From the food we eat to the fresh flowers we enjoy, our world turns with the help of Mother Nature’s smallest workers. Pollinators help bring fruits and vegetables to our plates, provide the delicious honey we seek, and help our ecosystems and environment prosper. At Rainier Fruit Company, bees are essential workers as they play a critical role in the pollination of its fruit. But, what exactly do they do?
All bees require a wide range of plants and flowers for a diverse diet and habitat to reside in. Rainier currently has 150 acres of Bee Better Certified™ pollinator habitat—equivalent to 113 football fields. This helps attract some of the 3,600 species of bees in North America to pollinate Rainier Fruit.
Honeybees are slender, smaller, and are often kept in domesticated colonies by beekeepers for honey production and orchard pollination. Bumblebees, on the other hand, are round and fuzzy. Rainier has both of these bees on its ranches. In early spring, the bumblebees are braving the colder gusts while the honeybees come out to work once it’s warmed and the spring winds have died down.
What attracts a bee to a certain blossom? The tree or bush needs to do its best to attract the bee so that it is pollinated. The shape, nutrition, and ultraviolet range affects the attractiveness of the blossom! The more attractive the flower, the more times the bee will visit, leading to larger and more uniform fruit.
Rainier Fruit Company Industry Spotlight represents individuals and ideas making a positive impact in the community through their work, volunteer efforts, sustainability, or health and wellness initiatives. 
