I find it interesting that Canada which has well run provincial apiculture departments can make  
concise assessments of the CCD situation in their respective provinces. This contrasts with the 
circus in the US where we rely on commercial interests and a yes/no survey from anyone with a 
hive of bees to collect data that we deem as proof we have CCD in 35 states.  

We heard from Ontario earlier this season on the assessment there here is the Alberta assessment. 

>From AgriSuccess Express 

5. Canadian beekeepers dodge colony collapse disorder

by D. Larraine Andrews

This spring Canadian beekeepers were on the alert for a potential new
threat to their colonies called colony collapse disorder. The mysterious
illness, which decimates the worker bee population in the hive, was
responsible for the collapse of thousands of colonies across the United
States.

Paul Laflamme, unit leader with the pest management systems group at
Alberta Agriculture and Food, reports that to date there have been no
reported cases of CCD in Canada. 

A survey this summer of Alberta beekeepers showed that over-wintering
losses, which are normally about 15 per cent, were almost double that
amount this past winter. Laflamme says there were a number of factors
that combined to produce this result, but CCD was not one of them. 

A major factor was a longer than normal winter with early snow and a
cool wet spring. This delayed flowering as much as three weeks and
limited foraging sources. Another cause of the high losses was the
failure of varroa mite treatments that were not as effective as hoped. 

Now a consortium of researchers in the U.S. has found a significant
connection between the Israeli acute paralysis virus and CCD. Bees
imported from Australia are being implicated as a source of the virus. 

Laflamme says that Australian bees have been imported into Canada for
over twenty years with no serious problems. "Now we know a possible
cause (for CCD) we can investigate if the bees have any potential to
carry the virus." 

He points out that the Canadian climate is so different from the U.S.
that the disease may not manifest itself in the same form. He adds that
anecdotal evidence suggests that Australian bees do not over-winter as
well in Canadian hives. 

This spring, provincial apiculturist Medhat Nasr collected samples from
colonies with high over-wintering losses for analysis. His article on
best management practices appears in the August issue of Alberta Bee
News published by the Alberta Beekeepers Association. Check the website
at www.albertabeekeepers.org <http://www.albertabeekeepers.org/> .

 

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