Beekeepers commission president predicts up to 30 per cent colony loss this year

A killer mite could affect honey production in Saskatchewan this year, according to the president of the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Development Commission.

Saskatchewan typically produces about 20 million pounds of honey in a year, but the aptly named Varroa destructor mites could kill up to 30 per cent of all colonies, Nathan Wendell said Tuesday.

“(It’s) a parasitic mite that feeds on the fat bodies of bees and young bees,” Wendell said. “It’s something that we’ve been dealing with here in Canada for quite a number of years.

“The Varroa mite weakens the hive and brings in viruses that can cause stress to the hive, weaken it or cause death of that particular colony.”

While there are chemicals and organic acids to try to get rid of the mites, conditions last year were perfect for them to reproduce. And that’s affected some colonies this year.

“With an early, warm spring, the bees started to develop early,” said Wendell. “That carried on throughout the summer and into late fall, where bees remained active into September and even October, which is later than we would see in a typical season. So that was a contributing factor in allowing mites to have that extra time for reproduction within the colonies.”

Frequent inspection and monitoring of bee colonies to assess for disease and pests is also critical. Wendell says while up to about one-third of colonies could die in Saskatchewan, the picture is even more grim in other provinces.

“Manitoba is looking at or predicting a 40 to 45 per cent loss of colonies,” he said. “Alberta, I believe, is at the 45 to 50 per cent range and Quebec is predicting as high as 50 to 60 per cent losses this year.”

Many beekeepers have done an initial assessment so far, but they’re waiting for warmer weather for more thorough assessment.