
Nutritional Deficiencies from Monoculture
Almond orchards, as monocultures, present a significant challenge to bee nutrition. Bees primarily forage on a single crop for an extended period, which provides a limited diet. While almond pollen offers some nutrients, it does not provide the complete dietary diversity that bees require for optimal health. Bees need a varied diet of pollen and nectar from diverse flowering plants to obtain all necessary amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Outside the brief almond bloom period, the lack of diverse wildflowers and other natural forage sources in these large agricultural landscapes further exacerbates the issue, leaving bees without adequate sustenance for prolonged periods.
Pesticide Exposure and Bee Health
Pesticide use in almond orchards poses a direct threat to bee health. Almonds are among the crops that receive high quantities of pesticides in California. Bees can be exposed to these chemicals through direct spray, or by collecting contaminated pollen, nectar, or water. Commonly used pesticides include fungicides and insecticides, such as neonicotinoids and glyphosate.
Neonicotinoids, a class of systemic neurotoxic pesticides, can permeate the entire plant, affecting pollen and nectar, and are known to have lethal and sub-lethal effects on bees, including impairing their learning and memory. While fungicides are not designed to harm insects, studies show they can negatively impact bee behavior, metabolism, immune response, and gut health. The combination of insecticides and fungicides in “tank mixes” can increase their harmful effects on bees, including larval mortality.
Disease Transmission in Commercial Beekeeping
The practice of concentrating millions of bee colonies for almond pollination creates an environment conducive to the rapid spread of diseases and parasites. Hives from various beekeepers are placed in close proximity. This density increases the likelihood of disease transmission between colonies as bees drift between hives or share foraging grounds.
Common bee diseases and parasites, such as Varroa mites, American Foulbrood, and Nosema fungus, can spread more easily under these conditions. Varroa mites, for instance, not only directly harm bees but also weaken their immune systems, making them more susceptible to viral infections. The movement of infected bees or contaminated hive products between colonies can facilitate the rapid spread of these pathogens, impacting both managed and wild bee populations.