The Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture had the opportunity to attend the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA) annual general meeting 2026 this week both virtually and in-person (Calgary, AB). Attending national meetings such as the CAPA AGM, as well as the Canadian Honey Council National Beekeeping Convention, is important to ATTTA as it provides the opportunity to voice the concerns and needs of the Atlantic beekeeping industry at the national level. Read this week’s blog to learn more about CAPA and why it is valuable that all Tech Transfer programs participate in this association. 

The Importance of Participation of the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture in National Groups

The Canadian Association of Profession Apiculturists (CAPA) is the umbrella group for professionals who independently conduct research, educate and otherwise support the beekeeping industry across the country. This group of apiculturists converge every year at the CAPA annual general meeting. The 2026 meeting, held in Calgary, AB, highlighted the importance of this association and the extensive work members are involved in, within and outside of the group, to support Canada’s beekeeping industry. It is worthwhile highlighting the importance of ATTTA and all Tech Transfer programs participating in national groups such as CAPA and also attending events hosted by the Canadian Honey Council (CHC).

Logos of Canadian national beekeeping groups: Canadian Honey Council and Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists.

Members of CAPA engage in diverse activities in their roles outside of the professional association, such as regulatory aspects of honey bee management, honey bee health inspections, honey bee health and pollination research, collection of statistics, conservation initiatives to support wild pollinators, and development of cost-effective practices and tools to support a sustainable beekeeping industry. CAPA meets annually in conjunction with the Canadian Honey Council (CHC) as a joint, important communication and networking event.

The communication between ATTTA and national groups allows the Atlantic beekeeping industry to have a voice nationally. The Atlantic beekeeping industry in unique compared to other regions of Canada. For example, Newfoundland and Labrador has the privilege of being Varroa mite free, and protecting their industry should be a priority of all other Canadian provinces. Additionally, the commercial beekeeping business model for the Atlantic provinces is very different from other areas in Canada where most Atlantic commercial beekeepers prioritize wild blueberry pollination, and expected honey production is less than regions of Canada where commercial colonies pollinate canola plants. Making sure that the Atlantic region is well represented at national meetings is important for these reasons. Additionally, national meetings provide valuable information on new research, industry priorities and market trends which, when appropriate, ATTTA can circulate that information throughout the Atlantic region.

Although each Tech Transfer team does a great job at representing their industry at the national level it is also encouraged for individual beekeepers to get involved with national groups and training opportunities when possible. For example, there are two upcoming Canadian Honey Bee Health webinars taking place on March 18^th and March 25^th which are organized by the Canadian Honey Council and the Canadian Bee Tech Transfer Programs. 

Upcoming Canadian Honey Bee Health webinars taking place on March 18^th and March 25^th which are organized by the Canadian Honey Council and the Canadian Bee Tech Transfer Programs.

Overall, ATTTA, and all other Tech Transfer Programs, communicate and work with CAPA and the CHC on industry concerns that are shared across the country. Canadian beekeepers are fortunate to have both of these organizations working on their behalf. To learn about new research happening both nationally and internationally read next week’s blog which will highlight research shared at the National Beekeeping Convention. 

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

Early spring is an exciting time for beekeepers. Spring marks the start of a new beekeeping season, and for many beekeepers they cannot wait to start working in their apiaries. Across the Atlantic region beekeepers have started to engage in early spring activities, which means assessing how colonies faired during the winter months and supporting colony growth throughout the early beekeeping season. To learn more about supporting colonies in early spring, and for a general update on the outlook of the 2025 beekeeping season in Atlantic Canada, read this week’s blog as part of an ongoing series.

How to Care for Colonies in Early Spring (2025 Season Outlook)

The start of a new beekeeping season is both an exciting and important period of time for Atlantic Canada beekeepers. With the onset of spring, beekeepers are busy assessing winter survival of colonies, and conducting various activities that support colony growth during the early season.

