The federal government is investing $1 million to monitor the health of bees in Canada.
The project, announced yesterday, will document the presence of bee diseases, pests like varroa mites and pesticide residues in apiaries across the country.
The Beekeepers Commission of Alberta will lead the four year study, which will help entomologists and beekeepers develop baseline data for bee health in Canada.
“This project, which will benefit the Canadian beekeeping industry, will document the distribution and intensity of known and potential diseases, pests and parasites in Canada’s commercial beekeeping industry, and where this information is required to further science-based solutions,” said Grant Hicks, beekeepers commission president.
Right now, honeybee surveillance is done at the provincial and regional level. The project will share and co-ordinate the provincial data on a national scale.
