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

bees in a hive

Late corn planting sees more bees flying

Keeping bees at bay when it comes to corn planting isn’t always possible, 
but good communication goes a long way

Manitoba corn growers and beekeepers have been meeting to talk about how to communicate better for the benefit of bees. The Manitoba Corn Growers Association invited members of the Manitoba Beekeeper’s Association to a spring board meeting, to discuss how to best protect honeybees from the pesticides used to coat corn seeds. “Both sides need


honey bees in a hive

Thinking of bees

Bees rank right up there with climate change these days for the volume of studies and stories that cross a farm newspaper editor’s desk. Sometimes the two are even linked, such as the prediction that Africanized honeybees, which can be fatally aggressive, will make their way north from the southern U.S. as median temperatures rise.

Bees in a hive

NFU sees moratorium on neonicotinoids

The Senate committee is studying the importance of bees to food production in Canada

The National Farmers Union (NFU) appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry May 1 to call for a five-year moratorium on the use of neonicotinoids on corn and soybeans in Ontario. The Senate committee is currently studying the importance of bees and bee health in the production of honey, food and seed


Bee on a flower

Environmental groups challenge PMRA over neonicotinoid approval

Conditional registration has been granted despite the objections

Four environmental organizations have attacked the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) for extending the conditional registration of clothianidin, a neonicotinoid insecticide, as a spray treatment until the end of 2015. The groups say PMRA didn’t properly consider two Notices of Objection to the renewal and the registration extension could keep the product on the market

Manitoba honeybees hit hard over winter

Manitoba honeybees hit hard over winter

With the Canadian border closed to U.S. honeybee imports, 
Manitoba honey producers are relying on overseas shipments to rebuild hives

Manitoba’s beekeepers are feeling the sting of high winter losses, coupled with the pain and expense of overseas bee imports. Early reports indicate average bee loss across the province is above the 30 per cent mark, with some apiarists losing as many as 80 per cent of their hives. “We don’t have a lot of



Treated corn seed linked to bee kills, Health Canada urges farmers to use best practices

Government issues list of 25 best practices to lower the risk of contamination 
instead of following Europe’s lead and banning neonicotinoid insecticides

Another round of “bee incidents” last year has prompted Health Canada to issue an updated list of mitigation measures to corn farmers who may have inadvertently killed the pollinators. A severe death rate during planting season in 2012 has been linked to a dry spell and widespread use of nitro-guanidine neonicotinoid insecticides on corn seed.


Beekeepers ask courts to ban controversial pesticides

U.S. environmental regulators are failing to protect honeybees and should immediately suspend use of some toxic insecticides tied to the widespread deaths of bees, charges a new lawsuit. “It is a catastrophe in progress,” said migratory beekeeper Steve Ellis, who maintains 2,000 hives for pollinating crops from Minnesota to California. “We have an ongoing problem

EU Commission wants curbs on pesticides to protect bees

Reuters / The European Commission said Jan. 31 it wanted EU member states to restrict the use of pesticides linked to the decline of bees. The commission said it was asking EU countries to suspend the use of neonicotinoid insecticides — among the most commonly used crop pesticides — on sunflower, rapeseed, maize and cotton.