Beekeepers hold conference in Vernon to discuss challenges and how to deal with them

Beekeepers from throughout the province are in Vernon this weekend as the B.C. Honey Producers' Association holds its fall educational conference and annual general meeting.

Jeff Lee, with the association, said conference is an opportunity for beekeepers to get together and discuss the good and bad things facing the industry.

There are also two days of education program for the beekeepers.

“In British Columbia there are over 6,000 beekeepers,” Lee said. “We have the largest number of beekeepers by province in Canada.”

Lee said BC is made up largely of hobby beekeepers who have anywhere between two and 200 hives.

But no matter the scale, nor the location, beekeepers throughout Canada are facing some serious challenges.

One of those challenges is an invasive mite that comes from Asia and because local bees have no defence against them, their presence is concerning.

“It is not native anywhere outside of Asia and it is a mite that has caused a lot of damage to honey bees,” he said. “Over the course of many years we have learned that the mite can vector viruses (and) can cause colonies to collapse. So for us, the challenge as beekeepers is to learn how to deal with these growing concerns.”
Another factor impacting bees is climate change.

Lee said the amount of time bees can forage is being impacted by changing weather patterns.

“This year in British Columbia is a very good example. We have been challenged by wildfires and in some parts of BC there has been a very short forage period. (In some parts of BC) we had a very wet spring and a wet summer and that affects the bloom bees depend upon.”

Lee said the conference will help beekeepers deal with the challenges by comparing notes, and sharing ideas on how to address those issues.

“We have speakers who come to talk to us about best management practices and research that is taking place that helps us as beekeepers learn how to overcome some of these challenges.”