AgPollen LLC is a research company attempting to commercialize the blue orchard bee for almond pollination. The blue orchard bee (Osmia lignaria, or orchard mason bee) is one of a handful of potential alternatives to honeybee pollination. The insect is native to California and prevalent in Western states. It is a good pollinator of prunus fruit crops such as almonds, plums and cherries, as well as apples and pears. The firm developed an aerosol delivery as an attractant in order to make the beesâ nest more attractive to increase their population to commercial levels. In 2010, the company added honeybee research projects. The firm is looking into the cause and effects of bee colony collapse and believe that a big part of the problem may be neonicotinoid chemicals, a class of insecticide that was introduced in the late 1990s and is now prevalent as a corn seed treatment, among other things.
