Weather is often a significant issue for beekeepers as it can have a direct impact on colony survival. But this past January’s freeze event will also have an indirect effect, killing off a major source of revenue for Interior beekeepers as well as a source of spring foraging for their bees. The freeze event January …
BC Honey Producers
Apiarists fear heavy winter losses
BURNABY – Beekeepers across Canada were in for a shock when they opened their hives this spring to check on colony health. The Canadian Honey Council (CHC) confirms severe losses from Alberta to Quebec. “Nationally, it seems to be very high. We may come close to 40%,” says CHC executive director Rod Scarlett. “But on …
Langley logs Asian hornet
Canadian Food Inspection Agency staff made an unexpected discovery October 22 while performing a routine monthly check of a trap set to monitor for Japanese beetle in south Langley. The decaying body of an Asian giant hornet lay within, the first confirmed report of one of the insects this year in Canada. Since no hornets …
Beekeepers Zoom for 100th AGM
The centennial of the BC Honey Producers Association was not the grand celebration expected, but some 90 participants nevertheless gathered via videoconference on October 30 for the associations’ annual general meeting. This compared to about 160 attendees at last fall’s event in Prince George. “We had a program lined up for our 100th in Abbotsford …
BC beekeepers go online
BC beekeepers have made a beeline for online meetings as COVID-19 has limited the size of public gatherings. At the provincial level, the semi-annual meeting of the BC Honey Producers Association in March took place via videoconference while its semi-annual education day was cancelled. Its monthly business meetings have since taken place via videoconference. The …
Bee replacements grounded
BC beekeepers may not be able to import enough bees to replenish hives lost through the winter thanks to flight restrictions intended to halt the spread of COVID-19. “We were able to get some pallets of bees in from New Zealand at the beginning of March,” says Stan Reist of Flying Dutchman Apiary in Nanaimo …