Researchers Seek Causes Of Honeybee Colony Collapse

Birds do it, fleas do it but when bees do it, it is worth some $200 billion to the world economy. That’s why scientists are seeking a way to stem mass deaths of the world’s primary pollinator – the honeybee – which affect more than 30 per cent of bee colonies in the United States

Try An Anthurium Instead

What flowers to get a special someone for Valentine’s Day? Red roses? An orchid? Although I really like fresh cut flowers – during the summer months there are usually cut flowers of some kind from our garden in a vase on the kitchen table – in the off season I don’t buy cut flowers very


Bee Facts

Pollinators – such as bees, butterflies and bats – are responsible for the continued existence of more than 70 per cent of the world’s flowering plant population. From the production of hybrid canola seed in southern Alberta to the pollination of blueberries in the Maritimes and British Columbia, honeybees are the primary managed pollinator for



Bees Need Diverse Landscape To Thrive

If you’ve ever complained about there being too many bees around, consider yourself lucky. Pollinators – such as bees, butterflies and bats – are responsible for the continued existence of more than 70 per cent of the world’s flowering plant population. But they are significantly decreasing in number. By carrying pollen from the male to

Make Your Habitat Wildlife Friendly

If you’re like me, you love listening to the sweet song of birds or catching a glimpse of a brightly coloured butterfly fluttering by. There is so much beauty to enjoy in the natural world – and so much to benefit from, too. For instance, insects such as bees and butterflies are important worldwide for


Bee Sensitive To Helpful Insects, Urbanites Urged

What do Mount Everest and honeybees have in common? Check out May 29. That was the day in 1953 when Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to successfully climb the world’s highest mountain. Hillary was a beekeeper from New Zealand. This year, May 29 was the day proclaimed by Ottawa,

Short Winter Eases Manitoba Bee Losses

“Weather is a big part of the losses in Canada.” – RHEAL LAFRENIERE, MAFRI Ashort winter may have moderated the loss of Mani toba honeybee colonies this year, following three years of abnormally high losses. Winter colony losses appear closer to traditional levels of 20 to 25 per cent, compared to annual losses of around


Study Finds Chemicals Threaten Honeybee Health

“It’s one more arrow in the quiver.” – HEATHER CLAY, CHC Anew U. S. study has detected a number of pesticides in North American honeybee colonies at far higher levels than previously known. Scientists have found “unprecedented levels of miticides and agricultural pesticides in honeybee colonies from across the U. S. and one Canadian province,”

Solution To Bee Colony Deaths Found

Long the scourge of beehives, the varroa mite has emerged as the leading suspect in the mysterious decline of honeybee colonies across Canada, says a University of Guelph researcher. In an article in the online scientific publication Apidologie, which is devoted to bees, Ernesto Guzman and his research team say that 85 per cent of