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I keep a close check on my fruit trees and bush fruits, not GW Bush fruits, every spring. I only see a few honey bees every year. There are cranberry bogs close by and they have a few hives and rent hives. I would think I would see more but they are on cranberries and honey bees will not pollinate more than one fruit at a time. they don't go from apple to pear to clover in a day. They concentrate on only 1 crop at a time. Us home gardeners have to rely on bumbles, mason, and wasps, and other bugs to do the pollination. Another reason to limit pesticides as they kill beneficial bugs needed by us. I can usually tell if I am going to have a good crop or not but the amount of pollinators i have seen. Crannberry growers are experimenting on bumbles for pollination as they are better workers than honey bees. They work during rain and overcast and colder temps. Honeybees will not usually go out of the hive if it is raining and cold and overcast, which is what spring is around here so it might end up being a better alternative for them. I too have not had very good fruit tree production the last several years, although it has been cold and damp when the things are in bloom which doesn't help.
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