Vancouver Island beekeepers keep eye on colonies as Prairies report massive winter die-offs
CTV
Saanich, B.C., beekeeper Bill Fosdick is about to inspect his backyard hive. It consists of about 1,000 bees.
He's inspecting his bees to see if they've been infected by the varroa destructor mite, a tiny insect which will attach itself to the larva of the bees and slowly weaken some to the point of death.
The mites have become a problem for beekeepers in Canada's Prairie provinces.
"There are certainly producers in the province (of Saskatchewan) who are reporting big loss numbers in the 60 to 70 to 80 per cent of their colonies this year," said Nathan Wendell, president of the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Development Commission.
Back in Saanich, Foswick says his hive appears healthy. His worry though is that the problem on the Prairies could make its way out west.
"One of the things it does is that it opens a doorway to other viruses and infections that can affect the bees," said the beekeeper.
The Prairies could be referred to as our country's breadbasket. Three quarters of the honey produced in Canada comes from the Prairies and bees are also the primary pollinators of food crops such as wheat.
"So far the indications for British Columbia seem to be quite promising," said Paul Van Westendorp, the provincial apiculturist of British Columbia.
But that’s not to say we're out of the woods yet.
