It takes about 900,000 hives just to pollinate the 400,000 acres of almonds in the state. The honey that the bees produce from their work on almonds isn't worth eating, Eggman says. It's bitter, just like green almonds. If the bees are strong, they'll put up a load of honey in that time, which will carry distinctive undertones of flavor from the particular crop. The honey can be removed from the hives before the bees get trucked to their next assignment.
Honey produced by bees during tours of duty among oranges is sought out by discriminating consumers.
But Eggman says the honey that the bees produce during their winter repasts on coastal wildflowers is among the best. In the lower elevations, sage is a favorite of the bees. The pungent herb's nectar yields a highly prized flavor of honey. A little higher up in the hills, wild buckwheat blooms through the winter. The product of the bees' feasts on it turns up in farmers markets as buckwheat honey.