The Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA) has just issued its final report on overwintering losses of honey bees in Canada, and the picture is not a pretty one — although New Brunswick beekeepers fared a bit better than we have in the past few years.
Nationwide honey bee losses of 35% over the winter of 2007-2008 are up from last year’s mortality rate of 29% of colonies, and more than double the long-term “normal” of 15% that Canadian beekeepers were accustomed to seeing before the arrival of the Varroa destructor mite in this country.
“Successive annual losses at levels exceeding the long-term average are unsustainable by Canadian beekeepers,” CAPA warns, “and are likely to lead to decreased honey production and shortages of colonies available for pollination. Indeed, more demand than supply was evident for pollination in British Columbia during the spring of 2008, where some blueberry pollination contracts were not entirely fulfilled.”
Honey Bee Losses in Canada (by Province) 2007-2008
Above-average losses hit Alberta (44%), British Columbia (38%) and Prince Edward Island (36%), with Ontario not far behind at 33% of colonies lost over the winter. New Brunswick beekeepers reported a better winter than in the past few difficult years, with losses of 29% of managed colonies. The lowest mortality rates were reported in Quebec and Nova Scotia, at 19% and 18% respectively.
These statistics refer to colony losses reported as of 30 May 2008, and they include losses due to spring dwindling as well as those honey bee colonies that died through the winter months. In Alberta, the spring dwindling component (14%) was defined as the number of weak colonies having three frames of bees or less.
“Though high losses for individual producers may occur in any given year, high regional losses are of potentially greater concern,” says CAPA. “Across the country any unusually high losses have been investigated by provincial apicultural specialists. Initial indications suggest that these losses may be attributed to the three principal causes, listed in descending order of importance”:
- Ineffective control and mismanagement for the parasitic mite, Varroa destructor;
- Inadequate control of the internal parasites Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae; and
- Starvation. Inadequate nectar flows and fall feeding in some areas prevented colonies from storing enough nectar or sugar syrup to survive all through the winter.
Comparable 2007-2008 Losses by US Beekeepers
The Canadian experience matches that of beekeepers in the United States, where surveys commissioned by the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the USDA-ARS Beltsville Honey Bee Lab recorded a total loss of 36% for managed honey bee colonies in 2008. This represents an increase of 13.5% increase in total losses compared with the US figures for 2007.
“The survey commissioned by the AIA was not able to differentiate between true cases of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and colonies lost due to causes that share the ‘absence of dead bees’ symptom that is typically associated with CCD,” the CAPA report notes.
Interestingly, “at least 71% of all operations had no CCD-like symptoms in any of their colonies that perished, underlying the need for research, not only into CCD, but into pollinator health in general.”
If CCD or future bee pandemics became severe enough to dieoff most colonies, it might make sense now to establish a “strategic bee researve”. If mites and/or fungi that cause bee epidemics die too when the bee population declines, it would be useful to have populations of honey bees segregated from the rest of the presumably infected globalized bee breeding market.
Say, breed some bees on an island. Pay to have them maintained. In the event CCD beecomes devastating enough to wipe out colonies in entire areas, the strategic bee colonies could be enlisted to repopulate canola and greenhouse food cropland. To avoid infecting the strategic bees, the dieoff would have to bee 100% and the mites/fungi can’t survive on some other host that might reinfect the new bee population.
I’d suggest governments subsidize bee breeders for this purpose. It is cheaper than regulating bee trade or doing nothing and hoping for the best. I’m not sure the range of bees, but the strategic colonies would have to be outside existing bee populations.
Along with this, it would be prudent to support best practises apiculture education, meetings and consultations and such, with the goal being to educate commercial beekeepers how to multiply bee colonies ASAP in the event of a massive worldwide dieoff. The strategic reserve should be bred to be capable of rapidly multiplying, if that is possible. ie) can bees colonies be bred to take advantage of more than two growing seasons? Perhaps the strategic colonies would need to be moved many times per year to take advantage of nature nectar food supplies, or perhaps artifical nectar stores could be establish to multiply strategic colonies.
hello i am a beekeeper i have a problem in rainy season we have no polen in our boxes.you suggest what we can do for our apiarie .what is method of polen subsitute.
Hello, my name is Clinton.
I am writing to you all for a number of reasons, mainly because
I am passionate about Honey Bees. Ever since I was a young boy, I loved
watching them and learning about them. They are fascinating creatures and
yet after the thousands of years that they have been used and domesticated by
Mankind, there are still so many things we do not know about them.
Further, there are many things about Honey Bees that many people take for
granted. We are dependant upon them for much of the food we eat and for
much of the crops and export this country (Canada) and the world, produces.
If the Honey Bee disappears, many food crops will not be pollinated such
as Almonds that are 100% dependent upon the Honey Bee. The
number of people on this planet that are starving will go from millions to
BILLIONS!!
My concern for the Honey Bee stems from Colony Collapse Disorder
(CCD) as well as increased losses due to, Nosema apis and Varroa destructor and the discovery of Nosema ceranae in 2007. According to the
Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA), my province (Saskatchewan) lost
twenty six percent of our bees from overwintering losses as of May 30 2008. The greatest
problem is that we do not know WHY they are disappearing.
It is one thing to have researchers in Canada to collaborate
with principal scientists in Canada and the U.S. working on CCD and quite
another to raise the level of awareness of the people of this province (SK),
this country (Canada) and the world, to a point where the common public are
aware of the many issues facing the Honey Bee. There are still pesticides being
used that are harmful to Canadian wildlife including the Honey Bee. The
impact of N. ceranae is not yet fully understood, and it
seems many professional beekeepers do not have the means to adequately screen
for the two Nosema species. In many regions
throughout the world, according to CAPA, V. destructor has become resistant to the chemical
compounds used to control them.
So greatly has the Honey Bee contributed to the development and
advancement of Humanity in our great country and across the world that I
believe that we as the people of Canada and the world can take one day
out of the year to dedicate to the small insect that is so intrinsically important
to our ecology, agriculture, economy and well being. With great respect
and with your help, I propose that the Government of Canada, Canada and the people therein recognize May 29, 2010 as the first annual “Day of the Honey
Bee”.
My goal is to raise not only awareness on environmental,
agricultural and economical issues surrounding the Honey Bee but also to
increase appreciation, respect and love for the creature that has so captivated
me since I was a child. There is a saying that “April showers bring May
flowers”. Without the Honey Bee, however, there would not be as much
fruit or harvests and our plates would be a little less colorful and full.
Sadly, many flowers may never bloom again at all. I am attempting
to accomplish my goal of a government recognized “Day of the
Honey Bee” on a municipal, provincial, national and international level.
I need your help and advice. I have already begun to spread the
word.
I have three goals:
1) To create a Municipal, Provincial, National and International Day of the
Honey Bee.
2) To raise awareness and respect for Bees and CCD. Since the Bee’s
economic importance with a majority of our food crops is staggering.
3) To network with other groups so we can all benefit from each other
ALSO:
If you have suggestions or contacts for other apiculturists, bee farmers, bee
companies, or any other group, association, business that has connection with
bees or bee products, Or if you wish to change the fate of the world, could you
help me and attach a link to your group and respond via email:
FURTHER: Please forward
this to your friends and contacts and I urge you to talk about it with all the
people you know. We eat a third of our
food because of Honey Bees.
Thank you in advance.
Clinton Ekdahl
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Bees are awsome why are they dying?