Allan: FYI..... Keep in mind CAPA does it best in spite of what some believe. Process is transparent. However, the squeaky wheel gets oil. For example in Alberta we have guys with 5.5% winter kill and some with 75%. If your neighbor who lost 80% did not reply we did not add him. For percentage of winter kill is calculated as, total number killed over wintered in 2012 across canada. It should state % of winter kill. How can you calculate an average and Standard deviation for a single number? If you would like to get averages with standard deviation, it should be calculated in a different way. Table has all numbers. Help yourself. You must keep in mind variable bee hive numbers from province to province that might effect your assumptions.



 In Alberta we report only 400 hives. Please read more details for Alberta survey if you are interested.

All provincial reports can be requested from each province to check if you or others are interested.

Here is my report to share, feel free to ask.



Alberta Honey Bee Survey Results of Winter kill in 2013



The annual survey to determine winter kill of honey bees in 2013 was conducted by the apiculture program of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. Management practices used by beekeepers during 2012 were also included to understand possible causes of winter kill. The survey included information from 112 beekeepers who owned 400 or more colonies. This group of beekeepers own 92 per cent of honey bee colonies in Alberta. Seventy-four per cent of the surveyed beekeepers responded. These beekeepers wintered 214,484 honey bee colonies. Eighty-two per cent of the wintered bee colonies were wintered outdoors and the rest were wintered indoors.



“Overall, beekeepers reported that 23.6 per cent (range 5.5% to 75%) of Alberta bees died during the 2012/2013 winter,” says Dr. Medhat Nasr, provincial Apiculturists with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “There was no difference in bee winter kill between colonies wintered outdoors or indoors. The reported winter kill did vary from region to region, with the lowest average winter kill (17%) reported in the southern Alberta region-1 where there are 85,000 bee colonies registered.



“The highest winter kill was reported in region-2 (North of Calgary – south of Edmonton), and region-3 north east of Alberta. The winter kill in these two regions, where beekeepers keep about 55,000 bee colonies, averaged 37.5 per cent. In the North West region-4, beekeepers registered 75,000 bee colonies and reported 21 per cent winter kill. In the Peace River region beekeepers registered 67,000 bee colonies and reported 28 per cent winter kill.”



The survey included a detailed list of questions about management practices conducted in 2012 and in spring 2013. These questions included management practices, bee health and environmental conditions. Beekeepers were also asked to rank possible causes of winter kill. The purpose of these questions was to determine any common possible candidates that could explain the causes of the high over-winter kill



This year, losses may be attributed to one or a combination of several potential causes. Beekeepers ranked possible causes of winter kill from high to low as follows:

·         Long winter combined with late cold spring: in early March beekeepers were reporting that winter mortality was looking normal and the bees were looking good. However, because of large snow pack, a long winter, freezing rain and late spring, the bee population continued to dwindle and die. Survived colonies were slightly weaker than normal colony strength for this time of the year. It was also noticeable that region 2 and 3 had the highest snow and storms of freezing rain which seriously affected bee colonies.

·         Nosema: beekeepers rated nosema as the second cause of bee kill. This was most likely associated with late spring and the confinement of bees for a long time through winter in bee colonies. In some of the beekeeping operations, though beekeepers fed medicated sugar syrup in the fall to control Nosema, the chemotherapy effectiveness was questionable.

·         Poor quality of queens: the majority of queens were imported from the USA, New Zealand, Australia and Chile. In recent years, beekeepers have been reporting poor quality, poor acceptance and supersedure.

·         Varroa: surprising enough, the varroa infestation was under control in most operations in 2012/2013. Apivar continues to work effectively, and the spring treatment was very effective. Fall treatment was late in some operations and most likely did not help wintering bees.

·         Starvation: was reported by beekeepers due to the long winter and inability for beekeepers to easily access bee colonies to provide early spring feed.



“Obviously, wintering losses have plagued beekeepers for decades,” says Nasr. “In 2012, Alberta reported the lowest winterkill (15%) in a decade, but this year, losses are substantially higher (23.8%) and varied from region to region. Most of the winterkill was associated with prevailing winter conditions and snow accumulated in each region. In comparison to the national percentage of winterkill (28.6%), Alberta did not fair too badly. In spite of the high losses, Alberta beekeepers replaced most of their killed colonies, and in some operations beekeepers increased their numbers due to high honey prices and higher demand for Alberta’s quality honey.”



Over the winter of 2012/2013, the percentage of winter kill (i.e. colony mortality or colonies too weak to be commercially productive) across Canada was 28.6 per cent. The highest winterkill was 46.4 per cent reported in Manitoba. The lowest winter kill was in Nova Scotia and British Colombia 17 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively. This low winter kill in both provinces was encouraging news. In most years, these two provinces reported high winter kill; however, beekeeping management and mild winter weather helped in improving the survivorship of bees in these provinces. Reported possible causes of winter kill were similar in most of the provinces, except in Ontario and Quebec where beekeepers reported additional concerns regarding potential chronic sub-lethal impacts of pesticides on wintering bees.



Contact:

Dr. Medhat Nasr, Edmonton, Alberta canada

780-415-2314

mailto:[log in to unmask]



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