The opening line of an article posted on CBC News’s website last May summarized a commonly held belief about honeybees: “The collapse of bee colonies nationwide (in Canada) is well-established and beyond dispute.” A provocative lead, but not true. Statistics Canada data shows that honeybee colony numbers have increased steadily from 637,920 colonies in 2011 […] Read more
Tag Archives Bees
Neonics benefit corn, soybean growers: PMRA
Health Canada has determined that neonicotinoid seed treatments do provide economic value for Canadian corn and soybean growers. For corn, the national economic benefit is $74.2 to $83.3 million annually. “Or about 3.2 to 3.6 percent of the national farmgate value for corn in 2013,” the PMRA said. “The majority of these benefits appeared to […] Read more
PMRA finds neonics do not threaten bee health
Health Canada says seed coated with imidacloprid, an insecticide known as a neonicotinoid, does not pose a risk to bee health. Scientists with the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, which oversees agricultural pesticides, released a preliminary report today on imidacloprid and its potential impact on pollinators. The agency said there was “no potential risk to bees,” […] Read more
EPA finds neonic Gaucho threatens bees
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found that imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide, poses a risk to bee colonies. In a preliminary risk assessment released this morning, the EPA said imidacloprid, a Bayer product with the brand name Gaucho, is a threat to bee hives when imidacloprid residues on a crop reach 25 parts per billion. […] Read more
Bees used to defeat crop pests
Mainstream television networks and news magazines don’t normally report on innovations in pest management. However, MacLean’s, Global News and other media outlets have reported on a Canadian company with a unique method for defeating crop pests. BVT, a Mississauga firm specializing in bee vectoring technology, has developed a system that uses bumblebees to deliver microbial […] Read more
News coverage of honeybee numbers questioned
The opening line of an article posted on CBC News’s website last May summarized a commonly held belief about honeybees: “The collapse of bee colonies nationwide (in Canada) is well-established and beyond dispute.” A provocative lead, but not true. Statistics Canada data shows that honeybee colony numbers have increased steadily from 637,920 colonies in 2011 […] Read more
Beekeepers produce bumper honey crop
Canadian beekeepers had a fantastic honey crop this year, as national production is the second highest in the last 15 years. Statistics Canada, in a release issued this morning, said apiarists produced 95.3 million pounds of honey, up from 85.5 million last year and 76.5 million in 2013. Alberta was responsible for most of the […] Read more
VIDEO: New hive design makes honey collection easier
There’s a buzz in the beekeeping world about a new method of extracting honey from the hive. The Flow Hive is a patented split cell technology developed by Stuart and Cedar Anderson of New South Wales, Australia. The father and son apiarists said they have spent more than 10 years developing their flow frames with […] Read more
Urban hobbyists send apiarist numbers up
The cost of honey may be sparking interest
The number of beekeepers in Canada has increased 18 percent since 2010. The country now has 8,777 apiarists compared to 7,403 in 2010, according to a Statistics Canada report on honey production, released Dec. 9. The increase may be good news for bees, but national honey production isn’t on the rise. Canada produced 81.6 million […] Read more
Ontario plans to limit neonic seed treatments
RIDGETOWN, Ont. — Ontario could become the first jurisdiction in North America to limit neonicotinoid seed treatment use if the province’s agriculture minister holds to a statement issued last week. “Our intention is to move away from the widespread, indiscriminate use of neonicotinoid-based pesticides,” Jeff Leal said. “It is my intention that we will consult […] Read more
