A new Genome BC research project will soon put advanced genomics tools into the hands of bee breeders, enabling them select only the strongest, most resistant bees for breeding programs.

New Research will Help Honeybee Breeders out of a Sticky Situation

Prince George, BC — Canadians may have noticed that there were decidedly fewer bees buzzing about their gardens and parks this past summer.

In the past year alone, nearly 36 percent of all Canada’s honeybees died over winter, more than twice the normal mortality rate of 15 percent. The trend in BC is no less severe, with select geographic areas such as Vancouver Island and the Peace River District suffering far greater losses.

According to Paul van Westendorp, BC’s Provincial Apiculturist, these numbers are simply not sustainable for breeders, and pose serious environmental and economic risks, not to mention threatening the Province’s food supply.

“Reduced honey production is only the tip of the iceberg,” he says. “When we look at what bees do in the larger context of agriculture, which is most notable in terms of crop pollination, we are talking about a value of $200 to 300 million a year in BC alone.”

So why are the number of bees dropping at such an alarming rate? It seems that the mites and bacteria, which have plagued them for years, are becoming increasingly resistant to traditional treatments such miticides and antibiotics. The bees are unable to defend themselves, and those without natural genetic resistance inevitably die.

But a new Genome BC research project will soon put advanced genomics tools into the hands of bee breeders, enabling them select only the strongest, most resistant bees for breeding programs.

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by Claude Hachey,
Tetagouche, New Brunswick

My area is overrun by black bears — a virtual population explosion that has benefited outfitters catering to hunters from south of the border. All out yards are protected by bear fencing that normally puts out 6500 to 9000 volts of jolt. These fencers are powered by deep cycle twelve volt batteries with the charge maintained with solar panels to avoid having to change batteries every two weeks — with the panels, the battery maintains its charge for about six to eight weeks depending on the grass load.

Winter yards are usually equipped with barbed wire and posts as these are more susceptible to bear damage in the spring — I run 5 strands on these about six inches apart and the wire is less likely to sag under the weight of snow. I power up the strands as they become accessible with the snow melting and usually do not power up the strand closest to the ground. In summer yards, I run four strands with the last strand at hip height. Keep the colonies at least four feet away from the fence as bears will reach under to topple a hive.

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If you’ve ever wondered how honeybees might live, if we didn’t put them into hive boxes, here’s a look at a feral colony on their fresh white heart-shaped natural comb.

See how the centre of the heart is darker, where the brood was laid? Look closely, and you can even see a few capped cells.

This photo was sent in by one of our readers, Leza, who dropped a note in the Bee Talk section this summer when she spotted some honeybees living wild near Burton, New Brunswick, just downriver of Fredericton:

I saw your comment about swarming and want to know if any of you would like to have the swarm that built in my pear tree. I have a beautiful comb and a great tail of bees…. it has been there since June some time. It seems like such a shame to kill them.

We were pretty excited about this, as it is not too common, in this chilly New Brunswick climate, to find honeybees gone feral like that, and certainly they would not have survived very long into the autumn. Fortunately, CBA member Sterling responded, Leza was hooked up with a local beekeeper, and the honeybees were rescued and found a new home before the honey flow ended.

Fans of honeybees and storytelling who’ve been waiting for the film version of Sue Monk Kidd’s 2002 best-selling novel, The Secret Life of Bees, will be happy to hear it opens in theatres today.

Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily’s fierce-hearted black “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racist in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina — a town that hold the secret to her mother’s past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

“Honey-sweet but never cloying,” said Publisher’s Weekly of the novel — “a hive’s worth of appealing female characters, an offbeat plot and a lovely style.”

The movie adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. It stars Queen Latifah as the deeply wise beekeeper August Boatwright, with Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo as her sisters — the three women who give shelter to runaways Lily (Dakota Fanning) and Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), at risk of their own peace and safety.

Cast members had to go to “bee school” to learn how to handle the colonies who were their co-stars — so we’ll be very curious to see if the portrayal of hive life and beekeeping is any more realistic in The Secret Life of Bees than in other recent films.

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