During the earliest part of the beekeeping season, beekeepers aim to minimize opening hives, which can disrupt the winter cluster. However, this does not mean that beekeepers do not have work to do around the apiary. An important late winter to early spring activity is assessing food stores within colonies by hefting hives. Hefting is when a beekeeper will tilt the hive by lifting one side slightly off the ground which allows them to judge the weight of the colony. A colony within a double hive body is at risk of starvation if the hive weighs below 25 kg (55 lbs.). A beekeeper should emergency feed, at the first opportunity, any hives below the critical weight. For emergency feeding, fondant is preferred over sugar syrup because bees will not consume syrup if the temperature is below 10°C. Beekeepers should ensure that they are providing good quality fondant, which means the fondant is produced using an enzyme rather than an acid to invert sucrose (a complex sugar) into simple sugars (fructose and glucose) which are nutritionally available energy sources for bees. Fondants produced using an acid (typical of most recipes for homemade fondant) can increase the amount of a toxin (hydroxymethylfurfural) present within the feed. Good quality commercially available fondants will use enzymatic hydrolysis to produce the fondant.

Beekeeper hefting hive (©ATTTA2023).

For some beekeepers, early spring may be a time when they provide mite treatments. This is typical of Apivar® which requires a 56-day treatment period followed by a 14-day withdrawal period prior to placing honey supers. Beekeepers will want to allow for the full 70-days to occur prior to collecting early honey in May, which is why this treatment is started in early spring.  Beekeepers can take advantage of the first nice day in early spring (ambient temperature greater than 5°C and sunny) to quickly crack open hives and place Apivar® strips.  Beekeepers should remember that the instructions for Apivar® strips require a mid-treatment repositioning and scraping to both reposition the strips in the middle of the cluster and to remove wax and propolis, ensuring maximum contact between bees and the amitraz strips.

Another important early spring activity is providing pollen or pollen supplement (i.e. pollen patties) to increase colony growth during the early spring. Bees use pollen and supplemental sources of protein to rear brood, so providing either pollen or pollen patties will stimulate the colony to start rearing brood. Providing pollen in early spring has been researched by ATTTA and demonstrated to be economically beneficial to support colony growth. It is essential that beekeepers continue providing a pollen source once they begin the activity until either the colony no longer consumes the provided pollen or natural pollen becomes available. This is because once colonies are stimulated to start rearing brood they need enough pollen to support the colony’s growth.

There are some other key considerations for successful spring management. First, there is no rush to unwrap colonies in Atlantic Canada. It is beneficial to keep winter wrapping on until the beekeepers must remove it to gain better access into the colony (towards the end of April). The one winter protective measure that beekeepers do want to remove earlier in the season is shrew guards. Once early pollen becomes available to the bees it is important to remove the shrew guards so that bees foraging for pollen can successfully bring the pollen into the hive without having it knocked off by the shrew guards. Finally, honey bee health should be on a beekeeper’s mind from the very start of the season. This begins with the inspection of dead outs, and determining if any pests and/or diseases were the reason for colony loss. The ATTTA team is always willing to assist with pest and disease testing on dead outs, and on live colonies throughout the season. We encourage beekeepers to reach out about testing available. Pest and disease monitoring should continue throughout the season and always be a top priority for beekeepers. To learn more about inspecting dead outs, ATTTA will be providing an upcoming workshop in partnership with the Nova Scotia Beekeepers’ Association on May 2^nd.

The mentioned activities provide a brief highlight of the many tasks beekeepers do in early spring. Continue reading this blog series over the next several weeks to learn updates on the Atlantic beekeeping industry and for a 2025 season outlook across the region.

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

This past weekend the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture had the pleasure of participating in the 2024 Atlantic Bee Tour hosted by the New Brunswick Beekeepers Association in Bathurst and Charlo, NB. There were upwards of 50 attendees, with representation across the Atlantic region. The event consisted of blueberry field tours, a commercial beekeeper's meeting, presentations from industry representatives, a tour of the Charlo Honey House, and a variety of workshops for beekeepers to partake in. The Atlantic Bee Tour is an important event to our industry providing an opportunity for beekeepers to network and learn. Read this week’s blog to learn the details of this successful event.

Review of 2024 Atlantic Bee Tour

Beekeepers across the Atlantic region gathered in Bathurst, NB on Friday July 26^th for the 2024 Atlantic Bee Tour. The event started with a visit to a local wild blueberry field in Lavillette, NB owned by John Schenkels. Lots of discussion occurred around the fields, including topics such as pollination requirements of wild blueberries in New Brunswick, outlook of the 2024 wild blueberry season, and both the history/current operations of John Schenkels’ blueberry fields.

