Canadian Honey CouncilName Company Address City Province Postal Code Phone Fax Email Visa #...

20

03

4November 2003

Vol 16 # 4

www.honeycouncil.ca

Canadian Honey Council

Name

Company

Address

City

Province Postal Code

Phone

Fax

Email

Visa #

Expiration date

Please make cheque payable to theCanadian Honey Council and mail to:

CANADIAN HONEY COUNCILSuite 236, 234-5149

Country Hills Blvd NWCalgary, AB T3A 5K8Fax 403-547-4317

Membership

Basic: (0 - 99 colonies)..............$ 40

Intermediate: (100 - 499)..........$ 75

Sustaining: ( 500+ colonies)......$150

Industry ...................................$200

CHC is the national organization ofthe beekeeping industry. It is thevital link between beekeeper asso-ciations, governments and provin-cial apiculturists.

Beekeepers in business can claimCHC membership and travel to theannual meeting as eligible businessexpenses for tax purposes.

Editor: Heather Clay

Design and Production:Rudy Gelderblom

Translations:Hélène Courtemanche

Hivelights is published quarterly(Feb./May/Aug./Nov.) by the CanadianHoney Council.

Hivelights goes free of charge tomembers of the CHC. Non-membersubscriptions are welcomed: $30/year(U.S.) outside Canada. Deadline forsubmissions: six weeks prior topublication (i.e. Dec. 15th for Feb.issue). A free sample copy will be senton request.

The opinions expressed in the articles

printed in Hivelights are those of the

authors, and do not imply the endorsement

of the Canadian Honey Council for the

promotion of any product, goods or services

mentioned in this publication unless

specifically stated.

Publication Mail Sales

Product Agreement # 40031644ISSN 1489-730X

CANADIAN HONEY COUNCILSuite 236, 234 -5149 Country Hills Blvd. NW

Calgary, AB T3A [email protected]

www.honeycouncil.ca(403) 208 7141

Join the CHC and support beekeeping in Canada

EasternJim Peirce, Kawartha Bee Supplies

R.R.2, Lindsay, ONPh 705-324-8633, Fax 324-5203

Guy Anderson, Kincardine ON 519-396-3529Central

MacGregor Wax Works, MacGregor MB 204-685-3080Manitoba Honey Co-op, 625 Roseberry St. Winnipeg MB, 204-783-2240

WestAlberta Honey Co-op, 70 alberta Ave.

Spruce Grove AB, 780-962-5573Stawn’s Honey, Vernon BC 250-542-9977 J.J. Bee Supplies 5693-176 St.,

Surrey BC Ph 604-574-3400 Fax 604-574-9728Flying Dutchman 6124 Metral Drive,

Nanaimo BC ph/fax 250-390-2313

Next Issue:No silver bullet for varroa

Queen Import issues

L’Abeille

H i v e L i g h t sNovember 2003 Vol 16 #3

Photography & illustrations:Cover..............................................Dean GoodwinBoard of Directors..............................Billy Burgos Art of Aganetha Dyck ....................Dean GoodwinBee O Sphere......................................Ian Bigham Beaverlodge ......................................Heather ClayDon Dixon...................................Celeste HowlandDon Nelson ...........................................Allen DickMark Winston............................SFU media centrePeter Keating......................................Peter DillonChokecherry Fruit .........community.webshots.com

Table of Contents

3 CHC Report................................................................................Heather Clay

4 Provincial reports

8 Importation of Honeybee Queens from Continental US ..............Dr. Sarah Kahn

8 Non Standard Glass Containers.........................................Don Dixon

8 Importation de reines de la zone continentale des É.-U. ...............Dr. Sarah Kahn

10 Queen Importation from Continental USA: Canada at a Crossroads.....................................................................................Heather Clay

10 Bad Beekeeping................................................................................Ron Miksha

15 EPA Registers new class of insecticide: Sucrose Octanoate esters ..............................................Steve Sheppard

13 Plants for bees ................................................................................Douglas Clay

14 Not like the good old days...................................Margriet Dogterom

15 Newspaper straws....................................................................Joe Sadowski

16 Help for beekeepers: ................................... Kevin Dougherty

20 National consensus — is it possible .................................................Heather Clay

24 Canadian on farm food safety program...........................Heather Clay

25 Recommended protocols for queen importation from ............................................................the mainland USA to CanadaNasr Medhat

25 Net-connected beekeepers .................................Paul van Westendorp

25 New director for Soils Branch

26 Classifieds

A reliable partnerBeekeepers have had to broaden their management skills even further with increasing challenges by diseases and pests.

We can help by supplying you with the information you need to make informed decisions about disease preventionand the role of pharmaceuticals in your management practices.

Suppliers ofOxytet-25 Soluble

Fumagilin-BFormic Acid

Bee RepelApistan

FoulBrood Mix

403 652-4441 www.medivet.ca

HiveLights November 2003 3

Oxalic Acid Registration

Oxalic acid is a naturalproduct that when used in

the correct dosage kills varroamites on contact withoutharming the bees. Oxalic acid isused extensively in Europe forcontrol of mites but it is notregistered for use in Canada. Itis illegal to use the product until it isofficially registered.

The CHC attended a meeting in Ottawawith the Pest Management RegulatoryAgency (PMRA) at the end of Septemberto review the requirements forregistration. Delegates from the Quebecgovernment, Ontario government andindustry presented an overview of theapiculture concerns and the status ofcurrent research. Several provincialapiarists participated through telecon-ference. The PMRA representatives werehelpful in providing guidance but theyindicated that registration is a lengthyprocess and they need a great deal ofdata. It is expected that a consultantwould be hired to facilitate the processand the CHC is looking into finding thebest way to kick start the process.

Unlike formic acid, oxalic acid does notkill tracheal mites and it is not as effectiveas other stronger chemicals for varroatreatment. However the CHC supportsits use as a tool in an integrated pestmanagement program.

Canadian On Farm Food Safety

Funding for the COFFS program hasbeen provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the CARD program.This program ends December 31st 2003and disappears entirely by March 31st2004. A new Canadian Food Safety andQuality (CFSQ) program has beenannounced under the recent AgriculturePolicy Framework (APF). It will beginonce all the provinces have signed thefederal agreement. Unfortunately not all

CHC ActivitiesHeather Clay

National Coordinator CHC

the provinces are anxious toparticipate in the new APFprogram. There is no word asto whether there will be fundsto continue in the periodbetween the old CARD fundand the new CFSQ program.

Just when you got used to thename COFFS the government is chang-ing the name of the program. Under thenew system the program for “on farmfood safety” and the “post farm gateprogram” (CFSAP) will be combinedinto one. The new name is expected to bethe catchy acronym of CFSQ.

US Queen import meeting

Importation of honeybees from the USAhas been banned since 1987 because ofvarious diseases and africanized honeybee concerns. The CHC recognizes thatchanges have occurred in the diseaseprofile of Canada over the past few years.

Last March the Alberta BeekeepersAssociation proposed the acceptance of aset of importation protocols that weredeveloped by Dr Medhat Nasr. As a firststep the CHC requested technical advicefrom the import committee of theCanadian Association of ProfessionalApiculturists (CAPA). They workedclosely with Medhat in helping to review,clarify and modify the protocol so that ascientifically sound rationale wasprovided for the importation process.Using these protocols, it was thoughtthat any importation of queens wouldprovide low risk healthy European honeybee stock.

The protocols were distributed to theCHC delegates and they were asked fortheir provincial association’s response.After two weeks of intense discussionsand phone communication it wasimpossible to achieve the unanimousagreement that was required by CFIA forchanges to the border regulations.

Although disheartening to those whowanted US queens, a positive aspect tothe negotiations was that the provincialassociations began talking about theissues of concern and working out someof the apparent problems.

Our discussions with the CFIA and theprovincial apiarists continued throughthe summer. In September the CFIA an-nounced that they planned to makechanges to the regulations governing theimportation of queen honeybees frommainland USA. They are seeking recom-mendations from industry for theconditions of importation under theproposed permit system.

CHC has accepted this challenge and hasbegun to develop a new initiative. Welearned several lessons from the lastattempt to achieve a consensus. This timea face-to-face meeting will be held with alimited number participants representingall aspects of industry and governmentacross the country. Facilitators have beenhired to ensure that the meeting isstructured, focused and science based. All parties will have the same current,accurate information and the facilitatorswill ensure that the process does not getderailed.

This time round CHC will be able todeliver an industry supported sciencebased protocol that minimizes the risk toour industry. The national strategy forqueen imports will allow CFIA todevelop simple effective regulations toallow our industry to grow and thrivewith safe, clean queens from the USA.

Beekeepers violate Pest Control Products Act

Two Alberta beekeepers recently receiveda Notice of Violation of the Pest ControlProducts Act (see page 19). Apistan stripswere found in their bee colonies whenthe hives were overwintered in southernBritish Columbia. It is a serous offenceto leave Apistan strips in the hive forlonger than 42 days. The PMRA issued anotice of violation and the beekeepers didnot contest the finding. This is a wake upcall for other beekeepers who may not befollowing the instructions on the label.

The CHC advises beekeepers to becareful with the use of Apistan and use it

went to double blueberrypollination) and an extra 3000were imported to the province.Following the blueberries,approximately 1500 went tocanola and 500 went tocranberry pollination.

Québec

We are just about to wrap upanother season. After digestingall of our winter losses and realizing whatbees we had left in spring, the season didnot get off to the best start.

Trying to repair the varroa damage sometried using Formic Acid early this springto get rid of some the mites beforeSummer. Unfortunately, some beekeepershad very bad experiences with the use ofthe product. Queen losses were high andsome colonies died because they were tooweak to benefit from the Formic Acid.

With all the losses of colonies in Québecsome beekeepers opted to reduce their

4 November 2003 HiveLights

production of honey and splitcolonies to bring back theirnumbers of hives.

The Québec Fédération ofbeekeepers then decided tonegotiate an aid program toassist in rebuilding the lostcolonies. The ProvincialAgricultural Minister, MrsFrançoise Gauthier, announced

on 25th September 2003, a package ofassistance for beekeepers. The program islaid out in 3 stages:

1 Health of the colonies and alsoserious research to maintain colonies in the future.

2 Direct financial aid packages to helpbeekeepers rebuild their colonies.

3 Maximize all the financial servicesoffered to beekeepers. Ex: Crop insurance.

This whole package is about $1.9 millionand there may be more money later forresearch. It would seem that mostbeekeepers are satisfied with theprogram. One of the conditions forparticipation might be mandatoryregistrations of beekeepers and colonies.

One thing is for sure, the small fruitproducers suffered a shortage of bees. Onthe positive side a lot of them realized thereal importance of pollination.

The honey crop is not fullyextracted but the signs are thatit will be well below average.The good news is, the price ishandling out very well at about$2 to $2.25 / pound.

