| | With funding from the Agricultural Policy Framework, researchers and beekeepers are finding new ways to protect this vital agricultural resource.
When it comes to the unsung heroes of the Alberta agriculture industry, it’s hard to find a more deserving candidate than the humble honey bee. After all, bees perform at least two essential services – making honey and pollinating plants – absolutely free.
“Here in Alberta, we have a very progressive beekeeping industry,” explains Medhat Nasr, provincial apiculturist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “We have at least 700 beekeepers and 250,000 hives in this province and about 40% of Canada's bee population is here.”
These beekeepers and their bees create a massive economic impact. In 2006, the economic value of the province’s honey production was $46 million, or about 40% of the total of Canada’s honey production. That’s just for starters. Bees’ far greater economic contribution relates to pollination.
When a bee visits a flower, it will pollinate the flower by moving pollen from the male to the female parts of the plant. This timeless process is at the very heart of agricultural production in Alberta. As just one example, bees enable the production of 30,000 acres of hybrid canola seed in a region connecting Brooks, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. Hybridization is achieved by planting alternating rows of males and females, with the other sex having been genetically switched off, and allowing bees to do the pollination.
According to a study by the Canola Council of Canada, the direct and indirect annual economic impact of canola in Canada is $13.8 billion. Most Canadian canola production now comes from hybrid varieties, and most hybrid canola seed comes from southern Alberta – and its bees, of course.
“We tend to take pollination for granted,” says Nasr, “because it’s a service we don’t have to pay for. A U.S. study estimated the annual economic value of pollination at $15 billion. Translating that to the Canadian situation gives you a figure of $1 billion to $1.5 billion for Canada, and Alberta's share is at least $300 million to $400 million.”
Tough times for Alberta bees
The last couple of years have not been easy on the province's honeybees. The central issue is a number of threats that resulted in high winter kill. Most significantly, there have been more severe than usual attacks of the varroa mite parasite. These infestations were worsened by the fact that conventional chemical controls – known as miticides – had lost much of their effectiveness over the years. The second issue is a fungal parasitic disease known as nosema. The third factor over the last few years has been severe winters. For bees, it’s been the perfect storm.
Varroa Mite parasite developing on bee pupae.
The impact of winter kill of honey bee colonies has been devastating. In Alberta, 30% of bees died during the winter of 2007-08. Another 15% survived, barely, but were in no shape to work. This means that, heading into 2008, some 45% of Alberta's bees were dead or debilitated. To an apiculturist such as Nasr, and in fact anyone who depends for their living on honey or pollination, this amounted to a crisis.
In Nasr’s view, the time had come to shift perceptions of colony pest control to a more sustainable model known as Integrated Pest Management or IPM.
A beekeeper inspecting a bee colony.
The impact of winter kill of honey bee colonies has been devastating. In Alberta, 30% of bees died during the winter of 2007-08. Another 15% survived, barely, but were in no shape to work. This means that, heading into 2008, some 45% of Alberta's bees were dead or debilitated. To an apiculturist such as Nasr, and in fact anyone who depends for their living on honey or pollination, this amounted to a crisis.
In Nasr’s view, the time had come to shift perceptions of colony pest control to a more sustainable model known as Integrated Pest Management or IPM.
Bee foraging on canola flower.
On February 10 and 11, 2009, Nasr hosted a workshop for the province’s beekeepers. With speakers from New Zealand and California, Nasr and an expert panel reviewed the current status of honey bee health, taught the principles of IPM and introduced the new control tools and guidelines for their use.
While the recent health status of honey bees is challenging, Nasr believes that IPM has the correct ingredients to safeguard Alberta’s all-important bee population for the future.
“To develop any kind of sustainable IPM system, we need to maintain the high quality of Alberta honey,” he says. “It is a puzzle involving the right control product, applied with the right device and at the right time. We have made good progress so far and we have excellent producers in the province, so I am optimistic.”
For more information on bees and IPM, please contact provincial apiculturist Medhat Nasr at 780-415-2314 (dial 310-0000 for toll free) or by email to medhat.nasr@gov.ab.ca.
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