Orange Groves in Riverside

A privately owned grower whom we had met at one of the farmer markets invited us to pollinate his groves.

We arrived in the middle of the blossom - the perfume was aromatically wonderful and the newly arriving bees went wild. The reason we were late was that we were coming off of the almond groves which this year were later than last year. The beekeeper has to play to Mother Nature's whim - blossoms, rain, heat, soil. Some years there is no honey flow.

No rain = no nectar = no honey.

The process of 'taking off the bees' can be aided by using a blower held between the frames as to blow the bees downward, back into their hives, thus allowing for a minimalization of bees being transported along with the supers for extraction. The use of a covering tarp over the boxes allows for less attraction of the 'taken off' supers as we work.