Pollination Hives per Acre Calculator

How it works

hives = area (acres) × recommended rate (crop and conditions) · 1 ha = 2.471 acres · drop sites ≈ hives ÷ 6, ≤ 200 m apart · cost = hives × rental fee

Crops differ enormously in how much they depend on insects and in how attractive their flowers are: almonds set no nuts without cross-pollination during a cold February bloom, so orchards stock two or more strong colonies per acre, while canola is largely self-fertile and gains only a yield bump from one. Blueberries, cranberries and kiwifruit need the highest densities because their flowers give honey bees little reward or awkward access, so many bees must be present to force enough visits. Recommendations are given per acre with a range whose ends reflect block size, weather, wild-pollinator populations and crop value, and the strength of each colony — frames of bees, not the box — matters as much as the count, which is why contracts specify it.

Worked example

Forty acres of apples at the middle stocking rate of 1.5 hives per acre need 60 colonies of at least 6 frames each — about $7,200 at $120 a hive, or $180 per acre against a crop worth around $8,000 an acre, roughly 70% of which depends on insect pollination. Place them in about 8 groups of 6–8 hives, spaced through the block at 5–10% bloom.

Frequently asked questions