Why are western honeybees important to California’s almond industry?

Western honeybees are essential to California’s almond industry because the crop relies almost exclusively on their pollination services to produce a harvest. Each spring, the industry requires more than two million honeybee colonies—the largest coordinated pollination event in the world—to service the orchards.123

This reliance is critical to the state's agricultural economy, as California supplies between 50 and 80 percent of the world's almonds. In 2022 alone, the almond crop was valued at $4.7 billion, underscoring the vital role that beekeeping and managed hives play in sustaining this massive commercial output. Because the demand for these services is so high, beekeepers from across the United States transport billions of bees to California to ensure the trees are successfully pollinated during their brief flowering season.123