Contrary to last fall where atfeeding time the colonies werenot very strong, this fall thecolonies are very strong, so for

most of us are thinking we are going intowinter with strong healthy hives. Let’shope so!

Ontario

The summer in Ontario got off to a wetand slow start with everything two weeksbehind schedule. Some areas got toomuch rain and others not enough.August turned warm and bees did verywell on second cut clovers. We should

Maritimes

All three Maritime Provinces report similar conditions this pastsummer season. The weather conditions were wet and humid for

the early part of the season — giving a poor honey yield. Late August andSeptember has been incredibly sunny and warm to date producing a goodhoney flow but most reports indicate that honey production will be slightlybelow the provincial averages. Swarms were reported in the first week ofSeptember and PEI reports that one swarm caught on the second actuallyproduced a honey crop.

All indications are that the bees appear to be relatively healthy this seasonwith only low to moderate Varroa infestations. Nova Scotia has difficultyfinding enough mites to test for fluvalinate resistance but indications are thatApistan is still effective. New Brunswick reports similar conditions and the “beerecovery/IPM” project is proceeding with apparent good results. Most beekeepersused formic acid in the spring and will be applying coumaphos this fall.

There were approximately 6400 colonies registered in NB this year and a non-randominspection of 348 of weakest colonies out of 2836 showed no sign of AFB and lowlevels of other brood diseases

Pollination went relatively well in all three provinces although there was a shortage. InNew Brunswick, approximately 5000 colonies were moved to blueberry fields (25%

Alain Moyen

strictly according to label instructions.Mites can become resistant to thechemical when they are exposed to lowdoses for a long period of time.

Annual Meeting 2004

The 63 rd annual general meeting will beheld in Winnipeg at the Fort GarryHotel, 26-30 January, 2004. We areholding the meeting in conjunction withthe 100 th anniversary of the ManitobaBeekeepers Association. After thebusiness meeting there are two days ofresearch symposium with updates on thelatest research and presentations on issuesthat affect beekeepers. The itinerary andregistration form can be found on theCHC website www.honeycouncil.ca. Welook forward to seeing you in Winnipeg.

Paul Vautour

Provincial Reports


average about 100 pounds. The wholesaleprice seems to stay at around $2 perpound.

September stayed warm and like last year,beekeepers were again reluctant to takethe supers off to treat for mites. Ourprovincial apiarist has beenadvising everyone to usecoumaphos for the next twoyears. After that, Apistanshould work again. Some areusing formic acid again in thefall.

Now that the border issue hascome up again, let me explainOntario’s position. If we lookat the losses last winter in the areas thatborder us, we see that in the northeastern States they had losses of 30 to40%, Quebec of 45%, and Ontario of20%, yet all had the same cold winter. Itis obvious that our bee breeding and TechTransfer Program started by Dr. MedhatNasr is now paying big dividends. Nowwhat would happen if we startedimporting U.S. queens? Chances are wemight get oxytetracycline resistant AFBand coumaphos resistant mites. Thatwould mean more chemicals in our hivesand it would dilute the gene pool that we

worked so hard to improve for betterwintering and increased honeyproduction. Why spoil a good thing?

On the other hand if you are out for aquick profit it is smart to open thatborder. All you have to do is split a good

colony in the spring with a $20queen that will produce 100pounds of honey at $2 a pound.It’s almost like printing money.However, we have to use ourheads and think about our longterm future.

The O.B.A. convention is inNovember, shortly after theCHC Kelowna meeting on US

queen imports. The decision on USqueens will brought to the OBA anddiscussed by the membership. It is then upto the members to decide on thelong term strategy that theywant to pursue for the Ontarioindustry.

Manitoba

The Manitoba BeekeepersAssociation has appointedBryan Ash as their new delegateto CHC.

Bryan is a partner with his father Floydand brothers Brent and Grant in afamily-operated business in GilbertPlains, about four hours north ofWinnipeg. Starting with 200 bee coloniesin 1972, the Ash Apiaries has steadilygrown to more than 3,000 colonies.

Their pasteurizing facility processes andpacks their own brand of Sunshine Valleyliquid and creamed honey. As well theycustom pack a wide variety of liquid andcreamed food products, includingflavoured honey spreads.

The MBA is holding a special meeting17th November for all registeredmembers. They have been operatingwithout a full board of directors since theoverturn of the results of last yearsmeeting. This special meeting will help

put the MBA back on trackand allow them to build theorganization according to themembers wishes.

The CHC is holding its 63rdannual meeting in a jointconvention with the ManitobaBeekeepers Association as theycelebrate their 100th year,January 28-30, 2004 at the Fort

Henry Hiemstra

Bryan Ash

President Wink Howland Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association Howland’s HoneyBox 55 RR #3Yorkton SK S3N 2X5ph. 306-783-7046fax [email protected]

Vice President Alain MoyenFédération des Apiculteurs du Québec83 Alderic-Huot Apt 2St Thérèse QC J7E 5K5ph 450-430-1793 - fax [email protected]

Executive Director Stan ReistB. C. Honey Producers Association Flying Dutchman Honey6124 Metral DriveNanaimo B.C. V9T 2L6ph 250-390-2313 - fax [email protected]

National Coordinator Heather ClaySuite 236235-5149 Country Hills BlvdCalgary AB T3A 5K8ph 403-208-7141 - fax [email protected]

Director Paul Vautour Maritime Beekeepers Association Acadien Apiaries488 Cape Breton RdSt Phillippe NB E1H 1W2ph 506-388-5127 - fax [email protected]

Director Henry Hiemstra Ontario Beekeepers AssociationClovermead ApiariesRR#4 Aylmer ON N5H 2R3ph 519-773-3780 - fax [email protected]

Director Bryan AshAsh Apiaries Box 635Gilbert Plains, MBR0L 0X0 Ph 204-548-2036Fax: 204 548-2112email: [email protected]

Director Grant HicksAlberta Beekeepers AssociationBox 181McLennan AB T0H 2L0ph 780-324-3688 - fax [email protected]

Director John PedersenBee Maid Co-op Pedersen Apiaries Ltd.Box 579Cut Knife SK S0M 0N0ph. 306-398-2793 - fax [email protected]

CHC - CCM Delegates 2003 Canadian Honey Council Board of Directors


Garry Hotel, Winnipeg.

Saskatchewan

The overall crop in SK is in theaverage range of 175 lb thisyear. Most of the provinceexperienced an extremely drysummer, but the continualwarm weather allowed lots offlight time and in most areasthe bees were able to findnectar. As usual, there weresome areas that suffered, andsome that did extremely well.Those areas that suffered themost appear to be in the western andnorthwestern portions of the province,where heavy grasshopper infestationsadded to the toll that was being taken bydrought conditions.

Saskatchewan continues to experience asteady spread of mites. While there arestill many beekeepers who have not beenafflicted, the spread is inevitable, andthere are fewer and fewer areas within theprovince where varroa and tracheal mitesdo not exist. The good news is that the mites have notshown resistance and can still be managedwith the existing approved chemicals. Todate, there have been no reports ofresistant AFB. Perhaps Saskatchewanbeekeepers, given their long and coldwinters, and limited number of broodcycles, will be able to continuetreatments with Apistan for some time tocome. There is some benefit from ourwinters, although it can be hard toappreciate at -40 when the wind isblowing.

The work that is being carried on withthe Russian queen stock appears to beproducing positive results. The stock is,for the most part, proving to possess mostof the characteristics that beekeepers seekin their bees. They are gentle, hardworking, productive and they winterwell. Just how resistant they are to varroaand tracheal is still being examined, butsome of the lines certainly appear toshow resistance to those pests. OurSaskatchewan beekeepers have continuedto show their appreciation of the Russianresearch project, as begun by Dr. Nasr inOntario, and have continued to makefinancial contributions to assist the OBAresearch. In addition, three Saskatchewan

beekeepers, who have been involved inqueen breeding and selection for manyyears, are also working with the new

lines and are doing some crossbreeding to their own selectedstock. One of those breeders,Dr. Albert Robertson, hasundertaken his own researchproject in developing geneticmarkers for the Russian stock.If successful, and thepreliminary work indicates itwill be successful, it maybecome possible to quicklyidentify the genes required for

resistance, and then to breed for thosegenes. What a tremendous tool thatwould give us, in the fight against mites.

The CFIA, has made it clear that USqueens will be imported underpermit. Plans to makerecommendations on the importprotocols are underway by theCHC. As an association,Saskatchewan does not supportan open border, although thereare individual beekeepers whowill welcome the news. Manybeekeepers here, have becomeadept at raising their own stockand working with nucleus colonies tomaintain their colony count. The rewardsof this work have become obvious tothose who have undertaken it. Theyneither need, nor want, stock from outsideCanada. They remember the 20% and30% winter loss experienced with queenscoming from warm climes, and muchprefer the 5% to 15% that they are able toachieve with their own selected stock.They have also come to appreciate thepositive traits that they have bred into thatstock, such as productiveness, winter-ability and gentleness. It would be nice tothink that importing an unlimited numberof queens into Canada from the US willaddress all of our problems, but mostbeekeepers here are extremely skeptical.

The SBA is concerned about the shortageof research dollars and researchers, forour industry. One of the items we willexamine at our upcoming businessmeeting, is how we can address that issuewithin our membership. We were verypleased when Saskatchewan beekeepers

contributed $20,000.00 at our conventionbanquet last year, to support the geneticmarker research being done by Dr.Robertson. We would like to continue tounderwrite similar projects and we willbe looking to our membership forsuggestions. Our beekeepers recognizethat research is essential to our industry,and perhaps the time is right to approachour membership for donations. Honeyprices are excellent and the money shouldnot be tight.

I hope the fall season goes well for youall and that everyone is able to properlyfeed, medicate and wrap their bees forwinter. Wouldn’t it be nice, if beekeepersright across this country, realized smallwinter losses. What an economic boom!

Alberta

May and June proved to goodmonths for bees with goodpollen and nectar flowsallowing normal colonydevelopment. July was a verygood month for honeyproduction and August 1showed many producers sittingat the 100-130 pound range.Surely August would produce

two or three more supers to give us agood crop. Well, August never reallywarmed up in most areas, and ourprovincial production will most likely fallvery close to average. Southern Albertadid stay hot and as a result some produ-cers are predicting that they will havetheir biggest crop in many years. Fallfeeding is well advanced, but a short hotspell to end September would be mostwelcome. Varroa mites are hard to findthis fall for those beekeepers who usedCheckmite last fall. Some producers aregoing to the extent of not using thisproduct this autumn, rather than rotatingwith formic acid. It will be terrific newsif we can prove that harsh chemicals needonly be used on an eighteen to twenty-four month rotation. Should there not besome small trade-off for the seven monthwinters we endure?

