Beekeepers are staying busy this time of year, helping pollinate farmers’ crops, said Texas Apiary Inspection Service Chief Inspector Mark Dykes.
There are about 85,000 beehives in Texas and 120,000 migratory hives that pass through the state, according to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
“Every operation is unique,” Dykes said. “Some do pollination. Some do a combination of honey production and pollination, and others do just honey production. Some sell queens and beehives. There is a little bit of everything.”
Some beekeepers take their hives to apple orchards and watermelon fields to help pollinate the plants in Central Texas. Others go to cotton fields around the state or to southeast Texas for the Chinese tallow trees, which provide bees forage for honey flow, according to Dykes.
He noted hive fees vary.
In Texas, beekeepers charge about $70 per hive to pollinate watermelon fields, while they can charge up to $190 in California for almond fields.