B.C. beekeepers hit hard by winter losses difficult, reporting, honeybee, Weather, weather

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B.C. beekeepers hit hard by winter losses
Weather and pests conspire to kill honeybee colonies, making it the worst die-off rate in the last five years

B.
.C. beekeepers are recovering this spring from the worst winter bee colony die-off in years. After five difficult years, apiarists are reporting losses ranging from 20 to 100 per cent due to disease and cold, wet weather.

“It’s not looking good right now — this is about the same as our poorest year [five years ago],” said John Gibeau, who maintains 2,000 bee colonies.

“We have about 50 per cent of our hives in good shape and ready for blueberry pollination next month. About 30 per cent are weak and might be ready later in the year, and 20 per cent have died.”

Beekeepers in the Fraser Valley were hit five years ago by a massive die-off. Last year, Vancouver Island beekeepers suffered losses of about 90 per cent.

The long-term average for colony loss is about 15 per cent, according to B.C. government apiculturist Paul van Westendorp.

Extreme weather and parasites are known to influence colony losses, but scientists are still struggling to understand less obvious causes that are affecting bee populations around the world, a mysterious ailment dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder.

Gibeau, who runs the Honeybee Centre in Surrey, says a missed fall feeding, unusually cold winter weather and Varroa mites were likely to blame for his losses.

“That all combined and did them in,” he said.

Gibeau has invested $60,000 in new colonies from New Zealand and Australia to replaced his losses. Imported colonies cost about $125 to $150 each.

With colonies now recovering in incubators, Gibeau is confident he can fulfil his contracts to pollinate berry and fruit crops.

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The provincial government estimates the value of commercial pollination to B.C.’s agricultural output at $300 million a year. Government figures for actual colony losses across B.C. won’t be available until mid-April, according to Greater Vancouver/Fraser Valley zone apiary inspector Jacquie Bunse.

Vancouver Island bee-keeper Grant Stringer has lost 50 per cent of his hives since the end of last year’s growing season, mainly to predation by wasps.

Stringer keeps most of his hives in Saanich near vineyards that left their crop to rot on the vine due to mildew last summer, which attracted huge numbers of wasps.

“Wasps would much rather eat bees than rotting grapes,” he said. “I lost 100 hives in the fall to wasps and then I lost another 50 over the winter. That’s about half of my hives.”

“That’s farming,” he laughed. Like Gibeau, Stringer is also retooling with imported colonies.

Coquitlam apiarist John Simpson wasn’t laughing about his winter losses.

“I’ve lost all my hives,” said Simpson, owner of The Country Bees Apiaries. “A friend of mine has 11 left out of 28.”

Simpson has been hit hard by winter losses in each of the last five years and lost his last few hives this winter.

He plans to take a hiatus. He had to replace 32 of his 40 colonies after a massive die-off five years ago and immediately lost 10 replacement colonies.

“I’m taking a step back from it and regrouping,” he said. “You can only throw money at it for so long.”

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John Gibeau, President of the Honeybee Centre in Surrey works on a live hive on Wednesday on Friday March 23, 2011. Due to a variety of factors, fungus, weather and mites pollinators were hit hard by honeybee colony losses this winter.