B.C. honeybees are in hot demand after what seems to have been a kind winter for colonies.
Chilliwack beekeeper Peter Awram said his phone is ringing day and night with blueberry farmers seeking bees to pollinate their crops.
鈥淓verything we have is out in the blueberries,鈥� said Awram, whose Honeyview Farm is one of the biggest in B.C. with 4,000-plus hives. 鈥淚t was a decent winter. We鈥檙e reasonably happy with our numbers.鈥�
Honeybee death rates have become a huge concern across the world. Last year in Canada, the winter mortality rate rose to about 29 per cent of colonies. A 15 per cent loss is usually considered acceptable.
B.C. managed to escape the trend in 2013, although the previous winter was disappointing with 27 per cent losses, according to data collected by the 91原创 Association of Professional Apiculturists.
Awram said Canada, with its harsh winters, is generally a difficult place for overwintering bees, while disease and regulations preventing the import of U.S. bees have made the situation worse.
As a result, there are not enough hives to serve the demand from B.C.鈥檚 rapidly-expanding blueberry industry. In its report on the 2013 harvest, the B.C. Blueberry Council cited a lack of bees as a challenge to increasing yields.
鈥淲e could probably do 1,000 to 1,500 more [fields],鈥� said Mike Campbell of Campbell鈥檚 Gold in Abbotsford.
Campbell鈥檚 bees did not fare as well as he鈥檇 hoped. While numbers were strong through the winter, he saw a marked decline in spring. That鈥檚 left him wondering if the bees may have found pollen that had been sprayed with insecticide. The hot weather in August also led to larger numbers of wasps, which attack bee hives.
鈥淚t鈥檚 frustrating. It鈥檚 sort of a puzzle trying to figure it out,鈥� he said.
Experts on bee mortality point to the impact of parasites such as Varroa mites, which suck blood from bees, and 鈥渇ugitive dust鈥� coming from insecticides on crops.
In the United States last year, honey bee colony death rates were estimated at about 30 per cent of the population, while Britain saw a death rate of 34 per cent, the highest on record.
91原创 Honey Council executive director Rod Scarlett said it鈥檚 too early to tell how Canada鈥檚 bee population did this winter, but he believes part of the concern about bee numbers comes from what bees are being asked to do.
鈥淭he face of the industry is changing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of economic reliance on bees for pollination.鈥�
For example, bees in a blueberry field may get less nutrition for the work they鈥檙e doing than if they were in a field of wildflowers.
鈥淚t all has an impact on bee health,鈥� he said.
But Scarlett is optimistic about the growing number of hobbyist beekeepers.
Langley Bee Club member Courtney White has just four hives and gets emails every day from farmers seeking her help.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 reason to hope,鈥� she said of bee numbers.
White is also the Fraser Valley representative with the B.C. Honey Producers Association. She鈥檚 been hearing good news on winter mortality from fellow beekeepers.
鈥淔rom what I鈥檓 hearing, things are looking good.鈥�
