Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 22 home for the summer, they are more than ready for sev- eral months of long sunny days, cool nights, and fields of alfalfa and clover to replenish from the heavy-duty pollination season. However, not all beekeepers choose to rent their bees to pollinate out-of-state crops. Steve Thorson has been a beekeeper in Montana for twelve years, owns fifty hives, and has owned Montana Honey Bee Company in downtown Bozeman for the past three and a half years. Thorson does not send his bees to California for the win- ter, despite the economic boost that "renting" the hives would net him. "Shipping bees can be a hassle," Thorson says, "and I don't want to expose my bees to the crud in Califor- nia." Instead, Thorson keeps his bees on his property throughout the winter, making sure they get enough food—each hive requires 100 pounds of honey to make it through the winter—and insulating them against the cold. Thorson also rotates his bees to other bee yards at different times of the year, ensuring they get a variety of flowers and nutrients. BEES IN THE ECOSYSTEM The importance of honeybees in our agriculture and ecosystem cannot be overstated. Animal-me- diated pollination is necessary for aiding in the reproduction of nearly three quarters of the world's flowering plants, according to a recent paper in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. This makes the recent increases in Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) even more troubling. "The hardest thing for beekeepers in Mon- tana," Thorson says, "is the same thing it is for beekeepers across the nation: loss of bees, and there's no clear answer or reason for the epidemic." As we grapple with the impact of climate change in agriculture, bees are at the forefront of the domino effect created by changing climate. Bees are affected by CCD, losses during transportation and wintering, and declines in colony health if the bees do not have access to diverse sources of pollen. This last factor comes into play when flowering plant diversity is reduced as a result of single-crop agriculture. The use of bees in intensive pollination—such as the almond bloom— requires healthy colonies, but also doesn't offer di- versity in flowering plants. This effect, paired with the impact of climate change that further reduces the vitality and variety of flowering plants, means that beekeepers have had to get creative with supplementing nutritional sources with pollen substitutes and sugar syrups. Parasites, viruses, and pesticides are also issues that beekeepers in Montana and across the country need to deal with season to season. M O N T A N A ' S • E C O N O M I C • I M P A C T IN 2014, MONTANA PRODUCED OVER 14 MILLION POUNDS OF HONEY, and in 2015, Montana was noted as being the SECOND-LARGEST PRODUCER OF HONEY IN THE NATION. MONTANA HONEY, INC. ALPINE HONEY BEE FARM

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