Robotic Beehives Support California Almond Crop Worth Billions

June 21, 2025, 9:16 AM UTC

Lifting up the hood of a Beewise hive feels more like you’re getting ready to examine the engine of a car than visit with a few thousand pollinators.

The unit — dubbed a BeeHome — is an industrial upgrade from the standard wooden beehives, all clad in white metal and solar panels. Inside sits a high-tech scanner and robotic arm powered by artificial intelligence. Roughly 300,000 of these units are in use across the US, scattered across fields of almond, canola, pistachios and other crops that require pollination to grow.

It’s not exactly the romantic vision of a beehive ...

Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:

See Breaking News in Context

Bloomberg Law provides trusted coverage of current events enhanced with legal analysis.

Already a subscriber?

Log in to keep reading or access research tools and resources.