Can this bee? Our intuition is that the more the merrier. Evidently the beehive  needs a warning label: CAUTION: Excessive use of this product will reduce your almond crop.

Our Bee allies, while performing OUR objective of fertilizing the bloom, have their OWN agenda, gathering nectar. Nectar is the energy source that allows them to fly from one flower to the next. Solo wild bees and other flying insects just take for themselves. It’s all that they need. The honey bees that we use, however, are formidable nectar gathering machines. They load up all they can manage and return it to the colony where it is stockpiled.

There is a cost! Trees produce nectar to attract bees but that takes tree energy. This energy, in the form of carbohydrates, was stored by the tree during winter dormancy and or it is produced by the newly formed leaves, given a proper spring warmth and sunshine. And, the trees are more than happy to oblige the bees and keep that nectar feed replenished — even after pollination.

You would be correct in assuming that with a 100% bloom (which would be nice) and many gathering bees that a carbohydrate deficiency might occur. The tree has a built in response mechanism called nut drop.  Literally, the tree will sacrifice its own as newly formed bud sets fall off onto the orchard floor. Such castoff is felt to be caused by a lack of nutrient to the developing nuts. Post-pollination fruit drop is nature’s way of thinning the crop to manageable [for the tree] levels. Finally, as if in panic mode, the tree can overreact, resulting in excessive losses. In late May we will be able to assess the final fruit set.

As growers we can target correct bee placement level (2 hives per acre) and reduce potential nectar-carbohydrate losses by having the honeybee hives removed from the orchard immediately after pollination has been accomplished. Overindulgence averted.