The price tag for renting honeybees for apple pollination, just $35 per hive a few years ago, now tops $100 in some regions. At one to two hives per acre, that’s a serious input cost for the nation’s apple growers. Not surprisingly, some orchardists are looking to native bees as an alternative, or at least as a back-up pollination choice. A major research project is under way in Pennsylvania to answer many of the unknowns about the role and limitations of native pollinators in apple production. Some of the questions it will ask include: How far will native pollinators will […]