Later in the day a commercial beekeeper meeting took place in Bathurst, NB. Dr. Andrew Byers (The Tech Transfer Lead) gave an overview of the 2024 beekeeping season so far. Dr. Byers discussed the preliminary report from the Canadian Association for Professional Apiculturists (CAPA) on honey bee winter losses in Canada. Dr. Byers also discussed the Varroa mite research currently being done by the ATTTA Team. Next week’s blog will provide a mid-season summary on ATTTA’s Varroa mite research for 2024.

Michel Melanson (New Brunswick Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries) discussed details of the New Brunswick Wild Blueberry Pollination Strategy on behalf of the Joint Pollination Committee. The strategy is a 5-year plan that will work towards increasing pollination resources for New Brunswick blueberry producers by 60% from 47,000 to 75,000 pollinating units by spring of 2029. The strategy consists of five goals, including: increase the number of New Brunswick honey bee colonies available for pollination by 79%; increase the number of honey bee colonies available for importation by 74%; increase the number of alfalfa leafcutting bee gallons in New Brunswick by 27%; increase the number of bumble bee quads in New Brunswick by 22%; and support native bees as pollinators. Each goal has distinct initiatives to help achieve the goal by 2029. More details of the strategy can be found in the published executive summary on the Government of New Brunswick website.

The evening of Friday the 26^th consisted of 2 excellent presentations. Pascale Michaud (University of Moncton) discussed 3 projects that are occurring at the University. Dr. Michaud discussed how low concentrations of pesticides (particularly the insecticide imidacloprid) have impacts on the longevity of the western honey bee lifespan. The second project the University has been researching is the effect of overwintering on the honey bee immune system. The project looked at the difference in phagocytosis occurring in summer versus winter. Finally, the University of Moncton has been researching the relationship between colony infections and honey bee health. There were 50 colonies followed for approximately 1 year, and for each hive a swab was taken from the entrance and bottom board. The team assesses for a variety of honey bee diseases, and classifies the infection as “not detected”, “low level”, or “high level”. This service is also offered to beekeepers who are interested in knowing their honey bee disease profile through AgroGene Solutions.

Fletcher Colpitts (New Brunswick Chief Apiary Inspector, retired) gave a talk on the early days of beekeeping and pollination in New Brunswick. Mr. Colpitts discussed how beekeeping practices have changed from decade to decade, including the challenges that occurred once Varroa mites were introduced into New Brunswick beekeeping. He also discussed how pollination services continued to become more efficient with the introduction of new equipment/practices, and how his family’s operation changed over the years.

On Saturday July 27^th the Atlantic Bee Tour continued in Charlo, NB at the Charlo Honey House, which is owned and operated by Eric and Chantal Neil. Eric gave a tour of the honey house showing everyone the various extraction equipment and the variety of products sold at the shop. The Charlo Honey House is a local tourist attraction and is well worth a visit.

Brian Pond (NBBA) welcomes everyone to the Charlo Honey House for the day.

ATTTA Team (Greg Dugas and John MacDonald) checking out extraction equipment at the Charlo Honey House.

Karen Thurlow (Chief Apiary Inspector) gave a talk during the morning sharing all her tips and tricks to make beekeeping as efficient as possible.

Simultaneously, during the morning session, Nathan Mutch (President of New Brunswick Beekeepers Association) successfully performed a beard of bees, which had the audience highly entertained. If you have never seen a bee beard, be sure to look this up online. We sincerely thank Nathan for enduring multiple stings for the team, and we recommend serious caution to any beekeeper considering attempting this in their future.

Nathan Mutch (NBBA) with a beard of bees.

During the afternoon session various workshops occurred throughout the apiary. Kayla Gaudet and John MacDonald (Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture) gave a workshop on monitoring for Varroa mites throughout the beekeeping season. Nathan Mutch discussed how to make splits. Karen Thurlow gave a workshop on doing a hive inspection from top to bottom. Finally, Chris Lockhart (New Brunswick Beekeepers Association board member) discussed various systems of palletization.

Karen Thurlow (Chief Apiary Inspector) showing a group how to complete a full hive inspection.

Chris Lockhart (NBBA) with a 4-hive pallet.

