Ontario’s honey bees supported by $137,000 in research funding

London, ON – The federal government is providing $136,582 in funding for two projects that will help the honey bee industry address unexplained losses in the bee populations.

Over $105,000 is being provided to test methods to control the infestation of the hive beetle in honey-bee colonies in Ontario. The project includes investigating the potential impact of environmental residues on honey-bee hive products, and studying organic beekeeping management techniques.

The Ontario Beekeepers’ Association is also receiving around $31,000 in funding to study honey bee colonies that sustained high winter losses this past year to determine if there is a common cause for the higher that normal colony mortality rate.

“These projects will help the industry deal with this year’s bee losses and develop management techniques for a range of issues affecting beekeepers,” says Brent Halsall, president of the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association.

Funding for these projects is being made through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) program. In Ontario, ACAAF is administered by Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) under their CanAdvance program.