Alberta beekeepers were ecstatic toreceive the news that the CFIA isrecommending opening the border to theimportation of queens with importpermits, given an acceptable protocol canbe worked out. Albertans recognize that

Wink Howland

Grant Hicks


a national protocol might not meet theneeds of beekeepers equally, and willfully support those provinces that feelthey may need a protocol supplementalto a national protocol to protect thehealth of the bees in their province.

British Columbia

The honey flow on the Island (Republicof Vancouver Island) was not very goodat lower altitudes, however, at the higheraltitudes not quite as good aslast year but as a long timebeekeeper says “It is the secondbest year in all my years ofbeekeeping”. The area north ofCampbell River had a goodamount of rain and south ofthat it is hot and dry. This areais looking at eighty pounds ahive due to hot dry weather, asare most interior locations. Thereare some bright spots. Ernie fromthe Peace River of B.C. said his crop islooking good, lots of moisture and agood flow.

The other night, while watching thenews, there was a blurb about a fire inUnion Bay. Nothing special, but whenthey showed the pictures it wasn’t UnionBay it was an area where we have around250 hives. Luckily the fire was about amile from away but the smoke was thick.I can’t help but wonder how the peoplein the interior are made out. Some wereclose to the Thompson River fire nearKamloops but had no damage. I hopethat the other beekeepers were asfortunate.

I don’t have very good news about theRussian bee stock that came fromOntario. The shipment was rerouted toOsoyoos because Vancouver Island was aquarantine zone. Unfortunately a bear gointo the apiary, killed one hive, left twowith drone layers and the forthsuperceded the queen. You can say shithappens or maybe Murphy’s Law kickedin but either way it was not what weexpected. I will ponder whether or not totry next year

The BCHPA is holding their annualmeeting in Kelowna at the end ofOctober. At the same time the CHC

delegates and the presidents of theprovincial associations will meet to see ifthey can work out an agreement on therecommendations for the importation ofqueens from the Continental U.S. Weshould have something to take to theprovincial membership across the countyand get an agreement in place for the nextbee season. This attempt will definitelychallenge the pocket book of the delegatesbut it is for the good of the industry.

The annual fair circuit is well under wayand this year. The Coombs fairwas the first and FlyingDutchman took the GrandChampion award for educationand display. This was due tothe great posters we hadexplaining all about bees andhive products. We are fortunateto have a lady by the name ofArlene Watts who was able to

make these posters. The B.C.fairs people just loved them and

you could stand back and read them from15 feet. The next fair was the NanaimoV.I.E.X. (under the Nanaimo Div of theBCHPA with a club label on the honey.)We were the feature attraction. at "ThePlace to Bee 2003" and were given the littlered barn to fill up. This was done verynicely from honey sales, equipmentdisplays and frame making demonstrations.

The honey prices are holding fairly good$4.50 to $6.00 for a 500 gram jar and$7.00 to $10.00 for a 1 kg jar. One thingthat we did get a lot ofcomment on at the fairs was;“How can it be number oneCanadian honey when it saysproduct of the Argentine on theback of the label in really smallprint?” We did our best toexplain that this is a grade stamponly and bears no relation tothe country of origin and thatCFIA is aware of the problembut government works slowly.

BeeMaid

Once again the honey season is comingto a close for another year. While it is stilltoo early to make a definitive assessmentof the total honey crop, preliminaryindications are that the yield is average or

below average across all of the prairiearea. Several factors contributed to thisturn of events. They include:

� cool weather in late spring whichslowed hive buildup,

� continuing drought in many parts ofwestern Canada,

� higher than average temperaturesduring the critical nectar flow of lateJune and the month of July,especially in the canola belt

� grasshoppers.

The cool and windy weather of late Mayand early June slowed colony activity.Dandelion and carragana flows were laterthan usual, forcing some beekeepers touse supplemental feeding. Canola andalfalfa did not begin major bloominguntil past the middle of June.

When canola did begin blooming theweather switched from being cooler thannormal to hotter than normal. Rains werespotty with some areas receivingadequate amounts, but most areas werebelow average. This type of weathertends to shorten the bloom period ofcanola. In regions where lots of canolahas been seeded over an extended periodof time, the staggered bloom of differentfields tends to cancel out the overallshortened bloom of individual fields, butit still takes a toll.

But the biggest single factor affectinghoney production across most of western

Canada was the grasshoppers.They were a problem in thewhole region from June to lateSeptember. The grasshoppersnot only damaged the flowerheads of the alfalfa but thecontinual spraying by farmerstrying to control the insects ledto some serious bee losses.

With all of the problemsbeekeepers faced this past season it ispleasant to contemplate a good price forthis years honey crop. Indications arethat prices should be similar to last year.

On behalf of the BeeMaid board and staffI want to wish all beekeepers a long andopen fall so that all the beekeeping choresget done before winter sets in.

John Pedersen

Stan Reist


Non Standard Glass Containers

Two test market authorizations for non standard glass containers used in the honeyindustry in Canada were granted April 24, 2001 as per the provisions of Section 31

of the Honey Regulations.

1. SIZE OF CONTAINER: 250 ml (330 gram) and 500 ml (660 gram)2. TYPE OF CONTAINER: Glass

The period granted for the test market expired on April 25, 2003 and honey currentlybeing marketed in these sizes is not in compliance with the Honey Regulations.

If beekeepers wish to pursue the regulation of these 2 non standard sized containersfollowing analysis of the data from the test market that was granted, please contactJohn McCool at 221-7031 or Fax 613-221-7296.

Importation of

Honeybee Queens

from Continental US

Dr. Sarah Kahn, BVSc, MScDeputy Chief Veterinary Officer and

Director Animal Health and Production Division

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency(CFIA) is proposing to amend the

current regulation that prohibits theimportation of honeybees from thecontinental United States. Theamendment will allow the importation ofhoneybee queens and their attendantsfrom the continental U.S. Packaged beeswill continue to be prohibited fromimportation.

This action is being undertaken afterCFIA was advised of major shortages ofavailable queens in many provincesduring the spring of 2003 and wasrequested to review Canada’s importpolicies for honeybees. The riskassessment on the importation of U.S.bees also determined that the import ofhoneybee queens poses a lesser diseaserisk than packaged bees.

The proposed amendment will not resultin the uncontrolled entry of honeybeequeens into Canada. The existingprovisions of the Health of AnimalRegulations require importation to occurwith the use of an import permit. Theconditions of the import permit will befurther developed with industry andother stakeholders

If there are comments or concerns at thistime, I would ask that they be forwardedto Dr. Samira Belaissaoui, StaffVeterinarian, [email protected] or byfacsimile to (613) 228-6630. I would alsoremind Canadian Stakeholders that theywill have an opportunity to comment onthe proposed amendment following itspublication in the Canada Gazette I.

Importation de reines de la zone

continentale des É.-U.

Dre Sarah Kahn, B.Sc.V., M.Sc.Adjointe du vétérinaire en chef et directrice

Division de la santé des animaux et de l’élevage

L ’Agence canadienne d’inspection desaliments (ACIA) propose de modifier

la réglementation actuelle qui interditl’importation de reines de la zonecontinentale des États-Unis. Lamodification permettra d’importer desreines et leurs suivantes de la zonecontinentale des É.-U. L’interdictiond’importer des abeilles en paquetsdemeurera en vigueur.

Cette mesure est prise en raison del’information que l’ACIA a eue relativeune importante pénurie de reinesdisponibles dans plusieurs provinces aucours du printemps 2003 et qu’elle a étéchargée de revoir les politiquesd’importation du Canada relatives auxabeilles mellifères. L’évaluation du risquelié à l’importation d’abeilles des .États-Unis a également déterminé quel’importation de reines représentait unrisque de maladie inférieur à celui quereprésente les abeilles en paquets.

La modification proposée n’entraînerapas l’entrée libre de reines au Canada. Lesdispositions existantes du Règlement surla santé des animaux exige quel’importation s’effectue en utilisant unpermis d’importation. Les conditions du

permis d’importation seront élaborées encollaboration avec l’industrie et les autresintervenants.

Veuillez transmettre ceci aux apiculteursprovinciaux et aux associationsindustrielles régionales. Pour toutcommentaire ou toute préoccupation,veuillez communiquer avec Dre SamiraBelaissaoui, Médecin vétérinaire en chef,à [email protected] ou partélécopieur au (613) 228-6630. J’aimeraiségalement rappeler aux intervenantscanadiens qu’ils auront l’occasion deformuler leurs commentaires sur lamodification proposée lors de sa parutiondans la Gazette du Canada I.


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Queen Importation from Continental USA: Canada at a Crossroads

By Heather Clay, National Coordinator, CHC

The border with the continental USAhas been closed to the movement of

bees into Canada for phyto-sanitary(health) reasons since 1985 in easternCanada and 1987 in western Canada.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency(CFIA) is the federal agency responsiblefor cross border movement of agriculturalcommodities. If the Canadian apicultureindustry wishes to have importationregulations modified or extended, apresentation must be made to CFIA withwhom the ultimate decision rests.

The CFIA recently issued anannouncement that they intend to allowthe importation of queens fromcontinental USA. This importation willonly be under specific import permitconditions. They requested that industrydevelop recommendations for a nationalstrategy for conditions of import. CHCaccepted this challenge and has begun todevelop a new initiative. We have learnedseveral lessons from the last attempt toachieve a consensus on the importationissue. A face-to-face meeting will be heldwith a limited number participantsrepresenting each of the provincialbeekeeper associations and provincialgovernments. Facilitators have been hiredto ensure that the meeting is structured,impartial, focused and science based. Allparties will have the same current,accurate information and the facilitatorswill ensure that the process does not getside tracked to issues beyond the termsof reference. This meeting is planned forKelowna, BC in late October.

Canada is not alone in attachingconditions to an import permit (see Table1). The CHC is looking at the variousoptions and will deliver an industryderived, science based protocol thatminimises the risk to our industry. Ourobjective is to develop a national strategyfor queen imports to Canada that willallow the CFIA to develop simpleeffective regulations which will assist thegrowth of our industry through safe,clean queens from the USA.

Canada 1) Hawaii Yes No AFB, SHB, Import Permit, EFB, AHB, health certificateTropilaelops, varroa and tracheal mites

Australia, Yes Yes AFB, SHB, Import Permit, New Zealand EFB, AHB, health certificate

Tropilaelops, and environmen-varroa and tal assessmenttracheal mites

USA 2) Canada Yes Yes All diseases and Imports from (continental) pests countries other

than Canada only by USDAunder permit forresearch

Australia 3) 21 countries Yes No AFB, EFB, Only by permit including Canada Tropilaelops, to government

external acariasis, quarantine facil-varroa and ity - queens aretracheal mites, destroyed afterBraula lice grafting is com-

pletedUK 4) Australia, Yes No AFB, SHB, Licence & health

Hawaii Varrao mites certificate New Zealand required(South Island)

EU Inter- Yes Yes AFB EU Health community certificate

requiredEuropean Union 5) EU inter- Yes Yes AFB EU Health certifi-

community cate required

OIE* member Yes No AFB, SHB, Health certificatecountries Tropilaelaps required

Country ApprovedExporters

QueenBees Package Bees DiseaseConcerns

Comments

Table 1

AHB =Africanized Honey Bee,

AFB = American Foul Brood

SHB =Small Hive Beetle

EFB = European Foul Brood

* Office Internationale des Epizooties (OIE)

Information gathered from:1) Canada Health of Animals Act and

Regulations www.laws.justice.gc.ca2) Australian Quarantine and Inspection

Service, Import Conditions Database

www.aqis.gov.au3) US Honey Bee Regulations,

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-

bin/get-cfr.cgi4) UK and EU bee Legislation

www.csl.gov.uk/science/organ/environ/bee

/legis/legis.cfm5) Commission of the European

Communities 2000/462/EC (under appeal

25 July 2003 SANCO/10399/2003 Rev.5)

my day with the beeyard farthest fromhome. A gravel trail twisted past sparseranch houses, hay fields, and cattlepastures. The April air was crisp. I drovewith the window of the six-wheeled Fordrolled down, my left elbow pointing atthe bright sun. Fresh odours - from blue-gray sage, dry grass, cow pastures - filledthe truck cab. A long brown trail of dustfollowed my truck to the first apiary, atthe PFRA headquarters.

In Val Marie, one of the driestcommunities in Canada, PFRA folks inblue trucks patrolled the irrigation canalsand ditches, men on backhoes andgraders trenched and leveled fields,PFRA cowboys herded ranchers’ cattleon the community pastures. To me, it

die if they have a disease; if theircollective community runs out of honey;if the queen is laying eggs that becomedrones; if skunks or bears visit thecolony; if the hive is ripped open by thewind and exposed to cold and snow.None of my hives seemed to have anydiseases. The winter insulation boxes hadstayed on the hives, protecting themfrom the wind and cold. Most of thehives in the apiary behind the caraganahedge still had twenty or thirty poundsof honey. And now the bees weregathering fresh nectar from the willowsalong the river bank. I had other yards toinspect.

With six apiaries in the irrigated alfalfaflats west of Val Marie, I wanted to begin


Bad Beekeepingby Ron Miksha,

The book, Bad Beekeeping, by Ron

Miksha, describes his experiences of

producing honey in southern

Saskatchewan and raising queens in

Florida. Over the next few issues, Hive

Lights will feature a series of excerpts

from Ron’s book.

My first night back in

Saskatchewan, in April 1978,

I slept on the floor of a cold,

empty shack. As the sun hit

the narrow window, I rolled over and upto my feet. I was 23 — it didn’t take longto shake off the tight muscles in my legsand back, to pull on my boots, and todash out to my truck.

The first beeyard I had unwrapped hadbeen good. The bees had enough honey,only a few hives had poor queens, andjust three hives out of thirty had diedduring the winter. Colonies of bees may

AVA Chemical Ventures, L.L.C. (“AVA”) has received EPA

registration (#70950) for the activeingredient Sucrose Octanoate Esters, abiochemical insecticide/miticidemanufactured from sugar and vegetableoil-derived fatty acids. This is the firstactive ingredient to be registered withinthe new class of sugar ester chemistrythe company is developing. AVA expectsto register additional sugar ester activeingredients. Sugar ester insecticides killrapidly; do not harm major beneficialinsects; and break down in theenvironment to their constituent sugarsand fatty acids.

Sucrose Octanoate Esters kill either byrapid suffocation or by removing theinsects’ protective coating, causing themto desiccate. Because of the contactmode of action, it has a relatively shortresidual. Primary target applications aremites, aphids, whiteflies and other soft-bodied insects on fruit and vegetable

crops and ornamentals. The EPAregistration includes an exemption fromtolerance for all food crops. Labels havebeen approved for foliar spray onoutdoor plants; varroa mite control onhoney bees; and sciarid fly control inmushroom growing media.

The Sucrose Octanoate Esters activeingredient is synthesized fromagricultural raw materials that are bothedible and renewable. Its origins can betraced to the early 1990s, when scientistsat the Agricultural Research Service(ARS) of the U.S. Department ofAgriculture discovered that sugar estersoccurring naturally in the leaf hairs ofwild tobacco acted as naturalinsecticides. It was not possible toextract the naturally-occurring sugaresters in sufficient quantity to becommercially viable. AVA overcame thisproblem by developing viable sugarester synthesis processes based on sugarsand vegetable oil fatty acids.

AVA holds patents covering themanufacture and insecticidal use ofsugar esters, including U.S. patent #6,419,941, “Polyol Ester Insecticides andMethod of Synthesis,” issued July 16,2002. Additional patents on pesticideapplications for sugar esters areanticipated. Foreign patent applicationsare also in process.

AVA plans to have the SucroseOctanoate Esters and follow-on sugarester pesticides manufactured by AppliedPower Concepts, Inc. (APC) inAnaheim, CA. APC has been AVA’slong-time technology developmentpartner and has pioneered thedevelopment of patented “zero dis-charge” chemical manufacturing proces-ses, including those used to manufactureAVA’s sugar ester pesticide products.

AVA does not plan to develop its ownmarketing/field development organi-zation and is presently interviewingcandidate collaborators for both the U.S.and foreign markets.

http://apis.wsu.edu/apinotes.html

EPA Registers new class of insecticide: Sucrose Octanoate esters

Steve Sheppard, Washington State University, Pullman, WA

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seemed like a big and complicatedindustry. In reality, it probably employedonly a dozen people who helped irrigateten thousand acres of sweet clover andalfalfa and shepherded three thousandbeef cattle in the government summerpastures.

My hives sat behind small white woodenPFRA buildings. Although I had notbeen driving for long, I felt the need tostretch and shake myself when I steppedout of the truck.

I must have been yawning for a longtime. I still had not lit my smoker norput on my white coveralls. The PFRAmanager’s blue half-ton approached.

“Frank?” the man asked before I looked up.

“No, I’m Ron.”

“Oh, yea... I heard you’d be thebeekeeper this year.” Tracy offered hishand. He had an interested, curious ex-pression. “Can I watch you for a while?”

I didn’t want an audience. I preferredthat people wait until I was ready toshow off. I had no idea what the beeswould look like. The unexpected wasexciting to me, but it was not something Iwanted to share. What if all the bees weredead? What if I opened a hive and mice orsnakes or something really strange cameslithering out? Would the whole townknow about it within an hour?

“Sure,” I said, “Put this on.” I handedhim a bee veil.

“How does it work?”

I guessed Tracy had never helped anyonewith bees before. I stated the obvious.“Put the helmet on your head. Pull theveil down tight, the strings go aroundyour waist.” I pushed the pith helmetfirmly into his short hair. He stretchedthe strings, the veil fit snuggly on hisshoulders. His face was protected fromthe bees.

“Keep your hands in your pockets, thebees won’t bother you that way,” I said.With hands in pockets, the bees do nothave exposed skin to attack, should theybecome angry. But more important, thespectator stays quiet. In the past, I hadfriends watch me working bees and thefolks would become nervous. Beforelong, their hands would be batting thebees that were casually examining them.Soon the flaying arms would attract morebees and the bees would go from curiousinvestigation to aggressive irritation.Hands in pockets. Safer for everyone.

I lifted the black cardboard winter coveroff the first hive, exposing the whitebeehive boxes. I used my hive tool todislodge the cover. A pungent sweet-sourodour wafted up into our faces. Massesof wet, mouldy, dead bees were visiblebetween the frames. Not a single live beecrawled forth.

continued on pg. 12


“Something’s wrong with this hive,”Tracy said.

“Yea,” I said, “The bees are dead.”

“Why? This normal?”

“I hope it’s not normal,” I said. I couldsee why the bees had died.

It was damp in this low-lying beeyard.But there was another problem, moreapparent. Without honey, bees die. Theentire wintered colony - twenty thousandbees - starves. It is a democratic end to asocial structure that shares food until allof it is gone. There are no remoteenclaves of tough, superior bees fightingother bees for scarce food and watchingtheir weaker sisters starve. The honeybeecan only survive as a society, individualsperish. As their stores dwindle, each beegets less and less to eat, until all thehoney is gone. Then, within a few hours,all the bees die together. Aristotle wroteabout this. The Spartans modeled theirgovernment on these principles.Centuries later, Marcus Aurelius told us,“What’s good for the swarm is good forthe bee.” I was smelling the result ofcommunal starvation. Perhaps the nexthive would show communal prosperity.

The next hive was also dead.

“Uh-oh!” said my new friend.

“Well, there are still twenty more hives toopen,” I said.

A few more dead hives; others were alive.By now, Tracy needed to head off to theirrigation ditches. “Stop by for lunch,” hesaid pointing up the hill towards his whitegovernment house. “Twelve sharp.”

When I finished cleaning the beeyard andloading the dirty boxes of the deadcolonies on the flatbed truck, I tied downthe cardboard wintering cases. I countedhives. Eleven out of twenty-two werealive. All the colonies that were left hadbees bringing in big wads of brownpollen from nearby flowers. It was April,the alfalfa and clovers would not bloomuntil July. I could be optimistic, therewas time to expect the remaining coloniesto build up huge populations of bees andmake a big honey crop.

The sun was warm. It was almost ten. Ihad time to unwrap and clean anotherapiary before stopping at the PF guy’shouse for lunch. The next beeyard, sixkilometres east of the first, was inside apasture. I stopped the truck on the roadand unhitched the gate.

Ranchers’ gates were usually made ofbarbed wire and a couple of woodenposts. One of the posts latched to thefence. The latch itself may be a simplerope, but typically it was a wire hookthat snuggly holds the gate post to thefence post. Some ranchers kept loose,sloppy latches. On those, I could quicklyunhook the rope or slip the gate post outof the wire loop. But other ranchers tookgreat pride in the tautness of their gates.The gate at the trail to the Legaultbeeyard was constructed by a rancher ofenormous pride. To get the gate open, Ithrew all of my hundred sixty poundsagainst the gate post. My musclestrembled as I squeezed the gate postcloser to the fence post and worked thewire hook up.

By the time I opened the gate, I had anaudience. Black cows, Aberdeen, hadpolitely made a broad semi-circle aroundthe inside of the fence. Gate open, theylet me drive in. The cows thought aboutleaving, going through the open gate, outto the road. I quickly jumped from thetruck and, long moments later, hadtightly secured the gate. My discipleswere no longer watching me. Theirinterest had gone to my truck. Long, fattongues touched and tasted the drips ofhoney on my wooden truck deck. I chased the big, dumb, harmless animalsaway. I was unaware that they werealready seasoned connoisseurs of honey.