On behalf of the ATTTA team we would like to thank everyone involved with making this year’s Bee Tour a success. Thank you to Brain Pond (New Brunswick Beekeepers Association) for all his work coordinating and running this event. Thank you to other NBBA members including Nathan Mutch and Chris Lockhart for all their work educating and mentoring beekeepers throughout the event. We would like to thank John Schenkels for allowing the group to tour his fields, and our other hosts Eric and Chantel Neil for the use of the Charlo Honey House for Saturday’s events. Finally, we would like to thank all of the presenters throughout the event, including Michel Melanson, Pascal Michaud, Fletcher Colpitts and Karen Thurlow - we appreciation the knowledge each of you bring to these events. We hope to see everyone at the Atlantic Bee Tour 2026.

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 abyers@perennia.ca

As discussed in previous blogs, the 2022-2023 winter has been unusual for Atlantic Canada, and uncommonly warm weather may have repercussions for resident honey bees. In this week’s blog, we will discuss spring beekeeping preparations with a focus on the potential implications of warm winter weather on colony management. 

Spring Preparation

The 2022 fall was distinct in Atlantic Canada, with ambient temperatures remaining warm as November progressed. This extended the timeframe during which honey bees could consume and cure sugar syrup for the winter to come. However, as the feeding period eventually ended, sporadic warm days persisted.  This unusual weather created more potential flying days for honey bees than seasonally typical. This means that foragers may have been out flying and expending energy without the reward of nectar to support their energy use. 

It is important, now, to assess the food stores remaining in your colonies. This can be done most easily and efficiently through the heft test. By lifting colonies individually, beekeepers can assess how heavy they are and estimate the remaining food supply. To lift hives, tilt them forward while gripping the bottom board. A luggage scale can also be used for a more precise measure. When food stores of a colony start to dip below 10kgs (20lbs) and there is no impending nectar flow, it is time to consider emergency feeding. An empty, double Langstroth hive, complete with 10 frames and honey bees, weighs around 15kgs (35lbs). Therefore, when an overwintering hive weighs around 25kg, it is time to feed. 

In cold temperatures, less than 10°C, honey bees cannot consume and process liquid sugar syrup. Consequently, feeding below this temperature threshold requires a solid sugar form. Fondant is the most nutritionally available feeding option for a hungry winter colony. Best practice is to buy commercially prepared fondant. If you do choose to make your own, be sure to not overheat the sugar because this can be harmful to bees and lead to digestion issues. Once you begin to feed a colony, continue to monitor them until the nectar flow starts in earnest with the blooming of dandelions. Before this flow, early spring feeding using 1:1 sugar-water syrup can begin when daily temperatures start to exceed 10°C.

Honey bees returning to a wrapped hive with early spring pollen. Remember to take shrew guards off once you see this, so that pollen is not scraped off the legs of returning foragers!

In cold temperatures, less than 10°C, honey bees cannot consume and process liquid sugar syrup. Consequently, feeding below this temperature threshold requires a solid sugar form. Fondant is the most nutritionally available feeding option for a hungry winter colony. Best practice is to buy commercially prepared fondant. If you do choose to make your own, be sure to not overheat the sugar because this can be harmful to bees and lead to digestion issues. Once you begin to feed a colony, continue to monitor them until the nectar flow starts in earnest with the blooming of dandelions. Before this flow, early spring feeding using 1:1 sugar-water syrup can begin when daily temperatures start to exceed 10°C.

Spring varroa mite management is important, as well. Varroa mites are a major issue in beekeeping and led to devastating overwintering losses in 2022 (Ferland, Wilson, and Nasr 2022). Using an integrated pest management approach to keep varroa mite populations low throughout the beekeeping season is the best way to manage mites in honey bee colonies. This begins with monitoring as early as possible in the spring and continuing monthly monitoring throughout the season. When mite levels exceed the economic treatment threshold, treat colonies and test again to ensure the treatment was successful. Alternating management options is important for maintaining miticide integrity and delaying varroa mite resistance to powerful synthetic treatments, such as Apivar®. See the ATTTA factsheet Varroa Mite Management Options for Atlantic Canada for more information. 

So far, ATTTA has heard positive reports from local Atlantic beekeepers checking their colonies. Remember that productive, healthy colonies during the peak summer season are a reflection of diligent management year-round!

