To conclude the 2025-2026 winter meeting season, the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture attended the New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association Annual General Meeting in Dieppe, NB. The event was well attended with over 90 attendees, including hobbyist and commercial beekeepers, beekeeping equipment and product supplies, government representatives, researchers, and others who work to support the New Brunswick beekeeping industry. Read this week’s blog for a summary of the excellent meeting that took place.

Review of the New Brunswick Beekeepers' Association Annual General Meeting 2026

The New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association (NBBA) annual general meeting took place last Friday and Saturday (March 13^th and 14^th) in Dieppe, NB. On the Friday evening, a tradeshow took place with a variety of companies in attendance including; beekeeping equipment, product supplies, and research groups, which provided an opportunity for companies to network with beekeepers and share information about how they support the industry.

It is important to mention that prior to the NBBA AGM their was a Tropilaelaps mite education session with excellent talks from Heather Broccard-Bell (NOD Apiary), Dr. Andrew Byers (Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture), Rodd Scarlet (Canadian Honey Council), Michel Melanson (New Brunswick Department of Agriculture), and Pascale Michaud (Agrogene Solutions). There will be a blog in the weeks to come highlighting current Tropilaelaps mite research, including discussions and talks from this session.

On Friday evening, Maggie Lamothe Boudreau (Rayons de Miel / Rays of Honey Apiary) gave a presentation on the benefits of local queens. Maggie discussed her queen production operation including her Varroa mite treatment and monitoring program.

Maggie Lamothe Boudreau (Rayons de Miel / Rays of Honey Apiary) presenting at the New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association Annual General Meeting 2026.

Every year at the NBBA AGM a Beekeeper of the Year is announced. On Friday evening, the New Brunswick Beekeeper of the Year was presented to Ronda Arrand who is the owner of River Bend Bees and the founder of the At Ease Bees program - a program dedicated to supporting Veterans and First Responders through the therapeutic benefits of beekeeping.

Presentation of the 2026 New Brunswick Beekeeper of the Year, Rhonda Arrand, by NBBA president Chris Lockhart.

Day two of the annual general meeting started with the NBBA business meeting. During the business meeting the NBBA president (Chris Lockhart) gave a report, the financials of the association were presented, the nominations and election of new board members took place, and the Agri-Commodity Management Association (ACMA) discussed their new role supporting the activities and function of the NBBA.

Rodd Scarlett (Canadian Honey Council) gave a presentation on national trends for beekeeping and honey production and sales. The Canadian Honey Council has an important responsibility of mitigating honey fraud on a national level. Additionally, the Canadian Honey Council is currently advocating for appropriate maximum residue levels (MRLs) for honey testing and ensuring that Canadian honey remains prominent on Canada’s and the global market.

Michel Melanson (NB provincial apiarist) provided an update on the beekeeping industry and the wild blueberry industry of NB. In 2025 there were a reported 10,615 colonies from 431 beekeepers. There were an approximate 6,800 honey yielding colonies in 2025 with an average of 39.6 lbs. per colony. The province continues to import hives for pollination of wild blueberries with 30,342 colonies imported into the province.

Dr. Andrew Byers (Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture) provided a research and extension update on behalf of the ATTTA team. Overall, the team has had a busy winter and is nearing the start of the 2026 field season. One of ATTTA’s projects that was highlighted during the update was their Varroa mite regional survey and amitraz efficacy testing. For the second season, ATTTA conducted a regional Varroa mite survey to assess temporal trends in mite levels and to assess the efficacy of amitraz (active ingredient in Apivar®). The results of the 2025 survey determined Varroa mite levels across the Maritime region increase throughout the beekeeping season as expected. Their research continues to assess the efficacy of amitraz and with another season of data collection the project will help determine the baseline efficacy of amitraz throughout the region.

Mitchell Schriver (NBBA executive member) discussed installing honey bee packages. Mitchell highlighted the importance of preparing your equipment before you pick up your packages. He also discussed the importance of treating packages for Varroa mites. Finally, Mitchell had a video demonstration of installing a package and provided his own views on the benefits and disadvantages to purchasing packages over purchasing nucleus colonies or full hives.

Heather Broccard-Bell (NOD Apiary) gave a presentation on Formic Pro. Formic Pro has the active ingredient formic acid, which Heather explained the chemistry of a formic acid molecule. Some of the key properties of formic acid that make it an effective miticide is that the chemical in not lipophilic which prevents build-up of product residues in wax. Formic acid also diffuses quickly, which allows the chemical to penetrate the brood cappings and target mites within the cells. The diffusion properties of formic acid not only make it an effective treatment for Varroa mites, but there is ongoing research about the effectiveness of the chemical to treat and manage Tropilaelaps mites, which will be further discussed in a future blog. Finally, regarding the use of Formic Pro and formic acid, Heather discussed the importance of providing the treatment at the correct temperature range, providing appropriate ventilation and air flow during the treatment period, and only using this treatment on strong full-sized colonies.

To conclude the AGM, Maggie Lamothe Boudreau (Rayons de Miel / Rays of Honey Apiary) gave a second presentation discussing her own queen production research and program of banking queens indoors to help meet the demand for good local queens each spring. Maggie’s own practices demonstrate how banking queens can be an option to increase the sustainability of the Canadian beekeeping industry.

Thank you to all organizers of this great event, and to all of the presenters for their knowledge and expertise they bring to the industry.

