Bret Adee opens one of his 72,000 beehives in the desert in southern California. Bret and his brother run the largest beekeeping operation in the world, which was started by their grandfather. These bees spent the summer collecting pollen and honey in South Dakota and can survive on their stored food for months until the almond bloom starts in early February. Because almonds bloom so early and they are planted in orchards that don’t have habitat for other pollinators, they depend on honeybees for production. To learn more about this process, check out @anandavarma. Photo by Anand Varma on assignment for @natgeo. #beekeeper #honeybees #onassignment @thephotosociety by natgeo http://ift.tt/1MTGtuj – Gatlinburg Garden Castle Rainbow Tower Library Imagination Station Temple Water Spirit Guardian Labyrinth Treasury Magic Healing