References
Ferland, Julie, Geoff Wilson, and Medhat Nasr. 2022. “Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists Statement on Honey Bee Wintering Losses in Canada (2022).” Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists.

Fundamentals of Beekeeping!

Registration is open for the Fundamentals of Beekeeping with ATTTA and Dalhousie Extended Learning! Click here to learn more and register. We hope to see you there!

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 abyers@perennia.ca

With the light at the end of the winter tunnel appearing, beekeepers are thinking towards the spring season.  We are anxious to get back into our hives but in the meantime, there are meetings and events happening across the Atlantic region to keep beekeepers engaged.  The most recent of these was held last weekend in Truro, Nova Scotia.  A well-attended and efficiently run AGM for the Nova Scotia Beekeepers Association was a great success and a welcome return to in-person attendance.

Nova Scotia Beekeepers Annual General Meeting 2023

The 2023 meeting of the Nova Scotia Beekeepers Association was a return to in-person events after a few years of isolation.  The opportunity to reacquaint friends and colleagues was appreciated by everyone, as was the chance to meet new beekeepers.  Friday night was a gathering of around 30 commercial beekeepers.  The discussion focused on specific challenges for the commercial sector.  The main themes of the discussion were around honey bee health and supply for pollination.

NSBA president, Tyler Hobbs, welcomes everyone to the 2023 AGM (Duncan Wetzel, NSBA Vice President in foreground).

Saturday had a full agenda of speakers and presentations.  The day kicked off with a welcome from the NSBA president, followed by a presentation from the NS Provincial Apiarist, Jason Sproule.  An excellent overview of the past year in beekeeping was provided. Jason shared statistics demonstrating the growth in numbers of new beekeepers and overall colonies in the province in 2022.  ATTTA followed Jason with a short overview of all the team’s work over the past year.

A presentation entitled CFIA for Dummies, from Margaret Cornect, provided practical information for beekeepers around the rules for selling honey and related products.  Margaret shared her experience, which is significant, and provided advice for anyone producing products for sale to the public.  The practicality of Margaret’s talk was directly beneficial for all beekeepers on a subject which many find complex.

A range of trade stands, including ATTTA, were included in the NSBA AGM!

The rest of the day saw excellent presentations on the work of the Canadian Honey Council, Perennia and the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia.  John Murray led the meeting in a moment of silence for beekeepers lost to us in the past year.  He also presented a lifetime achievement award to Gary Smeltzer.  The contribution and dedication of Gary to the NS beekeeping industry was unanimously recognized by all in attendance.  Congratulations to Gary!

Mr. Gary Smeltzer, awarded the NSBA Lifetime Achievement award.

Both Tom Cosman and Rodney Reid shared their personal journeys in beekeeping.  Tom is a well-known Nova Scotia beekeeper and co-owner of Cosman and Whidden Honey.  His sincere passion for beekeeping and pride in being part of a multigenerational business came through in his presentation.  All those present were attentive and appreciative, as Tom’s beekeeping story was told.  A similar personal narrative was shared from Rodney Reid of Newfoundland.  Rodney’s presentation completed the day and provided a different prospective on beekeeping.  As a relatively young industry, beekeeping in NL faces unique challenges but the participants from that province are without doubt dedicated to the craft. Rodney is an example of the enthusiastic, progressive industry which is developing in that province.  It is always motivational to hear such success stories, especially for new beekeepers making decision on what path they will take.

Remember the next meeting in our region will be the New Brunswick Beekeepers Association AGM,  March 10 & 11.  Details can be found on their website: nbba.ca

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 abyers@perennia.ca

At this year’s Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA) annual general meeting, the provincial apiarists from across the country presented a report to relay pertinent beekeeping information from the year past. In this week’s blog, we will overview the key messages from the Atlantic provinces.

A Year in Review for Atlantic Beekeepers

The provincial reports begin with a basic overview of industry statistics. Figures reported for the Atlantic provinces are summarized in the table below. Registering as a beekeeper is mandatory in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but not in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. As such, the numbers for these two provinces are based on estimates through the experience of the provincial apiarist. These official reports may be conservative figures, as members of the PEI and NL beekeepers associations speculate there is more than 100 and 200 beekeepers in these provinces, respectively. Regulated beekeeper registration will be valuable to gaining insight into the complete regional the honey bee industry. In reporting on the number of honey bee colonies, the distinction of “honey producing colonies” does not include colonies which are exclusively used for pollination services. New Brunswick has many colonies that are managed as such, which is why both figures have been provided. Honey yields were generally average in the 2022 season across the Atlantic provinces. Winter mortality was also relatively normal, which is remarkable given the average overwintering morality coming out of winter in 2022 was high at 45.5% (Ferland, Wilson, and Nasr 2022).

