Feature is also greatly reduced if it ’ s cloudy or raining , although bees may still fly short distances in light showers . If winds reach 24km / h then that will reduce activity as well .
According to Doug , “ it ’ s a lot of work for beekeepers loading and unloading hives , and moving them knocks the bees around as well . Bees go backwards in stonefruit orchards – they don ’ t produce as much honey as they could with a better food source , and the relatively small amount of pollen gathered from stonefruit reduces breeding ”.
Then there is the issue of pesticides . “ Bees are the livestock of beekeepers , and keeping them healthy is their first priority ” says Doug . “ There is now plenty of evidence that all pesticides , including fungicides , can impact on bee health . Even though the effects are sub-lethal , they accumulate within the colony . Production of larvae is greatly reduced . This is probably one of the causes of colony collapse , where many of the hatching bees have
Bees are the livestock of beekeepers , and keeping them healthy is their first priority a very short life expectancy and the colony population declines “.
Given the range that bees can fly to forage , pesticide use on farms is a big issue for beekeepers . For many beekeepers , the risk is just not worth it , especially as they are sacrificing honey production to pollinate the orchard .
So , understanding the best way to use and manage bees is just as important for orchardists as it is for beekeepers .
To help address this issue , Dr Doug Somerville is now developing a one day course on “ Using bees for pollination ” with NSW DPI . Three events are planned , to be held in the Riverina , North coast NSW and Tocal on March 7 , 14 and 28 respectively . See the Tocal college website www . tocal . nsw . edu . au / courses for details and to register .
Moving a hive while older bees are foraging seems cruel but it is one way to reduce the size of the colony and let younger generation of bees to come through . Photo : Jiri Lochman , Lochman Transparencies summerfruit . com . au December 2016 | Australian Stonefruit Grower 17