A honey bee colony on display in Manitoba.

Tougher antibiotic rules linked to bee death rise

Canada tightened farmer access to livestock antibiotics, honeybees included, in 2018; new research suggests that beekeepers may be losing more bees because of it

New research from University of Guelph shows honeybee deaths went up as antibiotic usage went down following Canada’s adoption of tighter rules, part of the effort against antimicrobial resistance.



The idea that producing more queen bees and nucleus colonies in Canada will reduce the number of planes in the air is far-fetched.

Manitoba updates bee mortality insurance for 2025

2025 will be the first year a beekeeper’s winter bee loss insurance will be based on all their overwintered hives, up from 90 per cent

After another winter of high honeybee death, 2025 will be the first time a beekeeper’s bee loss insurance will be based on all their overwinter hives in Manitoba.



Paul Gregory, vice-president of the Manitoba Beekeepers Association, raises bees in Manitoba’s Interlake. He said beekeepers have noticed that bees forage less on smoky days. This can cause a reduction in honey production.

Wildfire smoke threatens to turn down honey tap for Manitoba beekeepers

Honeybees hunker down when there’s too much smoke in the air, slicing at a beekeeper’s honey flow —In Manitoba, there’s been a lot of wildfire smoke lately to contend with

Honeybees hunker down when there’s too much smoke in the air, slicing at a beekeeper’s honey flow —With so many fires raging in Manitoba, there’s been a lot of smoke to contend with.

A beekeeper lifts a frame out of a beehive box. Beekeepers in Canada have been fighting a hard fight against pests and bee mortality in the last few years.

A Canadian idea to save the bees

ApiSave could reduce bee death and act as a new pesticide against foulbrood and varroa mites, the company says, but it has to pass registration in Canada first.

Canada’s beekeepers are losing hives to issues like foulbrood and varroa mites. A B.C. company hopes their product, ApiSave, will help turn the tide for Canadian honeybees.


Canadian beekeepers have posted poor winter survival in several recent years.

B.C. company pitches bee health tool

ApiSave says product will boost bee immunity to overcome health challenges

Honeybee hive loss has been a problem for Canadian beekeepers. B.C. company ApiSave thinks their bee health product could help make more robust, resilient bees.



A tiny sweat bee feeds off a milkweed blossom.

The wild side of pollination 

More is better when it comes to bee diversity: researcher 

Flowering plants have developed a few ways to move their pollen around, and thus protect their genetic diversity. Many grasses are wind-pollinated and, as a backup for their long-shot pollination method, can self-pollinate to bring about the next generation.  If you’re a broadleaf plant, you’re likely putting animals to work, whether that’s birds, insects or

'Think of a down jacket: it’s the air between the feathers that helps keep the wearer warm. Honeybee clusters are similar to the action of compressing a down jacket, whereby the thermal conductivity eventually increases to that of a dense solid of feathers...'

Comment: Bee clustering knowledge based on faulty guidance

Honeybees cluster together when it’s cold but we’ve been completely wrong about why

Honeybees in human-made hives may have suffered the cold unnecessarily for over a century because commercial hive designs are based on erroneous science. For 119 years, a belief that the way honeybees cluster together provides a kind of evolutionary insulation has been fundamental for beekeeping practice, hive design and honeybee study. In the modern day,