Unusually high overwintering losses this year were primarily attributed to inadequate Varroa mite control. Prince Edward Island, unfortunately, did suffer from high winter losses and the majority of beekeepers have stated this to be the cause. Provincial apiarist, Cameron Menzies, has gathered that inadequate varroa mite control in the province is due to improper treatment. Beekeepers treating with partial dosages, for example. This is an issue for controlling Varroa mite populations in a honey bee colony but also detrimental for maintaining product efficacy. There is currently concern about the efficacy of Apivar, our primary miticide used in Canadian beekeeping, and treating colonies inconsistently with product label instructions can accelerate mite resistance development. 

Varroa mites are by no means a plague for Prince Edward Island, alone. New Brunswick provincial apiarist, Chris Maund, and Chief Apiary Inspector, Karen Thurlow, have warned that varroa mites are also the most significant honey bee health challenge for New Brunswick beekeepers because of the viruses that they vector, namely chronic bee paralysis and deformed wing virus. As such, they urge beekeepers to increase varroa mite monitoring to monthly and even more frequently in the summertime. All Atlantic beekeepers would be wise to heed this advice.

The good news varroa mite story remains in Newfoundland and Labrador! Newfoundland beekeeping has increased, and beekeepers have successfully managed to maintain their unique varroa-free status. Provincial apiarist, Karen Kennedy, has also reported the province to remain free of American Foulbrood Disease (AFB) and European Foulbrood Disease (EFB). We can all help Newfoundland preserve this disease-free status by respecting the honey bee importation laws. It is illegal to import any honey bees or honey bee products into Newfoundland without proper authorization, which is extremely limited. Bees and bee products cannot be imported to Newfoundland and Labrador for regular beekeeping purposes!

New highway sign to alert travelers of honey be importation laws.

Following regulations regarding honey bee pests and disease is tremendously important for the regional beekeeping industry. Biosecurity in beekeeping cannot be exclusively practiced by a select few producers, but must be practiced by all due to the freedom that is innate to keeping bees. Honey bees can and will travel between apiaries and enter the hives of other beekeepers. Atlantic beekeepers have been doing well to practice regional biosecurity! In 2022, AFB was found in Nova Scotia and PEI, but proper precautions were taken such that the provincial apiarist was notified and able to respond to contain the threat. Likewise, small hive beetle (SHB) was detected in New Brunswick but was managed and the spread contained. 

The final pest that was emphasized in these reports was by the Nova Scotia provincial apiarist, Jason Sproule. Nova Scotia beekeepers reported excessive shrew damage in 2022, and he expects that their impact was even greater. Shrews persist across the Atlantic provinces, and proper measures need to be followed to protect colonies from these predators. For example, overwintering colonies need to be fastened with a shrew guard while honey bees have the potential to be in cluster. 

Looking back at the year past is a great way to improve management for the upcoming beekeeping season. Regular monitoring, ongoing education of pests and disease, and reacting according to best practice will help the Atlantic Provinces maintain healthy and productive honey bee colonies!

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 abyers@perennia.ca

The year ended with unusually warm temperatures in Atlantic Canada. Colder weather and snow are starting to settle in, but the impacts of late-season warm weather may have lasting repercussions within our honey bee colonies. In this week’s blog, we will discuss the dangers of winter starvation and how to care for your honey bees by providing emergency food resources. 

Emergency Feeding

Traditionally in Atlantic Canada, the rule of thumb has been to have honey bee colonies wrapped in preparation for winter by Remembrance Day. This year, warm fall temperatures lasted well beyond November 11^th. During November in Truro, Nova Scotia (where ATTTA is based!), daily high temperatures were as warm as 15°C with an average daily high of 9.8°C (AccuWeather 2022). Historically, the average daily high for November in Truro is 7.2°C (Government of Canada 2022). Furthermore, if 10°C is considered to be the minimum flying temperature for honey bees, theoretically, there were 14 flying days! This does not consider apiary microclimates, which likely allowed for even more honey bee flight. December was warmer than normal, as well. The average daily high was 4.2°C, compared to the normal average of 1.5°C for Truro in this month (AccuWeather 2022, Government of Canada 2022). Temperatures reached 15°C and there were at least seven potential honey bee flying days! 