The cows stayed by the fence. My oldFord bounced across the pasture to mybeeyard. Here were forty-two hives. Halfa dozen had been knocked over. Brokencombs were scattered about. As ifwrecked by some big, dumb animals.Cow tracks and cow paddies filled thespaces between the hives. I had neverseen or heard of cow damage in abeeyard. But here it was. Big wooly tuftsof animal hair hung on the broken hives.The cattle had been scratching off their

winter coats, rubbing against posts, barbwire, and beehives. My hives had beenpushed over by itchy bovines. Theircuriosity aroused, they began to taste thehoney in the frames they’d broken.

This was not the only animal damage inthe Legault apiary.

There were small piles of dead bees infront of a few hives. The dead bees werewadded and matted together. The samehives with the bee carcasses had clumpsof soil and grass ripped up at theentrances. Skunks. A skunk prowls atnight, scratching the ground in front ofthe insect nest to alarm the residents. Asthe bugs crawl out of the hive toinvestigate, the skunk laps up the haplessinvertebrates with its long, agile tongue.In a few evenings, most of the adults inthe colony have been eaten. The hive canbecome so weak that it never recovers.With the cow and skunk damage and twohives dead from starvation, the Legaultapiary had only thirty hives left. Theywould grow, I thought, and make a hugecrop of honey.

Despite the enormous potential, I feltneither optimistic not enthusiastic as Istudied the mouldy dead bees and thehives kicked over by cows. Surroundingthe beeyard, the grass was still brown.From where I stood, I could see no trees.Not one. Just some scruffy wolf willownear the river and sage near the hives. Ihad only been in southern Saskatchewanfor two days; already I missed the trees.The green grass of the east. Twothousand miles from my five brothers,my four sisters. Sleeping on the floor in acold, mouldy house; a house in a tinyvillage with two hundred strangers. But Istill felt I had arrived where I belonged. Iwas a Saskatchewan beekeeper.

You can read more about Ron’sexperiences and see more of his book,

Bad Beekeeping, by going to the website www.badbeekeeping.com.

Continued from page 11

zones including the NWT and Yukon.New varieties of Brassica juncea are beingselected for heat tolerance, which willallow the distribution range of the canolacrop to expand to warmer zones.

Description:

Canola was named (Canadian OilseedCrushers Association) in 1974 after aUniversity of Manitoba plant breeder,Dr. Baldur Stefansson, developed a“double-low” variety of rape (B. napus)that was given the world-trademarkedname. It is a member of the mustardfamily, which comprises 38 speciesworldwide. Several species of this familyare very attractive to bees and produce amild, white honey.

They generally have yellow flowers withlong racemes and, depending onconditions, grow from 0.3 to 1.2 m tall.This difference in height is influenced bysoil type and moisture availability. B.nigra can grow to over 2 m in height.

The roots resemble a small turnip, thusthe common name, wild turnip or wildrutabaga, used in some regions. Thelower leaves are lobed, often up to 30 cmlong; the upper leaves are small, non-


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Common Name: Canola

Related species: black mustard (B .nigra L),bird rape (B. rapa L), wild mustard (B. arvensis L)

Scientific Name: Brassica napus L

Native Range:

Current varieties of canola have beenbreed from the original rapeseed plants(Brassica rapa) that was brought toCanada in 1936 from Poland. In Canadait was originally grown for industriallubricants and was not grown in quantityuntil after World War II. Canola (B. rapaand B. napus) is now cultivated acrossCanada and the northern USA mainly foredible oils. Canola has become endemicto most regions of Canada. See Canadiandistribution.

Canadian Distribution:

B. napus is cultivated throughoutsouthern Canada. Brassica nigra wasformerly widely cultivated but is nowconsidered a weed in many jurisdictions;it is now commonly found in wastespaces and cultivated fields fromNewfoundland west to Ontario and inBC. B. rapa is found in the same regionsas B. nigra and in the cooler northern

Plants for bees —Canola

Douglas Clay, Research Scientist, Calgary

continued on pg. 16

50% of the honey bee colonies weredestroyed by mite infestations. This leaves alarge gap for other pollinators to fill.

When the mite arrives, all wild honey beecolonies die-off. This leaves a large gap forother pollinators to fill. No one knew, howin the past, fruit trees were mostly pollinatedby wild honey bees and our fruit productiondepended on them being around. . Becausemites are now prevalent in North Americanhoney bees, location is everything. If a fruittree is quite a distance from a managed honeybee colony few fruit will be produced. Buthoneybee colonies cannot be brought intoevery backyard garden with fruit trees. Arethere other bee species that can be used topollinate fruit trees in the home garden?

Yes, there is -the Mason Bee. The Mason Beeis a perfect gardener's bee. I have workedwith Mason bees over the past ten years andhave found them extremely adaptable to thebackyard. In addition Mason bees exist allover NA, and simply by providing themwith housing, increases their numbers.

I set-up a wholesale and mail-order businessin early 1999 with the Trade Mark-Beediverse Products that supplies gardenstores and individual gardeners with MasonBee houses and the know-how - in the formof a guide book- Pollination with Masonbees. This book was self-published and hasbeen very well received by its readers. Fivethousand copies were in the first printingrun, and less than 1000 remain after 18months. A second printing will be neededquite soon. Distribution to bookstores and

libraries is done by two separate distributors,and Beediverse covers other type of stores,such as garden stores.

Beediverse Products- a Div of CropPollination Consultants Ltd. has thefollowing Mission Statement. "Our missionis to introduce people to the fun and rewardsof having Mason bees, enrich every gardenwith Mason bees and provide information onhow to successfully care for Mason Bees."

T HIS FALL, IN SUNNY COASTAL BRITISH COLUMBIA, NOT ALL

backyard gardeners will be pleased with their fruit

harvest. A friend asked me to look at her fruit crop!

The handful of apples was all I was shown. It was a sorry sight indeed. Eventhe shape of the fruit was odd. Eva had learned that I had a PhD in pollinationwith the speciality of being able to determine whether poor fruit production iscaused by the lack of bees or not. I asked her if this was the first year that shehad so little fruit. Eva told me that prior to about five years ago, she had somuch fruit, she had difficulty finding people to take all the fruit. Now, shewonders if she will ever have those volumes of fruit again.

More and more back yardgardeners are complainingabout the lack of fruit,deformed fruit, and justnot enough fruit. Acommon statement I haveheard is "Not like in thegood old days". What isgoing on that is so different than in the good old days? A common thread isthat the 'good old days' for fruit production was within the last ten years.

Harvesting fruit from trees is an annual tradition for many home gardeners.Apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches and apricots are fruit enjoyed by us all.But this tradition has been severely disrupted by the arrival of varroa andtracheal mites. These mites have destroyed wild honey bee colonies and havedevastated managed honey bee colonies in NA over the last 10 years. Thespread and arrival of these mites have a time frame of their own and so theeffect of these mites are felt at different times in various regions of the country.Recently, on September 26, 2003, it was announced that in Quebec no less than

…Not like thegood old days

Margriet Dogterom, Crop Pollination Consultants, Coquitlam, BC

Newspaper straws as housing for blue

orchard bees

Joe Sadowski, Burnaby BC

This system is very effective and inexpensive tomake. Ardent “do-it-yourself” gardeners can makethese straws with minimal skills using everydaymaterials found around most homes.

MaterialsNewspaperCardboard (cereal or other box)Glue stickWhite glue

ToolsScissors or sharp knife5/16" wooden dowel 9 - 10" long

Dr. Dogterom recommends that the finished tubesshould be about 6 – 8 inches in length. Therefore,select a newspaper that is approximately 12 to 16inches in height (one double page sheet will yieldfour tubes). Carefully cut the sheet in half on thecenterfold line. Then fold and cut the two halves toyield four pieces approximately 6 – 8 inches wideand the width of the page. Wind one sheet on thedowel tightly keeping the edges lined up. The looseend is then coated with the glue stick and presseddown to hold in place. Twist gently to remove tubefrom the dowel. With practice it is possible to roll 20to 30 tubes an hour (while watching TV).When a number of tubes have been rolled they areready to be capped. To seal the end of a tube asquare piece of cardboard is attached as follows. Makea three-eighths inch grid on the cardboard and cut toproduce the three-eighths inch square end pieces (thebees are reluctant to use the tubes if they are notsealed). To attach the end caps put a few drops ofwhite glue in a bottle cap. Take a tube and lightly dipit in the cap to form a thin ring of glue – then touch itdown on a small square of cardboard. Press this onfirmly with your finger and set aside to dry.The completed tubes may be bundled in groups of 30to 40, wrapped in scrap foam insulation, carpetunderfelt or newspaper and inserted in someprotective housing. One can be quite creative indoing this, however, keep in mind that the primaryobjective is to provide protection from the elementsand other threats as well as ease of mounting in asuitable place. Wood is recommended due to itsready availability, insulating qualities, ease ofworking with and aesthetic possibilities. Thecompleted bee house should then be placed on aneast or south facing wall preferably under a roofoverhang and close to a box containing the sanitizedcocoons. This should be done by February or earlyMarch at the latest.

Placing a Mason Bee house is just like settingout a bird box. Simply, obtain a house forMason bees, set it out and Mason bees willfind it. They will nest, reproduce andpollinate your fruit trees. Of course, settingout more than one nest increases the chanceof a female bee finding the nest. The nest isbest placed in the sun and out of wind andrain. An east (preferred) or south-facing wallof your house or shed works the best. Asunny location works the best because ithelps the bees become active, pollinate andincrease in number.

Although my initial introduction to bees wasthrough -the taste of honey and honey beebiology, my interests have broadened toinclude Mason bees. Unlike honey bees, thatare social, Mason bees are solitary. Thedifference is that the female Mason beeemerges from her winter tunnel in the earlyspring, is mated and goes about the businessof producing more young Mason bees for thefollowing year- by herself; thus, the termsolitary.

Mason bees are friendly bees. They are aboutthe size of a worker honey bee. They areblack and iridescent blue to green whenobserved in the sun. Mason bees look a littlelike blue-bottle flies, but flies do not havelong antennae and are not usually seen onflowers.

Mason bees nest is small structures thatprotect the nesting trays- like the leafcutterbee nest, and pollinate the flowers in earlyspring- great for apple pollination. Managingthese critters is lots of fun especially whenroutered pieces of wood are used. Whenthese pieces of wood are stacked nestingcavities are created. In the fall, you can seehow many bees have been produced. Thesebees can be cooled in the spring to slowemergence- and can be released later in thespring to pollinate other flowers such asraspberries in June.

Each year we learn new tricks to make iteasier for gardeners to be successful withMason bees. Using routered trays was asignificant breakthrough. This nesting systemallows the Mason bee cocoons and the nestto be cleaned annually. Under moist, coastalconditions populations of Mason beesincrease each year through year 3 and year 4.However, while the Mason bee population isbuilding up the parasitic mites and otherparasitic wasps are not far behind. This is


not a big problem becausehomeowners with a few fruittrees don't need more than300-500 Mason bees. But itremains a problem if Masonbees are needed in themillions for pollinating fruittrees and highbushblueberries on a commercialscale. Scaling up for thesenumbers will be a quest forthe future, but as for now, wehave the technology andknow-how of how to keepMason bees with success.

Dr. Margriet Dogterom can bereached at 1- 800-794-2144and her web site iswww.Beediverse.com. Theweb site has a 'MessageBoard' for questions andcomments on wild bees aswell as information on theguide book Pollination with

Mason Bees. Dogterom, 2002,Beediverse Publishing.

Continued from page 14

New Methodology for American Foulbrood(AFB) and Chalk Brood Disease Control

Caspian Solution is a combination of royal jelly, pheromone and other naturalingredients blended to cause the greatest improvement in bee nutrition. When

Caspian Solution is mixed withpollen, honey and syrup, bees receive alarge quantity of the perfect blend ofcarbohydrates, vitamins and protein; thisstimulates their hypopharyngeal glandsto produce large quantities of jelly forthe queen and the larvae. Once the jellyis flowing: the queen will be healthy; thequeen will lay more eggs; the colony’simmune system will be strong, and thebees will live longer. In colonies usingCaspian Solution the brood is capped

between 8.5 and 10 days and each generation hatches between 18.5 and 20 days.This acceleration of the brood means that only one male varoa mite can hatch inworker cells.

To order Caspian Solution or to obtain additional information on the growth ofyour bee population, raising queens or the elimination of disease from your hivesplease contact Hossein Yeganehrad at:

Caspian ApiariesBox 16056 – 617, Belmont Street, New Westminster, BC. V3M 6W6Phone / fax: (604) 460 0331 cell: (604) 968 8169 Email: [email protected]

lobed and pointed. The stemcan be smooth in somespecies and covered in coursehairs in others.

Many species of Brassica spp.have been identified asreportable weeds in variousjurisdictions and should notbe planted in those areas.They rarely produce morenectar than the ‘non weed’species and may causeeconomic harm to your landand/or your neighbor’s crops.

Ecology

Canola is in the mustardfamily (Brassica spp.) butthrough plant breeding, thesharp taste of theglucosinolates (sulphurcompounds) have beenremoved from the oil.

Canola is grown in vastacreages and is susceptible tomany diseases making pestmanagement of the canolacrop of paramount interest tobeekeepers.

B. napus and B. nigra aremore drought tolerant than B.rapa. B. nigra is most tolerantof compacted and/or stonysoils.

Canola has sticky pollengrains that result in the beesbeing very effectivepollinators. The result istwofold with the expectedcross-pollination with otherplants and in addition, thepollen loosened by the beesresults in significant windblown pollination.

Depending on the climate,canola flowers bloom forabout 3 weeks between Mayand October. Individualflowers last about two daysThe timing can be altered byclimate and soil fertility. B.arvensis, the wild mustard,blooms early in spring.Varieties of B. rapa will

Help for beekeepers:

Quebec announces $1.9-million

program to Industry devastated

by parasite mite

September 26, 2003The Gazette (Montreal) B3

Kevin Dougherty

The Quebec agriculture department was cited as announcing a$1.9-million program yesterday to help Quebec beekeeperswhose hives have been devastated this year by the parasite miteVarroa destructor.

In announcing the program, Agriculture Minister FrancoiseGauthier was cited as saying that Quebec's 200 beekeepers have37,000 hives, and Varroa destructor has wiped out “no less than50 per cent” of them this year.

Denis Pellerin, of the beekeepers association, was cited as sayingthe damage is even worse in terms of honey production. For2003, honey production in Quebec is between one-third andone-quarter of the usual amount.


high (100 to 500 kg/ha) withthe yield per colony reportedup to 8 kg/day. B. rapareportedly produces 50 to 100kg/ha. B. nigra has a highly variablehoney flow, the cause ofwhich is unknown. A possibleexplanation might be as anadaptive technique to localdrought; being self fertile, theflowers may only producenectar to improve seedproduction in years withabove average moisture.

The honey from Brassica spp.can be so thin that it mayferment in the comb and cangranulate quickly.

In many years canola is themain source of honey in theprairie provinces. By selectingseveral species and/orvarieties, an extendedblooming period can beachieved.

With many commercialcultivars being used forhoney, the beekeeper shouldbe aware of possible concernswith GM canola and possibleperceived marketing issues forthe honey crop. Somecultivars have blossoms thatare too long to allow the beesto easily reach the nectar(especially true of B. rapa).

Reference:

Crompton, C.W. and W.A.Wojtas. 1993. Pollen Grains ofHoney Plants. Center forLand and BiologicalResources Research. ResearchBranch. Agriculture Canada.Publ. No. A53-1892/E.228pp.

Lovell, H.B. 1977. “Honeyplants.” Gleanings in BeeCulture. Medina, USA. 96pp.

Ramsay, J. 1987. Plants forBeekeeping in Canada andthe northern USA. IBRA,Cardiff, UK. 198pp.

Warick, S.I., A. Francis, and J.LaFleche. 2000. Guide to theWild Germplasm of Brassicaand Allied Crops (tribeBrassiceae and Brassicaceae)2nd Edition. Eastern Cerealand Oilseeds Research Center.Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada. 221pp. Online

version. (available at:www.brassica.info )

Whitson, T.D., L.C. Burrill,S.A. Dewey, D.W. Cudney,B.E. Nelson, R.D. Lee, and R.Parker. 1997. Weeds of theWest. University of Wyoming.Jackson, USA. 630pp.

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mature two to three weeksearlier than B. napus, whichflowers from June to August.B. nigra flowers later, fromJuly to October.

Canadian Habitat:

Originally introduced fromEurasia, canola is a coolseason crop. It requires goodmoisture taking between 95and 110 days to reachmaturity. It grows best in theloamy grey to black soilzones of western Canada.Although canola preferscalcareous (alkaline) soils, itcan grow from coastallowlands to montane regionsup to 3000 m.

Methods of Reproduction and Spread:

Canola is an annual, or insome cases biennial, that hasbisexual flowers and iscapable of self-fertilization.Insect pollination can increasethe seed production by up to30% depending on speciesand local conditions.Although not considered awind pollinated plant, canolapollen can be loosened by theforaging bees and otherinsects leading to distant fieldcross-pollination. This can bean issue for non-GM canolafarmers and those trying toraise an organic crop.

Honey/Pollen Potential:

Nectar of Brassica spp. hasone of the highest sugarcontents at 51.5%; B. napusranges from 26 to 84%. Theprotein content of the pollenis ranked in the excellentcategory.

B. rapa has twice the flowersof B. napus although it doesnot produce as much honeybecause the nectar is lessavailable due to the flowerstructure. The extra flowersdo result in B. rapa producingmore pollen per field. Thepotential for honeyproduction from B. napus is

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Administrative Monetary Penalties Bulletin

Ilze Rupners, Regional Manager PMRA,New Westminster, BC

Aldergrove, BC - A Notice of ViolationWarning relating to the use of a controlproduct inconsistent with the labeldirections was issued to two honeyproducers. The warning wasadministered under the authority of theAgriculture and Agri-Food AdministrativeMonetary Penalties (AMPs) Act, whichprovides a system of administrativepenalties and warnings for violations ofseveral acts, including the Pest ControlProducts Act (PCPA).

In January 2003, a Pest ManagementRegulatory Agency (PMRA) investigationdetermined that during the winter of2002 the two companies winteringhoney bees in BC. were found to contain

Apistan Anti-Varroa Mite Strips Reg. No.23023 for a period of time thatexceeded that on the label. The labelstates,’remove strips after 42 daytreatment period’. It is an offence of thePCPA to use a control productinconsistent with label directions.

The use of a control product inconsistentwith label directions constitutes a “veryserious” violation and merits a warningunder the AMPs Regulations. A Notice ofViolation with Warning was issued to thecompanies. They did not contest thefindings nor the warning and aretherefore deemed to have committed theoffence.

AMPs is an enforcement tool which canbe used to issue warnings or imposemonetary penalties (similar to courtimposed fines) through an administrativeprocess rather than pursuing formalprosecution under the PCPA.

As part of its ongoing effort to increaseawareness of PMRA’s role inencouraging compliance with the PCPA,the PMRA issues Bulletins to localmedia when it is deemed that aviolation has been committed.

For further information contact HealthCanada;

The Pest Management Regulatory AgencyHealth Canada101-620 Royal AveNew Westminster, BC(604)666-0741

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FERGUSON APIARIESHensall, [email protected]

centaines de milliers de coloniesd’abeilles, au préjudice de dizaines demilliers d’apiculteurs français et aupréjudice de l'environnement.

Aujourd’hui, la décision de retraits’impose inéluctablement. La filièreapicole l’exige sans délai.

L’affaire dite “du gaucho”, qui duredepuis plus de 7 ans, a coûté auxcontribuables quatre millions d'euros definancement de recherches post-homologation, a entraîné la ruine debeaucoup d’entreprises d'apiculture et des

préjudices considérables pour tous lesapiculteurs. Elle met en évidence lescarences intolérables du service deshomologations des produits phyto-sanitaires en France.

Cette situation extrêmement préoccu-pante pour la santé publique comme pourla défense de l’environnement, ne peutperdurer. Les Pouvoirs Publics doiventprendre des décisions immédiates pourétablir un climat de confiance et latransparence nécessaire.


Au terme de son travail d'expertisesur la mortalité des abeilles en

France, le Comité Scientifique etTechnique, mis en place au ministère del’Agriculture, a rendu le 18 septembre2003 son rapport final sur “l’Imidaclo-pride/Gaucho” utilisé en enrobage desemences.

Très claires, les conclusions valident lesanalyses de résidus d’imidaclopride dansles végétaux traités.

Le Comité Scientifique et Techniqueconclut que ces résultats “sont en accordavec les observations de terrainrapportées par de nombreux apiculteursen zone de grande culture (maïs,tournesol), concernant la mortalité desbutineuses, leur disparition, leurstroubles comportementaux et certainesmortalités d'hiver”.

La nouvelle confirmation officielle d’uneprésence du neurotoxique dans lesvégétaux traités, en corrélation directeavec la décimation du cheptel apicolefrançais, rend plus inacceptable quejamais le maintien du produit sur lemarché. Cette confirmation intervientopportunément au moment même oùplusieurs instructions pénales, ouvertes àParis et en Midi-Pyrénées, mettentgravement en cause les contrôles opéréspar l'administration et la légitimité deshomologations délivrées.

Le Comité Scientifique et Techniqueentreprend 19 septembre, ses travaux surle Fipronil/Régent également mis encause dans ces instructions pénales etcommercialisé depuis 1995 sur une simpleautorisation provisoire.

L’Union Nationale de l’ApicultureFrançaise déplore que les travaux derecherches effectués par les organismesscientifiques officiels, CNRS, INRA,etc… aient été délibérément rejetés par leministère de l’Agriculture lors de leurparution depuis plusieurs années.

Ce manque de réaction délibéré aentraîné la destruction supplémentaire de

Union Nationale de l’Apiculture FrançaiseJean-Marie Sirvins,

Le président de l'Union Nationale de l'Apiculture Française,

Contamination De L’eau Souterraine Par Les

Pesticides Et Les Nitrates Dans Les Régions En

Culture De Pommes De Terre

RÉSUMÉ

Au Québec, la culture de la pomme deterre est pratiquée sur plus de 19 097hectares. Cette culture s’effectuegénéralement sur des sols sableux et, dansce type de sol, l’infiltration rapide deseaux de pluie rend la nappe d’eauparticulièrement vulnérable à lacontamination par les intrants agricoles.

Les échantillonnages effectués par leMinistère dans les années 1980 et audébut des années 1990 dans des puitsindividuels situés près de champs où l’oncultive la pomme de terre avaient montrédes concentrations élevées de nitrates etde certains pesticides, notamment desinsecticides aldicarbe et carbofuran, ainsique la présence de l’herbicidemétribuzine. Depuis, plusieurs nouveauxpesticides sont apparus sur le marché etsont maintenant utilisés de façoncourante pour la culture de la pomme deterre (notamment l’imidaclopride).

Les résultats obtenus en 1999, 2000 et2001 dans différentes régions où l’oncultive la pomme de terre indiquent leséléments suivants :• des pesticides sont détectés dans 49

% des puits échantillonnés;• l’insecticide imidaclopride

(ADMIRE) est détecté dans 35 %des puits échantillonnés. Depuis lesprogrammes d’échantillonnageantérieurs, on assiste à un transfertd’une contamination de l’eausouterraine par l’insecticide aldicarbe(TEMIK) à une contamination parl’imidaclopride;

• l’herbicide métribuzine (LEXONE,SENCOR) est détecté dans 33 %des puits échantillonnés. L’herbicidemétribuzine était présent dans l’eausouterraine au début des années 1990et il est encore présent à unefréquence et à des concentrationssimilaires;

• la contamination de l’eau souterrainepar les pesticides existe dans laplupart des régions où l’on cultive la

ABSTRACT

In Quebec, potato farming extends overan area of more than 19, 097 hectares.This type of farming takes place mostlyin sandy soils, which rapidly drainsrainwater making the water-tableparticularly vulnerable to contaminationby agricultural runoffs.

Study samples carried out by theMinistry of Enviroment during the 1980’sand early 1990’s in individual well sitesnear potato fields showed elevated levelsof nitrate and certain pesticideconcentrations, most notably theinsecticides aldicarbe and carbofuran, aswell as the presence of the herbicidemetribuzine. Since then, more new


The new official confirmation of apresence of a neurotoxin in treatedplants, in direct correlation with thedecimation of French apiculturallivestock, makes keeping the product onthe market even more unacceptable thanever.

This confirmation intervenes opportu-nely, even at a time when severalcriminal investigations are underway inParis and in the Middle -Pyrenees,placing serious blame on the tests runby the administration and the legitimacyof the regulations.

The Science and Technology Committeeas of September 19th, undertakes itsinvestigation into Fipronil, which wasmarketed since 1995 and is blamed inthese criminal investigations on a provi-sional authorization.

After their expert inquiry into themortality of honeybees in France,

the Science and Technology Committeeappointed by the minister of Agriculture,delivered the final report on“Imidaclopride/Gaucho” seed treatmenton September 18th, 2003.

The conclusions are very clear, theyvalidate the analyses of residues ofImidaclopride in the treated plants.

The Science and Technology Committeeconcludes that these results “are inagreement with ground observationsreported by many bee-keepers in areas ofextensive agriculture (corn, sunflower),concerning the mortality of pollinatinginsects, their disappearance, theirbehavioral disorders and winter mortalityrates”.

National Union of French Apiculture

Jean-Marie SIRVINSPresident of the National Union of French Apiculture.

pesticides have appeared on the market andare now commonly used in potatocultivation (especially imidaclopride).

Results obtained from 1999, 2000 and 2001from various regions of potato cultivationindicated these chemicals:

∑ Pesticides were detected in 49% ofwells sampled;

∑ Imidaclopride insecticide (ADMIRE)was found in 35% of sampled wells.Since earlier sampling programs datashows the change in contamination ofgroundwater from the aldicarbeinsecticide (TEMIK) to acontamination by imidaclopride;

∑ Metribuzine herbicide (LEXONE,SENCORE) was detected in 33% ofthe wells sampled. Metribuzine hasbeen present in groundwater since thebeginning of the 1990’s and is stillpresent at similar frequencyconcentrations.

∑ Contamination of the groundwaterfrom pesticide exists, for the mostpart, in potato cultivating regions, butthe regions the most affected arearound Portneuf and Lanaudiere;

∑ 42% of the tested well sites showedconcentrations of nitrates in excess ofthe normal 10mg/l N-NO3 in potablewater;

∑ bacterial contamination was observedin 27% of the tested wells; 16% of thewells sampled showed the presence offecal coliform bacteria, which potablewater should never contain;

∑ there exists no “normal” levels ofconcentration for imidaclopride inpotable water, however formetribuzine and other pesticides themeasured concentrations were weakand within the normal recommendedreference values for potable water.Most of the time, high numbers ofwells show the simultaneous presenceof many pesticides (2 to 4), often inconjunction with nitrateconcentrations higher than normal.

pomme de terre, mais les régions lesplus touchées sont celles de Portneufet de Lanaudière;

• 42 % des puits échantillonnésmontrent la présence de nitrates enconcentrations qui excèdent lanorme de 10 mg/l N-NO3 pourl’eau potable;

• la contamination bactériologique estobservée dans 27 % des puitséchantillonnés; 16 % des puitséchantillonnés montrent la présencede coliformes fécaux alors que l’eaupotable ne devrait jamais en contenir;

• il n’existe pas de norme concernantl’eau potable pour l’imidaclopride,mais pour la métribuzine et lesautres pesticides les concentrationsmesurées sont faibles et respectentles normes ou valeurs de référencerecommandées pour l’eau potable.Toutefois, bon nombre de puitsmontrent la présence simultanée deplusieurs pesticides (2 à 4), souventconjuguée avec des concentrations denitrates supérieures à la norme.

Contamination of groundwater by pesticides and

nitrates in potato cultivation areas.

63rd Canadian Honey Council / 98th Manitoba Beekeepers' Association Canadian Association Of Professional Apiculturists Convention

Hotel Fort Garry - WinnipegJanuary 26 - 30, 2004

REGISTRATION FORM

Name of Registrant: ..................................................................................................................

Accompanying Spouse: ...........................................................................................................

Mailing Address: .......................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

Telephone: ( ) ...................................... Fax: ( ) ..................................................................

E-mail: ......................................................................................................................................

Registration Fees: Advance Registration deadline is December 1, 2003. RegistrationForms post-marked later than December 1st will be charged the Full Registration rate.

Fundraiser Banquet: Ticket price includes choice of Roast Sirloin of Beef Dinner orVegetarian meal and a $30 tax-deductible donation to the Canadian Bee Research Fund.Banquet Activities include a Celebratory Roast to Don Dixon, Research Auction and FreeDraw for prizes such as complimentary room nights during the convention.

Advance Registration (December 1, 2003): ......................................................$ 75 $..........

Full Registration (after December 1, 2003): ......................................................$100 $..........

Single Day Registration: ....................................................................................$ 50 $..........

Fundraiser Banquet* (Thurs. January 29, 2004) .................................. $ 75 x __ = $ .........

Please send me my receipt for my $30 donation to the CBRF � Yes � No

TOTAL .................................Send registration form and payment to:Manitoba Beekeepers' AssociationLot 19 Kingsway Kort, RR#1Brandon, Manitoba, R7A 5Y1

VISA Number | | | | | | | | | | | | | Expiry Date /

Name of Cardholder Signature


The National Union ofFrench Apiculture is deeplyconcerned that the researchtasks carried out by theofficial scientificorganizations, CNRS, INRA,etc… have been deliberatelyrejected by the minister ofAgriculture at the time oftheir publication and forseveral years following.

This deliberate lack ofresponse led to theextermination of hundreds ofthousands of bee colonies,damage to tens of thousandsof French bee-keepers anddestruction of theenvironment.

Today, the decision forwithdrawal is imperative. Theapicultural communityrequires it without delay.

The “Gaucho” matter, whichhas lasted for more than 7years, cost taxpayers fourmillion Euros in financing thepost-approval research,involved the ruin of manybee-keeping enterprises andconsiderable damages to allbee-keepers. It highlights theintolerable shortcomings ofthe approval process ofpesticide products in France.

This extremely alarmingsituation for public health andsafety as well as theprotection of theenvironment, cannot beendured. The authorities mustmake immediate decisions toestablish transparency and aclimate of confidence.

ITINERARY

Monday January 26th:CHC Directors’ Business Meeting ..............................................(8:30am - 5:00pm)CAPA Business Meeting .............................................................(8:30am - 5:00pm).

Tuesday January 27thCHC Directors' Business Meeting ...............................................(8:30am - 3:00pm)CAPA Business Meeting ..............................................................(8:30am - 3:00pm)Registration .................................................................................(1:00pm - 5:00pm)Trade Show Registration .............................................................(7:00pm - 9:00pm)Prov./Fed./Committee Reports ...................................................(7:30pm - 9:30pm)

Wednesday January 28thTrade Show Registration .............................................................(8:30am - 5:00pm)CHC General Business Meeting..................................................(9:00am - 5:00pm)Trade Show Reception - MBA Centennial Celebration .............(7:00pm - 10:00pm)

Thursday January 29thTrade ShowResearch Symposium - IPM in Beekeeping ..................................(9:00am-5:00pm)Fundraiser Banquet - Roast/Awards Ceremony & Auction .........(6:30pm - 9:30pm)

Friday January 30thTrade Show Research Symposium - Trade & Marketing...................................(9:00am-5:00pm)

Updates: - Information pertaining to Research Symposium presentations anditinerary will be posted on the Internet: Canadian - Honey Council www.honeycouncil.ca& Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association - www.manitobabee.org

ACCOMMODATION INFORMATION

The historical Fort Garry hotel in downtown Winnipeg is the perfect venue to hostthis year's Canadian Honey Council, Canadian Association of ProfessionalApiculturists and Manitoba Beekeepers' Association Joint Convention. In additionto providing first class meeting facilities and accommodations, this 90 year oldhotel is the perfect backdrop to celebrate the Manitoba Beekeepers' Associations100th year as a beekeeper organization.

In honour of this historical meeting, The Fort Garry hotel has greatly reduced theguestroom rates for all participants attending this convention. Please refer to TheGroup Code MBBEE when making reservations to receive the special discountrate. Rooms will be held until December 27, 2003, after which time roomavailability is not guaranteed.

