Honeybee colony losses in Canada are estimated at 36 per cent in 2024.
That’s marginally worse than 2023, when beekeepers lost 32 per cent of their colonies through the winter, says the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA).
Every July, CAPA publishes data on the number of hives that fail to survive the winter. The figures are based on a survey of beekeepers in each province.
Historically, losses of 15 to 20 per cent have been typical or acceptable within the beekeeping industry.
However, in recent years that number has crept upward, and losses of 25 to 35 percent have become commonplace. Varroa mites (a parasite), cold temperatures in the spring, diseases and other factors have put pressure on colony survival.
The 2024 data indicates a wide variation in losses from province to province.
Ontario beekeepers had a difficult winter — 50 per cent of hives did not survive or didn’t have sufficient bees to become viable colonies for the 2024 production season.
Results were better on the Prairies, but not great:
• Manitoba beekeepers suffered colony losses of 39 per cent.
• Alberta beekeepers lost 34 per cent of their hives.
Saskatchewan, though, had significantly fewer losses than any other province. Beekeepers in that province lost only 18 per cent of their colonies over the winter, CAPA said.
That figure could be an under-estimate because fewer beekeepers in Saskatchewan responded to the CAPA survey. The number of bee colonies in the survey was about 40 per cent of the total number of hives in Saskatchewan.
However, it does seem like Saskatchewan beekeepers are faring better than other parts of Canada.
The explanation could be related to the size of apiaries in the province.
“It’s a little bit different in Saskatchewan because I think most of their operations run around the 2,000 to 3,000 colonies,” Rod Scarlett, executive director of the Canadian Honey Council, told Glacier FarmMedia this spring.
“Nobody knows why their losses are less. They’re far more intensive about raising their own stock. Whether or not that makes a difference, nobody can say for sure.”
Alberta does have more bees and larger beekeeping operations. Some apiaries in Alberta have 10,000 to 15,000 hives.
CAPA estimates that Alberta had 308,000 colonies in 2023.
In comparison, Manitoba had 114,000, Ontario 101,000 and Saskatchewan ad 99,000.
The CAPA data on winter losses is preliminary.
The association will soon publish a detailed report with explanations and causes of colony losses during the winter of 2023-24.