As Canadian beekeepers work to rebuild after the unusually high overwintering losses of the winter of 2006-2007, what should be done to promote bee health and reduce future winterkill?

Medhat Nasr has prepared a fact sheet, Honey Bees and Winterkill, for the Alberta Department of Agriculture. It outlines the best management practices developed in Alberta to address the several possible causes that contribute to winterkill, and provides beekeepers with options to minimize the amount of winterfill in future.

In general:

Best Management Practices

• Keep bee colonies strong — avoid over-splitting.
• Send bees into winter with a healthy, mated young queen.
• Make room for the queen to lay eggs to make winter bees.
• Feed the bees as needed.

Following is a summary of highlights from the Alberta beekeeping factsheet.

Beekeepers will find it useful to read the original factsheet on the Alberta Departmant of Agriculture website, however. It has much more detailed information — including the fascinating fact that winter bees are physiologically different from summer bees, and thus better suited to withstand winter weather — to help beekeepers in making sound management choices in caring for our bees.

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NOD Apiary Products Ltd., the company founded by beekeepers that makes Mite-Away varroa treatment pads, also produces the Bee Cozy winter hive wrap.

The easy-to-use Bee Cozy is constructed of fibreglass insulation and UV-protected polytubing, to give extra weather protection to bees overwintered in cold climates. It is easy to put on and take off, and — unlike the traditional tar-paper wrapping — the Bee Cozy can be saved from year to year and used many times over.

This “how to” video on the winter wrap was produced by NOD Apiary Products. In New Brunswick, the Bee Cozy is distributed by Country Fields Beekeeping Supplies in Upper Coverdale, NB. See the NOD website at MiteAway.com for more information, and Bee Cozy distributors in other areas of North America.

The following is a brief article on monitoring and treatment for Nosema.

Beekeepers should apply a preventative treatment for Nosema each fall. In the spring, Nosema levels should be monitored. If high levels of Nosema are found, another treatment should also be applied in the spring.

Treatment in the fall:

This is a preventative treatment which should be applied each fall. Feed bees with a mixture of Fumagilin-B with sugar syrup, according to label directions. The fall treatment is very important to protect the bees during the winter season and reduce bee stress. It should be noted that Nosema has proven to be more of a problem when bees are associated with Varroa mites.

Treatment in the Spring:

Feed bees a mixture of Fumagilin-B with sugar syrup in the spring if there is a high level of infection (more than one 1 million spores per bee).

Treatment in the late spring and summer:

Requeen colonies when queens are available.

Comments on the use of Fumagilin-B:

1. Fumagilin-B medicated sugar syrup should be protected from direct sunlight when feeding bees since direct sunlight will decrease the efficacy of Fumagilin-B.
2. Beekeepers should be wary about using medicated syrup that is more than few weeks old since it may have lost a significant amount of its potency.

In response to last winter’s heavy losses of honeybee colonies, the Province of New Brunswick has announced its 2007 Honey Bee Revitalization Initiative.

The objective of this program is “to assist New Brunswick beekeepers to revitalize the honey bee industry in the province by rebuilding 3,100 colonies through the purchase of colonies, nuclei colonies and /or provision of financial incentives to encourage splitting of existing strong colonies.”

Rationale:

Many New Brunswick beekeepers manage honey bee colonies and provide pollination services to wild blueberry, apple, cranberry and vegetable crops, with the largest requirement for pollination coming from the blueberry industry. The New Brunswick wild blueberry industry requires a minimum of 12,000 colonies annually (based on 1 hive per acre). It is estimated that pollination from honey bees contributed 5.5-6.5 million pounds of blueberries (valued at $5.5-6.5 million) to the overall crop yield in 2006. Beekeepers also extract honey from their colonies and market either bulk, wholesale, and/or retail honey (2006 production of 230,000 lbs).

The number of New Brunswick colonies available for pollination has been slowly increasing over the last five years from 4,700 colonies in 2002 to approximately 6,000 colonies in 2006. After severe overwintering losses suffered in the winter of 2006-2007, it is estimated that only 3,500 colonies from provincial beekeepers were available for blueberry pollination in 2007. In order to rebuild to the number of colonies which were available in 2006 and eventually work towards self sufficiency for blueberry pollination in New Brunswick, a honey bee revitalization initiative is required.

Financial assistance will be directed at those beekeepers who plan to remain part of the industry and rebuild their colonies. The funding is not intended to take the form of a payout to all beekeepers who suffered a loss. This targeted approach will help ensure that financial contributions will go to those beekeepers who are intending to rebuild. The Honey Bee Revitalization Initiative will assist beekeepers with the purchase of new colonies and nuclei colonies and will encourage them to split strong New Brunswick colonies. It is anticipated, that with this assistance, industry may be able to rebuild approximately 3,100 colonies by fall.

The deadline for applications is November 16, 2007.

Beekeepers are asked to review the Guidelines (english/french) to determine whether or not they are eligible for this program.

Following are the up-to-date recommendations for the use oxalic acid as a treatment for varroa mites in honey bee colonies. The article includes:

• Oxalic Acid Treatment Protocol — Trickle Method (preferred) and Vaporization Method
• Oxalic Acid Safety Sheet — including an Emergency Overview
• Oxalic Acid Facts

This information is published here by kind permission of the Tech-Transfer Team of the Ontario Beekeepers Association.

Oxalic Acid Treatment Protocol

Trickle Method

(Recommended method in Ontario)

Preparation:
• Prepare 50% sugar syrup (eg. 1 kg of sugar in 1 L of water).
• Measure 1 L of syrup and add 35 g of oxalic acid dihydrate (min. 99.6% purity) crystals.
• Agitate the solution by stirring vigorously or shaking.
• The crystals dissolve best if the sugar solution is warm (not hot). All of the crystals must be dissolved.
• Prepare the solution within days of treating the colonies and keep refrigerated until use.
• 1L of the oxalic acid solution will treat 20 colonies.

Trickle Application:
Oxalic acid should be applied late in the fall after brood rearing has ceased. Treat when the temperatures are cooler (in the morning or evening) to ensure that the bees are in the hive to receive the treatment. Using a 60 ml syringe or an oral drench gun (both available at farm supply stores), apply 50 ml of the solution directly onto the bees in the cluster. Trickle the solution between each frame containing bees. When treating doubles, split the boxes and treat the bees in both boxes (25 ml in the bottom box and 25 ml in the top box). The colony may be wrapped for winter immediately after application.

Safety:
When handling the oxalic acid crystals, always wear gloves and a dust mask. Gloves and protective clothing should be worn when treating colonies using the trickle method. If oxalic acid crystals or the treatment solution contact your skin, wash affected area with water.

Storage:
In all forms, oxalic acid is odorless. The crystalline powder should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container. This will prevent absorption of moisture, which causes the loose powder to solidify. Do not store leftover oxalic acid treatment solution. The oxalic acid changes in composition and becomes toxic to the bees.

Vaporization Method

There are different vaporizers available for use in the hive. Instructions for use are specific to the vaporizer purchased. Goggles, gloves and a respirator should be used when vaporizing oxalic acid crystals.

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