Almond Board goes looking for bees

California's almond industry is looking at ways to increase dwindling bee numbers.

Overall, the Almond Board funds about 40 proposals a year, for a total of $850,000. Of that, 10 percent was dedicated to bee research, but that percentage increased to 15 percent this year, Colleen Aguiar industry relations manager for the Almond Board explained.

A total of nine bee programmes will now take place, but details will not be released until after the work is complete.

This year pollination rates doubled and beekeepers brought bees from all over the US to meet needs during the almond pollination season.