First Manitoba Honey Bee Day spotlights province’s honey sector to the public.
Tag Archives Honey bee
Farm issues in spotlight at Manitoba Honey Bee Day
Inaugural event aims to raise public awareness of issues facing beekeepers
Another bad season for bees
Experts explore the reasons for bee population declines -- and ways to mitigate the problem
Beekeepers reported high losses over the winter and experts are exploring the reasons and seeking ways to mitigate future colony declines. Ian Steppler, president of the Manitoba Beekeepers Association, said Manitoba’s losses this year are extremely high. “We’re nearly at a 60 per cent loss right across Manitoba right now, the highest loss in Canada
Wild bees need stronger pesticide regulation
Pesticide regulations designed to protect honeybees fail to account for potential health threats to the full diversity of bee species that are even more important pollinators
Pesticide regulations designed to protect honeybees fail to account for potential health threats posed to other, even more important pollinators, according to a trio of research papers from the University of Guelph. As the global human population grows, and as pollinators continue to suffer declines caused by everything from habitat loss to pathogens, regulators need
Training critical for new beekeepers to avoid disease woes
Beekeepers stress the need for industry newcomers to be trained in disease and pest management
Manitoba’s honeybee population has recovered from 2013, when a harsh winter saw hives drop almost eight per cent, but commercial apiarists say that growth could have risks if it doesn’t come with disease management training for new beekeepers. “Education is very important in those regards and I think probably one of our largest concerns is
National colony loss one of the lowest in 10 years
Beekeepers say their death losses are falling, but nobody is exactly sure why
Winter bee mortality rates seem to be dropping, according to data submitted to Health Canada by the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists. The group told the Health Department, that has been heavily involved in a multi-stakeholder study into the issue, that all provinces either saw similar death rates, or lower death rates than the previous
More than just bumblebees
A new research project at AAFC is assessing habitat for the 231 different species of native bees in Manitoba
How pollinator friendly is your farm? A new study being conducted at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Brandon Research and Development Centre is looking to gather data on the province’s native bees and create an on-farm habitat-assessment tool. “We don’t have a lot of information on native bees in Manitoba but we are starting to get
Bee die-offs from multiple causes
Experts and bee industry representatives say the story’s been presented one dimensionally by many in the media
Habitat loss, poor beekeeping practices and pesticides are among the biggest challenges facing bee populations, experts have told the Commons agriculture committee. Chris Cutler, an associate professor in the department of environmental sciences at Dalhousie University and also a beekeeper, said another challenge is a lack of information on wild bees, which are vital to
Non-crop plants source of most pesticide contamination of bees
One of the most common sources of pollen contamination is home pest control products
Urban landscapes may bear more responsibility for exposing bees to pesticides than previously thought. A recent study from Purdue University, published in the academic journal Nature Communications, found honeybees gathered the vast majority of pollen from non-agriculture crops and were being exposed to both agricultural and domestic pesticides. Entomologist Christian Krupke found pollen samples contained
Mites could play role in variable bee losses
Honeybee losses are all over the map in Manitoba this year, as experts eye the impact of the varroa mite
While the numbers are still preliminary it appears one word will likely characterize winter loss for Manitoba beekeepers this spring — variability. “The one thing I can probably say without having any hard numbers, just from preliminary reporting, is that we’re going to have a lot of variability in winter loss this year,” said Rheal
Beehives to go high tech
A so-called smart beehive could change how apiarists manage their colonies and treat mites
We have smart phones, smart cars and even smart fridges. Now, Allan Campbell is preparing to launch the smart beehive. “We are still in the prototype phase, but we hope to have the first ones out this summer. So far it hasn’t left the lab yet,” said the co-owner of Durston Honey Farms and president
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
