bees

Beekeepers to take second look at U.S. bees amid heavy loss

Many hives are still in the snow, but early loss counts are alarming

Manitoba’s beekeepers will be revisiting their decision to not push for a return of bulk bee shipments from the U.S. Ian Steppler, chair of the Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association, said they will be holding a special meeting on the topic April 23. “All producers in Manitoba are divided on this issue,” he said. Why it matters:

Concerns over importing pests like varroa mite have kept Manitoba beekeepers from endorsing U.S. imports.

VIDEO: Beekeepers opt for closed border on U.S. bulk bees

Bulk bee imports from the U.S. have been closed for decades, and Manitoba’s beekeepers say they would like it to stay that way

Manitoba’s beekeeping sector won’t be endorsing any push to reopen the U.S. border to American bulk bee shipments. In late February, a majority of members at the Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association (MBA) annual meeting shot down a resolution to support the Canadian Honey Council, should the national industry group ever lobby the federal government to allow


Pollinators key to canola crops’ success

Pollinators key to canola crops’ success

Your busy little unpaid employees make it all possible

Canola producers often partner with beekeepers because the bees are an effective way to pollinate canola blossoms and increase the seed production. The bees collect the pollen as a protein-rich food and sip nectar to make honey, a handy way to store energy. Making pollen and nectar is a lot of work for the plant

Funding boosts beekeeping extension

Funding boosts beekeeping extension

The Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association extension and research program has another $20,000 for the coming year

The Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association (MBA) hopes a jolt of funding will help bolster research and extension efforts. The Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA), which blends commodity groups for wheat and barley, flax, sunflowers, corn and winter cereals, announced in January that it would be providing $10,000 for the MBA’s Knowledge Research Transfer Program in the coming


“The consensus is that general efficacy, countable efficacy of that product — Apivar — is quite variable.” – Rhéal Lafrenière.

Varroa mite protection product for bees losing its punch

Producers may need multiple prongs of varroa mite control with some of their go-to solutions starting to lose potency

Beekeepers will have to watch their varroa mite levels more closely and be prepared to look past Apivar for other control measures, provincial apiarist Rhéal Lafrenière says. Why it matters: Parasitic varroa mites feed on both adult bees and developing brood, causing weak and malformed bees, high mortality and, associated with that, winter losses due

In the end, Manitoba beekeepers say a late-season flush of growth brought their season much closer to the average mark.

Weather turn bails out beekeepers

While honey yields are below average, it’s not the disaster many were expecting in July

The province’s beekeepers may well feel like they dodged a bullet, thanks to a surge of growth in August and September. Late-season rains helped bolster the 2021 honey harvest and have eased fears about the coming winter, according to Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association chair Ian Steppler. “The situation earlier in the summer seemed really dire and


Varroa mites feeding on honeybee pupae.

Bees hit with pesky symptoms

Atypical weather this year impacted pest management for beekeepers

While an extended season has been a boon for the honey sector, experts say it may have also played into the varroa mite issues that have plagued some operations. Ian Steppler, chair of the Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association, said producers reported higher mite counts this year, requiring treatment. Infestations of the parasite are associated with weak

beehive frame without honey

U.S. honey crop stung by climate change

Drought-weakened bee colonies shrink North American honey crop, threaten almonds and fruit Gackle, N.D. | Reuters — There was barely a buzz in the air as John Miller pried the lid off of a crate, one of several “bee boxes” stacked in eight neat piles beside a cattle-grazing pasture outside Gackle, North Dakota, about 150


An Asian giant hornet, trapped at Birch Bay, Wash. on July 14, 2020 by Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) researchers, is seen at Olympia, Wash. on July 29, 2020. (Photo: WSDA/Chris Looney/handout via Reuters)

Washington state eradicates first ‘murder hornet’ nest of the year

Nest found in northwestern county near B.C. border

Reuters — Washington state eradicated its first Asian giant hornet nest of the year by vacuuming out 113 worker hornets and removing bark and decayed wood near the nest, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) officials said Thursday. The so-called stinging “murder hornets,” the world’s largest hornets, can grow to five centimetres in length and

An Asian giant hornet, trapped at Birch Bay, Wash. on July 14, 2020 by Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) researchers, is seen at Olympia, Wash. on July 29, 2020. (Photo: WSDA/Chris Looney/handout via Reuters)

U.S. training ag staff to track, trap, kill ‘murder hornets’

Invasive species remains threat to bees, honey producers

Blaine, Wash. | Reuters — The first Asian giant hornet nest of the year has been found in Washington state, and plans are being developed to eradicate it, likely next week, the state’s agriculture department said on Thursday. The so-called stinging “murder hornets,” the world’s largest hornets, can grow to five centimetres in length and