Brandon bureau
Prairie beekeepers enjoyed the winter of 2015.
The Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists, which tracks bee colony losses and releases survey data every July, said only 11 percent of bee hives on the Prairies failed to make it through the winter.
Most apiarists say a 15 percent loss is economically acceptable.
Across Canada, the survey of 443 beekeepers determined that 16.4 percent of bee colonies didn’t survive the winter or the hives were too small to be viable.
For the second year in a row, losses in Ontario were significantly higher than other provinces. Ontario beekeepers lost 37.8 percent of their hives.
Bee colony losses, percentage
2013 2014 2015
Ontario 37.9 58.0 37.8
Manitoba 46.4 24.0 12.0
Sask. 27.0 18.9 10.4
Alberta 23.8 18.5 10.6
Canada 28.6 25.0 16.4
Source: Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists
