The hot and dry conditions of the past summer have caused bee colony numbers to take a dive, creating potential headaches for those requiring pollination services later in the year. Kerry Chambers, Half Barrel Honey beekeeper, stated the demand for pollination was growing on the back of an increased number of almond trees being planted in the Riverland.

"Some growers have deliberately pulled out vines to replace with almond trees, and more almond trees means there is a greater demand for bees," she said, also claiming it would be a struggle to meet the overall demand in her area, and potentially across the state: "Even amateur beekeepers like myself are having to lease out our hives to fill the shortfall of commercial beekeepers during this tough season.”

The hive health deterioration during the summer has presented apiarists with a steep challenge to restore numbers in time for winter, when populations naturally dwindle. "If beekeepers across the board aren’t able to increase their number of colonies leading into winter this will definitely affect the number of bees available for almond pollination later in the year," Chambers said.

Ms Chambers said most of her bees, which are placed in stand-alone hives in the backyards of host gardens, had only barely found enough nectar to survive, and were unable to create any surplus honey available for harvest.

Goodfruitandvegetables.com.au reported that, in addition to the shortages, the hot conditions meant that bees switched from nectar foraging to water collection, slowing breeding within the hive and causing numbers to plateau or reduce.