Honey Bees Under Threat

Honey Bees, like all living organisms, are exposed to different kinds of pathogens that affect their survival. Since 2006, honey bee mortality has been increasing worldwide. 

In an alarming trend, Canadian beekeepers reported overwinter losses that averaged 45% in the last year (2021), doubling previous years. Initial research points toward a surge of biotic (pathogens) and abiotic (weather change, pollution, pesticides) factors that affect stressed and immunosuppressed bees. In addition to diagnostic services, the NBDC supports and conducts research that aims to improve bee health and build sustainability in Canada’s apiculture industry.

Current Research

Research Lead: Patricia Wolf Veiga

Description: The beekeeping industry and pollination management are vital to the Canadian agricultural economy. Canadian honey production has been valued at $278 million, with Canadian beekeepers providing an additional $4 to $5.5 billion in value through crop and hybrid Canola seed pollination services (Statistics Canada, 2022).

Beekeepers face challenges, including increasing production costs due to high bee mortality and low honey prices. Over the last decade, honey bee health has declined substantially, with one of the primary drivers of colony losses being the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Control of the varroa in beekeeping is a significant challenge. Although mitraz acaricide has been the primary product for controlling varroosis, resistance to amitraz has been reported in Europe and the US, with some reports of reduced amitraz efficacy in Canada. However, there has been no Canadian survey to establish miticide resistance in the varroa mite population. This study will survey varroa mite populations in Canadian apiaries by assessing the frequency of genetic mutations associated with acaricide resistance. The goal is to determine the prevalence and distribution of the mutations related to amitraz and fluvalinate miticides.

Partners: NBDC, BC Honey Producers Association, Manitoba Beekeepers Association, Alberta Beekeepers Commission

Funding: RDAR (Results Driven Agriculture Research)

Research Lead: Patricia Wolf Veiga

Description: The beekeeping industry and pollination management are vital to the Canadian agricultural economy. Canadian honey production has been valued at $278 million, with Canadian beekeepers providing an additional $4 to $5.5 billion in value through crop and hybrid Canola seed pollination services (Statistics Canada, 2022).

Beekeepers face challenges, including increasing production costs due to high bee mortality and low honey prices. Over the last decade, honey bee health has declined substantially, with one of the primary drivers of colony losses being the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Control of the varroa in beekeeping is a significant challenge. Although mitraz acaricide has been the primary product for controlling varroosis, resistance to amitraz has been reported in Europe and the US, with some reports of reduced amitraz efficacy in Canada. However, there has been no Canadian survey to establish miticide resistance in the varroa mite population. This study will survey varroa mite populations in Canadian apiaries by assessing the frequency of genetic mutations associated with acaricide resistance. The goal is to determine the prevalence and distribution of the mutations related to amitraz and fluvalinate miticides.

Partners: NBDC, BC Honey Producers Association, Manitoba Beekeepers Association, Alberta Beekeepers Commission

Funding: RDAR (Results Driven Agriculture Research)
 

Research Lead: Patricia Wolf Veiga

Description: Quinclorac is a herbicide commonly used on crops, and its residues have been studied in various agricultural products, including grains, fruits, and soil. Once applied, quinclorac remains in the soil for an extended period, undergoing slow degradation that could potentially affect future crops as well as honey and other hive products. While degradation of quinclorac in matrices such as soil and water has been conducted, there is limited research specific to honey. 

The presence of quinclorac residues in honey has detrimental implications for international trade. Japanese buyers have adopted a stringent residue limit for quinclorac in honey of 0.01 parts per million. This has affected domestic beekeepers, as traces of quinclorac have been found in some Canadian honey, making its exportation to Japan impossible. 

This study aims to detect quinclorac, its transformation, and degradation in Canadian honey. We will establish a mechanism for beekeepers to monitor quinclorac levels in their products before shipping, ensuring a successful delivery to the marketplace.

Partner: Canadian Honey Council 

Funding: Beemaid Honey 
 

Research Lead: Patricia Wolf Veiga

Description: Amoebic dysentery or amebiasis of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) was first described in Britain and Germany in 1926 under the name Malpighamoeba (Vahlkampfia) mellificae Prell. M. mellificae has now been found in several countries around the world, including Canada. We will evaluate the prevalence of M. mellificae using existing samples stored by collaborator Patricia Wolf-Veiga at NBDC. The increased knowledge we will generate on the prevalence of M. mellificae in Canadian apiaries and its relationship with climatic regions and other gut parasites will provide the needed basic information to guide future testing and management interventions.

Partners: Dr. Marta Guarna, AAFC, NBDC

Funding: CBRF
 

Past Research

  • Status: Complete
  • Description: The health of the queen bee is essential to maintain productive and healthy bee colonies. To assess the influence of pathogens on decreased longevity, queens were purchased from leading foreign producers (Chile, Australia, Hawaii, and California) and several Canadian provinces and analyzed for pathogens, sperm count and viability.
  • Partners: NBDC project
  • Funding: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
  • Status: Complete
  • Research Lead: Dr. Shauna Henley, Northwestern Polytechnic
  • Description: In 2013, Alberta was the largest honey producer in Canada, with 280,000, or 42% of the national total. The Peace Country typically leads Alberta in honey yield (pounds per colony). The objective of this study was to collaborate with local beekeepers to identify the viruses present in the region. The study examined links between the type and number of viruses infecting each colony and the overall health of the colony. Over time, this information may help identify specific characteristics associated with natural resistance to viruses. The prevalence of 7 different honey bee viruses was examined.
  • Funding: NSERC
  • Status: Complete
  • Research Lead: Patricia Wolf Veiga
  • Description: The aim of this project, the first of its kind in Canada, was to document the prevalence, intensity, and distribution of pests and pathogens in Canadian apiaries. Canadian beekeepers had identified the need for a national honey bee disease survey. Similar multi-year surveillance projects were conducted within the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA. NBDC led this project on behalf of the Beekeepers Commission of Alberta, and in collaboration with the Manitoba Beekeepers Association. Honey bees from apiaries nationwide were analyzed to establish a baseline of honey bee health.
  • Partners: NBDC, All Canadian Beekeepers Associations except Saskatchewan
    Funding: AAFC - Growing Forward II, Alberta Beekeepers Commission, Manitoba Beekeepers, Crop Life Canada, Syngenta Canada 