Honey bees are warm-weather creatures. High ambient temperatures allow colonies to continue activity. However, colony activities are energy demanding and in November and December, Atlantic Canadian vegetation offers little to no forage resources for honey bees. This means that foragers could have flown in search of food but returned with none; expending unnecessary energy and unable to replace those resources within the hive. Colonies could, potentially, have continued brood rearing later into the season, as well.  Brood rearing generally stops when temperatures are steadily less than 10°C and when resources begin to dwindle (Sammataro and Avitabile 2011). With an average daily high temperature of 9.8°C in November, it is possible that the brood period continued later than expected. Brood rearing is another energy taxing activity, which would further use up the limited resources in a fall honey bee colony!

Beekeeper performing the heft test ©ATTTA

Fortunately, as managed livestock, honey bees have beekeepers to support them. It will be important to play an active role in supporting the food reserves of honey bee colonies this winter, because there is a greater risk that stores will be quickly depleted. The simplest way to tell if your colonies have food available is by hefting individual colonies. Perform regular heft tests this winter to monitor the weight of your colonies. At the beginning of the winter, colonies in Atlantic Canada typically need about 30-35kg of stored feed to survive the until spring. If you feel that your hives are already quite light or are losing weight fast, it may be important to provide emergency feed to your colonies. 

Below around 10°C, honey bees cannot reduce liquid feed into a usable, storable food source. Therefore, emergency feeding in the winter depends on solid sugar forms. Fondant is the most common form of emergency honey bee feed. It is a specially prepared mixture of a particular form of sugar and water in solid form that can be placed within the honey bee colony for easy access to quick calories. Fondant patties can be made at home or, as is the recommended option, purchased as preprepared feed at beekeeping stores. Patties should be placed as near to the cluster as possible, for accessibility. They can be placed on a candy board feeder or on a piece of newspaper laid on the top bars of the colony. To feed a large amount, a feeder rim can be placed on top of the hive body to create more space. Once you have started emergency feeding, it is important to continue monitoring that colony.

Beekeepers are currently dealing with unprecedented weather and climate which will have, yet to be determined, implication on honey bee health.  Through the process of adapting to climate change, vigilance and precaution will be necessary! Take care to remember your bees this winter and provision them with additional food sources, if necessary! 

References

AccuWeather (2022) Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada Monthly Weather. Available at: https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/truro/b2n/november-weather/54699?year=2022 (Accessed: January 17, 2022)

Government of Canada (2022) Canadian Climate Normals 1981-2010 Station Data. Available at: https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?searchType=stnProv&lstProvince=NS&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=6491&dispBack=0 (Accessed: January 17, 2022)

Sammataro, D. and Avitabile, A., (1998) The Beekeeper's Handbook. Cornell University Press.

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 abyers@perennia.ca

In Atlantic Canada, honey bees (and beekeepers!) endure long winters. Many of us wrap and winterize standard Langstroth hive bodies with different insulating materials to help colonies survive the cold winter months. However, what if it was possible to house our bees using a more insulating material all the time? Beekeepers currently have additional options and a choice of technologically advanced materials for housing colonies. One such novel material is polyurethane honey bee hives.

Overwintering in polyurethane hives

Polyurethane hives are an alternative to traditional, wooden Langstroth bee hives. Similar to Langstroth hives, polyurethane hives use standard size, removable frames in vertically stacking bodies. They are advantageous because of their lightweight, insulating walls. High insulation value offers potential to support honey bee colonies kept in cold climates. During the winter, colonies are primarily focused on regulating cluster temperature at around 34-35°C. This is an energy demanding task, at a time during which foraging for food resources is not possible. Supporting colonies with insulation can reduce energy needs, much like insulating a home reduces heating costs. This can extend food stores, which is a great relief in the spring when beekeepers are anxiously awaiting the first nectar bearing flowers.

