Every spring, beekeepers are asked by the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA) to report on their overwintering losses. The results of the 2022 survey are in! Last week, CAPA released their “Statement on Honey Bee Wintering Losses in Canada (2022),” read on for a brief summary of the results.
A Look at Canadian Honey Bee Overwintering Losses
The CAPA “Statement on Honey Bee Wintering Losses in Canada”
is an annual report published to consolidate information that CAPA and our Provincial
Apiarists have collected regarding the overwintering success of beekeepers across
the nation. Reporting overwintering losses to CAPA continues to be a valuable
tool for seeing trends in beekeeping operations nationwide. This year, results are
based on the responses of 626 Canadian beekeepers with a total of 480,983 hives.
Figure 1. A modified table of survey parameters and preliminary
honey bee colony mortality (2021-2022) to highlight the results of the Atlantic
Provinces.
The 2021-2022 winter was a difficult winter for Canadian honey
bees. The national overwintering loss was 45.5%. This is nearly double the
percent loss reported the winter prior, at 23.2%. Between provinces, there was
a large range, from 15.3% to 57.2%. Overall, Atlantic Canada fared better than
most of the nation, with Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland being the
only three provinces to report losses below 30%. Prince Edward Island suffered
higher losses, at 51.9%.
The CAPA statement not only reports figures, it also asks
beekeepers to indicate the possible causes for their losses. This year,
beekeepers were more consistently responding with the same causes. Ineffective
varroa control, poor queens, and weak colonies in the fall were the top
reported reasons for colony loss, nationwide. Furthermore, the provinces which
had the highest losses all ranked “ineffective varroa control” to be their number
one reason for colony death. For Atlantic Canada, specifically, the leading
reasons for loss were less consistent, with ineffective varroa control, weak
hives in the fall, and starvation being the top concerns. As such, beekeepers
preparing for the upcoming winter this season should consider addressing these
as priorities in their summer and fall management practices. For example, it
will be important to test for mites and subsequently treat; hives should be supplied
with adequate food resources to make it through the winter; and now is a good
time to consider how to best manage weak colonies.
Figure 2. A modified table of the top four ranked causes of honey
bee colony mortality to highlight the results of the Atlantic Provinces.
The 2022 statement places particular emphasis on varroa mite control. According to the survey respondents, Apivar® is the number one chemical treatment used against varroa mites across Canada. It is popularly used in both spring and fall treatments. As such, it is inevitable that varroa mites will develop resistance to amitraz, the leading ingredient in Apivar®. Unfortunately, there has been evidence of this beginning in some provinces. This means that monitoring for mites both before and after treatment is more important than ever. Please see the ATTTA factsheet on Summer Disease and Pest Monitoring in Honey Bees for detailed information on how to monitor varroa mites in your colonies. Monitoring in the summer can be critical to knocking back varroa mites populations before fall, when it may become too late for effective control of large infestations. Beekeepers expressed this as a challenge which they faced in the 2021 fall.
In addition to monitoring, CAPA has highlighted the importance of
testing the continued efficacy of our leading varroa mite treatments. Here,
ATTTA can help! This summer ATTTA is busy sampling hives across the Maritimes to
measure the efficacy of both Apivar® and Api Life Var® in eliminating the mites
within. This work will be completed in September and results shared with the
industry shortly thereafter.
The CAPA wintering losses survey provides us with valuable insight
into the challenges and successes of the Canadian beekeeping industry. For more
information on the results of the 2022 survey please read the full statement,
found here. Thank you to all who participated!
Written by Annie Bennett, ATTTA Apiculturist, abennett@perennia.ca
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