In a single day, one bee makes a dozen or more trips from the hive, visiting several thousand flowers. These numerous trips, coupled with the bee's hairy body, enables honey bees to accumulate and distribute an abundance of pollen. On each trip bees usually visit only one plant species, collecting one kind of nectar and distributing one kind of pollen. Honey bees pollinate flowers more thoroughly within l00 yards of their colonies. Distribute honey bee colonies in groups throughout the orchard you want pollinated.
Beekeepers maintain honey bee colonies in most agricultural areas.
They are usually equipped to move colonies easily and quickly to any location. In orchards of less than 40 acres, place colonies along the borders of the orchard. In larger orchards, put colonies 528 feet apart in all directions. The exact number of colonies needed per acre may vary depending on the number of natural pollinators in the area, and on other crops competing for the attention of pollinating insects. Return to Table of Contents Scheduling Colony Delivery Schedule delivery of honey bee colonies to coincide with the flowering cycle of your plants.