Researchers in Maryland recently performed a study to compare the overwintering capacity of polyurethane hives with standard, soft-wood Langstroth hives (Alburaki and Corona 2022). Eighteen double deep, 10-frame hives, evenly divided between polyurethane and wooden, were standardized for bees and food stores before the winter period from December to March. Sensors were placed within each hive to monitor temperature and humidity, not of the honey bee cluster, but of the surrounding hive cavity.  Polyurethane hives maintained significantly higher internal temperatures than wooden Langstroth hives, as well as less drastic temperature oscillation between day and night. Polyurethane hives had an average temperature of approximately 10.20°C, compared to unwrapped, wooden hives at 9.73°C. During the monitoring period, outdoor apiary temperatures ranged from -10 to 20°C, with an average of 0°C.  

Another challenge for honey bees in the winter is maintaining optimal hive humidity. Polyurethane hives maintained an average humidity more preferable to honey bees at 52.05%, compared to 63.50% average humidity within wooden hives. Polyurethane hives have vents in the top and bottom that provide valuable airflow. Comparatively, the wooden hives revealed a wider range of humidity between night and day, demonstrating wood’s propensity to absorb moisture during cold, nighttime temperatures and then release moisture as the day warms. Such oscillation of internal conditions may cause honey bees to use more energy to maintain an optimal environment, thereby consuming more food. 

It is important to recognize that the Langstroth hives in this study were not winterized. In preparation of long, cold winters it is typical for Atlantic beekeepers to insulate hives to some capacity, whether it is a foam board between the inner and outer cover or bubble-wrap around the outside hive body. Though this study does not provide insight as to the advantage of polyurethane hives compared to wrapped, insulated Langstroth hives, it does present a modern option for overwintering colonies. Polyurethane hives may be an alternative technique for northern beekeeping, in which external wrapping during the winter is not necessary. 

Ben Cornect’s nuc yard. Polyurethane nucs are organized as six per pallet. ©ATTTA

At the Atlantic Bee Tour this summer in Nova Scotia, we saw an example of one beekeeper who is already taking advantage of the high insulating properties of polyurethane bee hives. Ben Cornect showed beekeepers his nuc yard, where he has begun successful experimentation with overwintering nucs in polyurethane hives! As innovation in beekeeping continues, it is worthwhile to consider your own operation and how new technologies might serve your beekeeping goals. 

References

Mohamed Alburaki & Miguel Corona (2022) Polyurethane honey bee hives provide better winter insulation than wooden hives, Journal of Apicultural Research, 61:2, 190-196, DOI: 10.1080/00218839.2021.1999578

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 abyers@perennia.ca

With a reputation for delicious wildflower honey and a prolific wild blueberry industry, Atlantic Canada has bountiful opportunities for beekeepers! Whether you are continuing on your beekeeping journey in the new year or just getting started, membership with your provincial beekeeper association can be a valuable tool.

A New Year for Beekeeping!

All Atlantic beekeeper associations are open for 2023 membership renewal and registration! Membership to each group is unique, but all present a community of beekeepers with a breadth of knowledge. Associations typically come together a few times during the year for small workshops and a culminating annual convention. These meetings provide interesting educational and networking opportunities! For example, involvement in your provincial association is a great way to connect with a mentor or start a pollination relationship with a wild blueberry producer. Associations are also an excellent platform for broadening your beekeeping education. For example, annual meetings typically include guest speakers presenting on relevant new research or offering insight into their own beekeeping experiences. 

©ATTTA

Provincial associations can provide useful services and tools, as well. For example, members may organize as a group to place bulk orders on new queen bees for the spring or sugar syrup for fall feeding. Some groups offer access to a shared tools such as a honey extractor. Get involved with your association to find out what resources are available for you. 

Follow the links below to learn more about how to join or renew your provincial beekeepers association membership for the 2023 beekeeping season!

New Brunswick Beekeepers Association

Newfoundland and Labrador Beekeepers Association

Nova Scotia Beekeepers’ Association

Prince Edward Island Beekeepers Association

ATTTA Winter Workshop

All members of the Atlantic provincial beekeepers associations are invited to attend ATTTA’s second winter workshop on January 24^th. This is a free, virtual event held from 7pm to 8:30pm where we will discuss how to prepare for wild blueberry pollination services!

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 abyers@perennia.ca