bee on a flower

Surprisingly few ‘busy bees’ make global crops grow

Conservation of wild pollinators can’t be based on economics alone

A major international study published in Nature Communications, suggests that only two per cent of wild bee species pollinate 80 per cent of bee-pollinated crops worldwide. The study is one of the largest on bee pollination to date. While agricultural development and pesticides have been shown to produce sharp declines in many wild bee populations,

bee on a white flower

Growing a 4-H garden you can ‘Bee Proud’ of

4-H clubs can get free seeds to 
plant pollinator-friendly gardens

4-H Canada and Syngenta Canada have announced the second year of Proud to Bee a 4-H’er, an initiative where 4-H club members learn about bees and other pollinators by planting and tending pollinator-friendly gardens. Participating 4-H clubs will create bee-friendly habitats using Proud to Bee a 4-H’er bee-friendly seed packets. 4-H clubs that register for



bee on a flower

Shorter winter favours honeybees

Some high overwintering losses may be attributed to inexperience and not the winter weather

While it’s too early to know for certain, this year’s shorter winter has all the hallmarks of overwintering success for Manitoba beekeepers. “I would expect good overwintering success,” said Allan Campbell, president of the Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association, adding that winter is a key factor for Prairie apiarists. “The winter conditions, I expect that to make


bees

Neonics are in the picture, but they’re not the whole picture

The varroa mite is still the top concern for beekeepers, in the eyes of one expert, 
but other factors can’t be ignored either

It’s a question many both inside and outside of agriculture are asking — why are so many honeybees dying? While some culprits have been fingered, experts say it’s not a problem that can be solved with a silver bullet. “It’s very tempting to come up with easy answers, and if anything is clear, it’s that

Piles of dead bees were reportedly two inches thick in front of the affected hives, with others spread over the whole bee yard.

RCMP investigating after bees poisoned

A Manitoba beekeeper is out thousands of dollars after his bees were the target of truly poisonous wrath

It’s a sting being felt by beekeepers across province. And now the deliberate poisoning of hundreds of thousands of bees at multiple locations in the Rural Municipality of Elton has left apiarists and the RCMP looking for answers. “We came to the first yard and there were just piles of dead bees all over on


Dotted blazingstar (Liatris punctata) is a native plant species especially attractive to pollinating bumblebees.

Video: Exhibit shows pollination isn’t only done by bees

Museum curator Diana Bizecki Robson hopes it helps public deepen their understanding 
of all types of pollinators and to take actions that help these organisms thrive

account_id=”2206156280001″ player_id=”ryGLIkmv”] Diana Bizecki Robson is the Manitoba Museum’s curator of botany who created the Prairie pollination exhibit to help enhance public appreciation of all types of wild pollinators, and motivate people to make positive changes to save them.[/caption] Bizecki Robson has spent a decade researching Prairie pollinators and their habitats, helping make new discoveries

photo: thinkstock

The neonic debate: science or sensationalism?

Laying the blame for a collection of environmental issues at the feet of a 
single technology is very convenient, but hugely overly simplistic

Bold, apocalyptic headlines make for great front-page news stories, there’s no question. Unfortunately, when it comes to highly complex and scientific issues, these kinds of headlines usually do a disservice to the topic at hand. Scientific research is filled with intricacies and rarely yields answers that can be conveyed in a single headline. Far too


bees

Bee foraging chronically impaired by pesticide exposure

Another study sheds light on why neonicotinoids and bees don’t mix

A RFID study co-authored by a University of Guelph scientist that involved fitting bumblebees with tiny radio frequency tags shows long-term exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide hampers bees’ ability to forage for pollen. The research by Nigel Raine, a professor in Guelph’s School of Environmental Sciences, and Richard Gill of Imperial College London was published

Phil Veldhuis, Vona Guiler and their children Jayna and Timmy are this year’s Red River Exhibition Farm Family of the Year.

Honey farmers named Red River Ex Farm Family of the Year

Starbuck-area producers Phil Veldhuis and Vona Guiler embrace a modern model of Manitoba homesteading

Starbuck-area honey farmers Phil Veldhuis and Vona Guiler have been named the Red River Exhibition Association’s 2014 Farm Family of the Year. The couple, who with their children Timmy and Jayna operate Phil’s Honey, are the 49th Manitoba farm family to be honoured by the Red River Exhibition Association (RREA) since the award’s inception in