I have received a very pointed question about , my comments on "packages",
which I find apt.

The challenge posed by an almond pollinator who shakes package bees from his
hives post-almonds  is "If California packages are so full of diseases and
pests, how did those hives get graded as strong enough to be worthy of an
almond pollination fee?"

This is an excellent rebuttal, but my reply would be that the massive number
of hives from all corners of the continent brought to one fairly small area,
assures by proximity alone that 100% of all pathogens, pests, and diseases
are present in sufficient numbers of bees to assure ubiquitous disease
spread.  So, it's not the health of the bees going into the Almonds - it's
the health of the bees coming out.

Further, beekeepers will combine weak hives to "make the grade", so while
these hives may look sufficiently strong, they may not be as healthy as they
might seem.  I would think that looking at the amount of open brood in each
hive would detect this, but I do not think that grading can ever be so
in-depth at the scale of grading thousands of colonies.

I've said before - "Almonds Did For Beekeeping What Cocaine Did For Miami"

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