� Luxurious One Bedroom Suites .....................................................$119.00 + tax� Deluxe Rooms (King size bed).........................................................$99.00 + tax� Standard Rooms (Queen or Double/Double) ...................................$79.00 + tax

To make reservations contact The Fort Garry, 222 Broadway, Winnipeg, ManitobaPhone (204) 942-8251 or toll free 1-800-665-8088, www.fortgarryhotel.com

and more northern inlandgrowing areas, emergence andmating may continue untillate May. In general, the adult

pollinating season of thesebees occurs at the same timeas blueberry bloom.

Female bees will begin nestconstruction several days aftermating. Often their over-wintering site of emergence isreused.

When females collect nectarand pollen from wildblueberry flowers forprovisioning their nests, theypollinate the crop. Malescontribute slightly topollination when they visitflowers for nectar, but malesdo not collect pollen or assistin nest construction.

Female Osmia lay a single eggon a nectar-pollen loaf-shapedprovision, then seal the cellwith a thin partition of

masticated plant material ormud. It takes from 11 to 20trips to blueberry flowers tocomplete one cell. A singlefemale may lay as many as 32to 35 eggs. Eggs hatch intolarvae which feed on thenectar-pollen provision intheir cell. They then gothrough a nonfeeding pupalstage and by mid-fall havedeveloped into dormantadults, which will thenemerge the following spring.

Parasites, predators, anddisease can reduce the numberof adults emerging thefollowing season. Forexample, adult femaleparasitic Sapyga (sa pi jah')wasps may enter uncappednests and lay their eggs, whichdevelop faster than Osmia.The wasp larvae kill thedeveloping bees.

Plants to Encourage AlongBlueberry Field Borders

Encouraging the growth ofcertain plants along your fieldborders will conserve andenhance Osmia populations.

Because some Osmia emergea bit earlier than blueberrybloom and some live longerthan blueberry bloom, thebees will need additionalsources of nectar and pollenin order to achieve goodreproduction. Females alsoneed young, tender deciduousleaves for nest construction.Our research has found thatthe plants listed in Table 1,when found along fieldborder, will increase Osmianumbers in your field


Description and Biology

In Maine, the megachilidsimportant in pollinatingblueberry all belong to thegenus Osmia. Throughout thewild blueberry growingregions of Maine, ninedifferent species of Osmiathat pollinate wild blueberryhave been reared fromwooden nesting blocks. Sevenspecies, including Osmiaatriventris, are leafcuttingspecies, which cap their nestswith masticated (thoroughlychewed) plant material. Theother two Osmia species usemud to cap their nests andhence are known as masonbees.

The species found in Mainegenerally are some shade ofmetallic blue. The onlyexception is Osmia inermis,which is a nonmetallic black.In Maine the species range insize from 1/4 to 2/3 inch (7 to

16 mm). Figure 3 showsseveral species of Osmia bees.Osmia over-winter asdormant adults. Beginning in

late April they begin toemerge from their nest sites.

Males typically emerge beforefemales and are smaller thanfemales. Mating occurs fromearly to mid-May. In coastal

Before and during blueberry bloom Common name Genus

birch Betula

maple Acer

oak Quercus

poplar, aspen Populus

willow Salix

During and/or after blueberry bloom Common name Genus

aster Aster

cherry Prunus

dogwood, bunchberry Cornus

honeysuckle Lonicera

sheep laurel, lambkill Kalmia

Table 1. Recommended forage plants for enhancing populations ofOsmia spp

Researcher RetiresDon Nelson has retired from his research position withAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada. For the next few months hewill be visiting Beaverlodge Research Station to sort out files,reprints and other documentation left behind by otherapiculture scientists that were at Beaverlodge over the years.Don says he would be pleased to keep in touch with hiscolleagues and friends. Dr. Stephen Pernal, who has been on sitefor two years, will be responsible for the apiculture program atBeaverlodge and will continue with on going programs,correspondence and representing Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada in the area of apiculture research.

Field Conservation Management of Native Leafcutting and Mason Osmia BeesFact Sheet No. 301 UMCE No. 2420

by C. S. Stubbs, Assistant Scientist; F. A. Drummond, Associate Professor; and D. E. Yarborough,Extension Blueberry Specialist. University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. (March 2000)


Canadian Bee Research FundCall For ProposalsThe directors of the Canadian Bee Research Fund invite callsfor proposals for the 2004 competition. Grants will be consider-ed in any area of apiculture or pollination research, but prefe-rence will be given for subjects identified by the Canadianbeekeeping industry as high priority.

The Canadian Bee Research Fund (CBRF) is now in its sixthyear of operation, and has awarded grants for research consideredimportant for the survival and prosperity of the Canadianbeekeeping industry. The projects awarded funding for 2003 were:

Pernal, S., D.Nelson, A.Melathopoulos, K.Manninen &D.Noot. “Management of oxytetracycline resistant AFBdisease in honeybees” $9,000

Currie, R. “Environmental and chemical control of varroa inindoor wintering facilities” $9,000

Scott Dupree, C. “Evaluation of new insecticides andalternative strategies for effective control of insect pests ofsweet corn with minimal impact on foraging honeybees”$4,000

Otis, G. and H. Mattila “Evaluating the effects of fall andspring pollen supplements on honey bee colonies andindividual worker bees” $3,000.

The CBRF was established to counteract the problems causedby severe reductions in federal and provincial funding forhoneybee research. The Fund has been set up as a long-termendowment to support bee research, with interest generatedavailable for annual grants.

Applications for this round of grants should be sent to Dr RobCurrie, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg MB R3T 2N2. Thedeadline for submission of proposals is 30 November 2003.Application details can be found on the CHC Websitewww.honeycouncil.ca

MENTHOL BOARDSPlease order early

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Mending FencesStan Reist

A lady came over to our exhibit at the Nanaimo fair wherethere was an old extractor on display. She said that it broughtback memories of when she was young woman keeping beesnear Montreal, Quebec. She extracted honey to get her spendingmoney as well as the family honey supply. One day when shewas not at home her neighbour phoned. The neighbourcomplained to the lady’s mother about the bees that were flyinginto her summer kitchen. The neighbour was making jams andjellies and the bees were all over her kitchen. What could bedone about this! Mother apologized and said that when herdaughter got home that she would tell her to walk the fence tosee where the bees got out and fix the hole. The neighbour wasgreatly relieved and hung up. It was a great story and we alllaughed heartily at the idea of mending the fence to keep thebees at home.


Mite-Away

Use Mite-Away Single Application Formic Acid Pads in the fallfor control of tracheal mites. See our web site at

www.miteaway.com. You can purchase Mite-Away at the following distributors:

Ontario: F.W. Jones & Sons Ltd, Toronto, 800-665-6637 Cook's Bee Supplies, Aurora, 888-645-9722 Better Bee Supplies, Cambridge, 519-621-7430 Benson Bee Supplies Ltd, Metcalfe, 800-214-7366 Peter Mewett, Stirling, 613-395-3225 Grey-Bruce Bee Supplies, Markdale, 519-986-4980Clovermead Apiaries, Aylmer, ON 519-773-5503

Quebec: F.W. Jones & Sons Ltd., Bedford, 800-665-6637 Maritimes: Country Fields Beekeeping Supplies,

Upper Coverdale, N.B., 506-387-6804 Western Canada: Hat Honey Farms,

Medicine Hat, Alta, 403-527-3997Vancouver Island Apiary Supply, Langley, B.C., 604-888-3823

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place orders by phone 780-835-2115 or fax 780-835-2873 or email [email protected].

For SaleRV Comb Honey Trays - leak proof, clear plastic snap-on lid,

cream colour plastic base. Stop the leaks and finger punctures ofaluminum trays. Available in 100 or 720 per carton.

River Valley Apiaries, P.O. Box 142, Stirling, Ontario, K0K 3E0. VISA accepted.

Phone: 613-395-5398.

For SaleOverwintered nucs available in May. Queen cells and mated

queens available June through August.

Phil Laflamme - Highlands Honey, RR 3, Lanark, Ontario -K0G 1K0 - 613 259 5553

Wanted to Buy

Borage honey in drums and also beeswax. Contact HenryNauta, phone 905-640-1564, fax 905-640-7479.

Classifieds

Honey Wanted

Call for Current Market Conditions

Toll Free1-800-789-4391

Trusted By Beekeepers for Over 50 Years!

ELI GROSSMAN - EXT 230OR

JACK GROSSMAN – EXT 229

e-mail: [email protected]

Billy Bee Honey Products Ltd. 68 Tycos Drive, Toronto, ON M6B 1V9

TEL: 800-789-4391 www.billybee.com FAX: 416-789-9112

www.fraserauction.com


F.W. JONES & SON LTD.SINCE 1878

44 DUTCH STREET, BEDFORD,QUEBEC J0J 1A0

(450) 248 3323 PHONE(450) 248 2592 FAX

E-MAIL: [email protected]

We stock a complete line of beekeepingEquipment for all your needs.

Woodenware, Queen excluders, containers in glass and plastic.

Queen rearing equipment, Queens, Comb Honey

Containers, Foundation, smokers, Extracting Equipment

Beekeeping Tools and much more.

Please call or write to receive yourFree catalogue.

Branch Office: F.W. Jones & Son Ltd.105 St. Regis Crescent, Toronto, Ont. M3J 1Y6

416 783 2818

Your Leading Supplier of:

*Natural Menthol Crystal

*Bee Feed Pollen

*Fresh, Frozen Royal Jelly

Call for Competitive Pricing and for a Free Copy ofour Full Color 2003 Mail Order Catalog.

PO Box 2744 _ 120 N. Seneca Rd.Eugene, OR 97402 USA

Toll Free (800) 456-7923 _ Fax (541) 762-7173www.GloryBeeFoods.com

[email protected]

BEE WORLD INDUSTRIESPLANET BEE HEALTH ALTERNATIVESQueens: May - OctNucs: Apr - JulyHoney: Specialty buy/sellBeeswax: Bulk Candles & SuppliesPollen, Propolis, Royal Jelly:

Re-sellers Wanted, Wholesale and Distributor Pricing Available. Wanted to buy Quality Bee propolis. Top Prices Or Trade For Product.

Ed Nowek2351 Harding Rd.

Armstrong B.C.Ph: 546-6552 or1 877 233-9675

Shop on line at:www.planetbee.com

email: [email protected]

VESPER TRANSPORTFully reconditioned and #1 Quality Export Drums - Offering custom

trucking across western Canada and western states.Office/Cory 250-499-5773 - Lee 250-499-5753 -

Fax 250-499-5752

High Fructose Corn SyrupFood Grade SweetenerDealer for ADM Corn Processors

Serving Manitoba & Saskatchewan

Delivered to Door on TimeAt Temperature 80-90 degrees F.

PO Box 190 Fisher Branch MB R0C 0Z0Telephone 1-800-990-1390 [email protected]

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