Ontario’s war of words over insecticidal seed treatments got testy once again this morning.
The Ontario Beekeepers’ Association issued a press release today, responding to a Grain Farmers of Ontario statement on insecticides and bees last week.
In late July the Grain Farmers commented on a Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists report, indicating 58 percent of Ontario bee colonies didn’t survive the winter.
The Grain Farmers attributed the high rate of winter losses to the long and cold winter.
“It was an unpredictable winter and in talking with beekeepers, some hives exhausted all their nutritional resources before the weather was warm enough to open the hives, resulting in higher ‘winterkill’ numbers,” said Henry Van Ankum, Grain Farmers of Ontario chair.
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The Grain Farmers rejected the notion that neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides used as seed treatments on corn, soybeans and canola, were directly responsible for the colony losses.
“In Ontario, bees face several health risks including varroa mites, disease, lack of nutritional forage, and potential exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides,” the Grain Farmers said. “There has been no scientific link made between any one of these health risks and winterkill.”
The OBA said the Grain Farmers and Crop Life Canada continue to “perpetuate the myth” that there isn’t a direct link between neonicotinoids and colony health.
“Mr. Van Ankum’s assertion that there is no science linking bee health risks with winter losses is preposterous,” the OBA said. “Winter is a stress factor for bees that magnifies any endemic issues present in the hive. A hive that goes into a winter weakened by the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides will severely limit its chances of survival.”
The Grain Farmers said Ontario’s bee industry is growing, despite the notion that neonicotinoids are a threat to Canada’s bee population.
Ontario had 75,000 bee colonies in the fall of 2008 and 100,000 in the fall of 2013.
“The number of bee colonies has steadily grown, with an increase of 10,000 hives since 2012 when the concerns of neonicotinoids were raised in Ontario,” the Grain Farmers said.
The OBA said those numbers are not indicative of industry health.
“Beekeepers are losing hives to neonicotinoid poisoning but making up hives in the spring by dividing surviving colonies to offset the decline in colony numbers,” the OBA said. “However, as compared to overwintered colonies, making up for losses means beekeepers suffer the financial burden of labour, new queens, the replacement of contaminated comb and significantly less productive colonies.”