Outcomes

Reports are produced annually by the Canadian Federal Government, and are available below in both English and French.

In 2017, 255 samples were collected from BC, AB, MB, ON, NB, NS, PEI and NL.
2017 National Honey Bee Health Survey Report 2017 Enquête Nationale Canadienne sur l'état de Santé des Abeilles Domestiques
In 2016, 314 samples were collected from BC, AB, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PEI, NL and YT.
2016 National Honey Bee Health Survey Report 2016 Enquête Nationale Canadienne sur l'état de Santé des Abeilles Domestiques
In 2015, 212 samples were collected from BC, AB, MB and ON.
2015 National Honey Bee Health Survey Report 2015 Enquête Nationale Canadienne sur l'état de Santé des Abeilles Domestiques
In 2014, 163 samples were collected from AB and MB.
2014 National Honey Bee Health Survey Report 2014 Enquête Nationale Canadienne sur l'état de Santé des Abeilles Domestiques
  • Status: Complete
  • Research Lead: Dr. Shelley Hoover 
  • Description: This project combined the expertise of researchers across Canada to improve the health of Canadian honey bees through new genomic and proteomic tools that enable beekeepers to rapidly and cost-effectively breed healthy, disease-resistant, productive bee colonies that are better able to survive our harsh Canadian winters. The NBDC assisted Dr. Leonard Foster (University of British Columbia) and Dr. Amro Zayed (York University) with the Genome Canada project ‘Sustaining and securing Canada’s honey bees using ‘omic tools’. Diagnostics for Nosema, Chritidia, and viral panels were all completed at the NBDC facility.
  • Partners: AAFC, NBDC, York University, University of British Columbia, University of Lethbridge, Guelph University, Canadian honey bee scientists
  • Funding: Genome Canada
  • Status: Complete
  • Research Lead: Dr. Shelley Hoover 
  • Description: The success rate of Requeening Queenright Honey Bee Colonies with queen cells during honey flow was investigated. Maternity of drones was determined by using the mitochondrial DNA to identify by laying queens.
  • Partners: University of Lethbridge, NBDC
  • Funding: Canadian Honey Council
  • Status: Complete
  • Research Leads: Patricia Wolf Veiga and Dr. Stephen Pernal
  • Description: Little is currently known about foulbrood strains in Canadian apiaries. Although our 2016 National Honey Bee Health Survey results revealed EFB symptoms in only 0.58% of hives (18 out of 3,097 surveyed colonies), the presence of the bacterium was detected by molecular methods in 40% of surveyed apiaries. This indicates that the potential for outbreak is very real and should be addressed and studied. This study will generate new knowledge on the infectivity, pathogenicity and virulence of two devastating honey bee brood diseases, American Foulbrood (AFB) and European Foulbrood (EFB). NBDC will use the results of this study to develop more effective diagnostic techniques for the identification of foulbrood and improve the ability to predict disease outbreaks.
  • Partners: Alberta Beekeepers Commission, Manitoba Beekeepers Association , BC Honey Producers, Honey Bee Centre
  • Funding: Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, British Columbia Honey Producers’ Association, Alberta Beekeepers’ Commission, Manitoba Beekeepers’ Association
  • Status: Complete
  • Research Lead: Dr. Stephen Pernal (AAFC-Beaverlodge)
  • Description: NBDC performed viral analyses to determine pathogens affecting both wild and commercial bee populations.
  • Partners: Agriculture and Agrifood Canada (AAFC)
  • Funding: AAFC, NBDC
  • Status: Complete
  • Description: In this project, we examined interspecies transmission of viruses between alfalfa leafcutting bees and honey bees in Western Canadian hybrid canola seed fields. Specifically, we tested if alfalfa leafcutting bees cohabitating with honey bees in seed fields had higher incidence of seven viruses commonly found among honey bees.
  • Partners: Alfalfa Seed Commission of Alberta, Leafcutting bee producers in Alberta & Manitoba
  • Funding: Alberta Crop Industry Fund
  • Status: Complete
  • Research Lead: Dr. Amro Zayed, York University
  • Description: This project aims to use genomic tools to develop BeeCSI – a new health assessment and diagnosis platform powered by stressor-specific markers. Working with beekeepers, industry technology-transfer teams, and diagnostic labs, in consultation with federal and provincial regulatory entities to ensure that the tools are implemented and accessible to the beekeeping industry by the end of the project.
  • Partners: AAFC, NBDC, York University, University of British Columbia, University of Lethbridge, University of Manitoba, Guelph University, Canadian Honey Bee Scientists
  • Funding: Genome Canada, AAFC

Get in Touch

NWP National Bee Diagnostic Centre

Office: BVE104

Phone: 780-357-7737

Email: NBDC@nwpolytech.ca