Comments on: Winter Honey Bee Losses in Canada 2007-2008

By: Martin Broduer

Martin Broduer — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:33:51 +0000

Bees are awsome why are they dying?

By: Clinton Shane Ekdahl

Clinton Shane Ekdahl — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:13:08 +0000

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

By: sharu kapoor

sharu kapoor — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:45:33 +0000

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.

By: Phillip Huggan

Phillip Huggan — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:59:20 +0000

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.