'Honey armageddon': Manitoba beekeepers struggle with small honey harvest after massive die-off
Major colony loss in the spring, coupled with other challenges like inflation and honey prices, has Manitoba beekeepers buzzing about the coming winter weather.
Along with being the president of the Red River Apiarists' Association, John Russell keeps his own hives.
He says this year was an especially tough one on beekeepers.
"Pretty catastrophic," said Russell, the owner of John Russell Honey Company. "If we have two of those in a row, it's going to be honey armageddon."
Despite a great fall last year, a late and snowy spring dramatically killed off the bee population.
"I was looking at probably a four percent colony loss at the end of February, and by the end of April, it was at 40 per cent, which is not sustainable numbers," said Russell.
Podolski Honey Farms in Ethelbert, Man. saw 90 per cent of their bee population die over winter, meaning the apiary had to focus on rebuilding rather than honey production.
"Normally, we'd do 15-20 truckloads of honey. This year we only did four," said Bob Podolsky, owner of Podolski Honey Farms.
The Manitoba Beekeepers' Association said many producers are feeling beat up right now.
The association's president Ian Steppler said better access to importing bees could help the situation, but increasing local hive health is the focus.
"Just get better treatment options, maybe more effective treatments to be able to control the varroa mites, we should be able to keep our hives healthier," explained Steppler.
Steppler said many colonies made progress this season, but another rough overwintering could be disastrous for some.
"If we have another bad spring, it could be to the detriment of our industry," he said. "We could see a lot of producers really fall back because of that, so we are really hoping we have something positive ahead of us."
A risk keepers like Russell know could sting them.
"There's an old beekeeping saying that says any fool can keep bees until the end of December. The real tricky part is when you start getting towards spring," said Russell.
Russell said another mild fall with lots of flowers gave his bees plenty of honey for winter, leaving him with an optimistic outlook.
As for Podolsky, he took his bees to B.C. to overwinter in hopes that more will survive by keeping them in a milder climate.
Editor's note: Podoloski Honey Farms and Podolosky are intentionally spelled differently.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.