Connecting with ATTTA Specialists

If you’d like to connect with ATTTA specialists or learn more about our program, you can:

visit our website at https://www.perennia.ca/portfolio-items/honey-bees/

Email attta@perennia.ca

Each spring thousands of honey bee colonies are moved throughout the Maritime region to pollinate wild blueberry fields. For some beekeeping operations, colonies are moved within a relatively short radius of their home apiary pollinating nearby fields. Other operations may move colonies significant distances with colonies migrating across counties and provinces to pollinate wild blueberries. The migratory beekeeping practices that exist within the Maritime region, across Canada and within North American present significant health risks to honey bee colonies, operations and industries. This week’s blog will discuss associated honey bee health risks of migratory pollination practices both within and outside of the Maritime region.

Associated Honey Bee Health Risks of Wild Blueberry Pollination and Migratory Beekeeping Practices

Each Maritime province has unique pollination practices which present various risks to colony health. Within each Maritime province, colonies are migrated throughout the province to pollinate wild blueberries. Nova Scotia has recently allowed for the importation of a strict number of Canadian honey bee colonies originating outside of the province during the time of wild blueberry pollination. For decades prior to 2025, the province did not grant permission for the importation of honey bee colonies, and only Nova Scotian honey bee colonies pollinated wild blueberries. Both New Brunswick and PEI import thousands of colonies each year from across Canada to meet the pollination demand. In 2024, New Brunswick imported 26,737 honey bee colonies. Last season, PEI imported 3,472 honey bee colonies some of which were from British Columbia and were transported across the country traveling throughout most of the Canadian provinces. In addition to honey bee colonies, managed non-Apis pollinators such as bumble bees and alfalfa leafcutting bees are imported from outside provincial boards, and historically outside Canada, to meet the pollination demand.

Demonstration of hive loading equipment in New Brunswick at a wild blueberry pollination beekeeping operation (ATTTA^© 2025)

Throughout Canada thousands of colonies are moved to and from various provinces to pollinate wild blueberries among other crops such canola, apples, cranberries, and highbush blueberries. The one exception to interprovincial movement of honey bees is Newfoundland and Labrador as the province does not permit the importation of bees to help maintain their exceptionally unique pest and disease profile, which is free of Varroa mites, American foulbrood, European foulbrood, small hive beetle and wax moth.

Outside of Canada migratory beekeeping practices are prevalent and globally the movement of honey bees and the spread of pests and diseases could have an impact on Canada’s industry including the spread of new pests and diseases into Canada and the availability of approved countries for queen importation. Canada imports queens from European counties, Australia, New Zealand, South American countries, with the majority of queens imported from the United States. The United States has significant migratory beekeeping practices where greater than 2 million colonies follow major bloom cycles for pollination and honey production. Their migratory practices start with almond pollination in February with over 60% of US colonies converging in California in February and March (Bond et al. 2021). From California, bees move to pollinate apples and pears in Washington, blueberries in Maine, and cranberries in Wisconsin (Bond et al. 2021). In summer and fall many colonies move to the Northern Plains for clover honey production, and then these hives are transported to southern states such as Texas, Florida and Georgia to overwinter (Bond et al. 2021).

Biosecurity practices, and the associated risks of various pests and diseases, needs to be evaluated at the level of within an apiary, operation, province, region, country and internationally. As the geographical range expands so does the likelihood of different honey bee pest and disease profiles. Therefore, as the migration distance for pollination increases, so does the risk of transmitting various pests and diseases to other colonies, apiaries, operations, provinces and countries.

When colonies converge in wild blueberry fields, and other pollinated crops, various pests and diseases can spread between colonies of different origin and pests and diseases can be spread to local colonies in the surrounding area. Some of the pests and diseases of concern within the Maritime region include American foulbrood, small hive beetle, high levels of Varroa mites and amitraz-resistant Varroa mites. Additionally, both the Canadian and North American beekeeping industry are remaining vigilant against the introduction of new pests and diseases such as the Tropilaelaps mite which is prevalent in countries in Asia.

Across North America the pollination demand is high and often pollination requirements cannot be met with only local hives. Therefore, there is a continued need to import hives into various regions. Many regions, including the Maritimes, are working towards growing their beekeeping industry to better support pollination demands and reducing reliance on imported hives. In addition to increasing the number of commercial beekeepers and colonies going to pollination it is equally as important that hives are managed to be strong and healthy which will contribute to low winter loss each year. Within Canada each provincial apiculturist helps minimize the risk of spreading pests and diseases by conducting inspections before/after colonies leave/enter the province, and each province also has inspection programs and regulations within province to help minimize the spread of pests and diseases.

Other than the spread of pests and diseases, there are additional honey bee health risks related to pollination. Both the transportation of colonies and placement of colonies on various agriculture crops adds stress to honey bee health. Different crops provide different nutritional value to honey bees and pollination can be linked to reduced nutrients and forage availability for honey bees. Additionally, there may be increased agrochemical exposure while honey bees are placed on pollination crops, which further contributes to poor health. A future blog will further discuss how wild blueberry pollination can have an impact on honey bee health.

References

Bond, J.K., Hitaj, C., Smith, D., Hunt, K., Perez, A. and Ferreira, G., 2021. Honey bees on the move: From pollination to honey production and back.

Connecting with ATTTA Specialists

If you’d like to connect with ATTTA specialists or learn more about our program, you can:

visit our website at https://www.perennia.ca/portfolio-items/honey-bees/

Email attta@perennia.ca