Buzzing with innovation

When bees thrive, we all thrive. Perhaps that’s why bee people — the apiculturists and researchers who track and study the species — are so passionate about the subject. Two such experts are currently collaborating with Saskatchewan Polytechnic to work on bee-related applied research projects. Entirely different in focus, both projects have great potential to benefit bees and beekeepers and to support a multi-million-dollar industry in Saskatchewan.

The province’s bee industry includes roughly 1,300 beekeepers who tend 100,000 hives and is the second largest in Canada behind Alberta. Ranging from hobby beekeepers with two to ten hives, to large commercial operations with several thousand hives, Saskatchewan’s $40-60 million annual beekeeping industry benefits from the province’s large rural agricultural areas and long hours of summer daylight.

Bees, however, are increasingly at risk. Medhat Nasr knows this, and it’s why the renowned apiculturist agreed to put his retirement on hold to continue research on bee health. “When people think of bees they first think of honey,” says Nasr. “That’s not wrong—bees make honey and Canada produces a lot of it—but honeybees are just one part of this important industry. Bees are pollinators, and farmers will be the first to tell you that bees are an essential part of the biodiversity so crucial to crop production and food security. Without them, the yields of some crops can be down as much as 90 per cent. The world needs bees.”

The Saskatchewan Beekeepers’ Development Commission (SBDC) engaged Nasr to help address problems in the field through their Beekeeping Technology Adaptation Program. “I developed a working relationship with David Halstead at Sask Polytech” says Nasr, and we’re now several years into a research project on bee health.” Halstead is a fellow entomologist and ecologist and serves as research chair with Sask Polytech’s School of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Sustainability through its Sustainability-Led Integrated Centres of Excellence (SLICE). “Our current research project,” explains Halstead, “is a MITACS-funded applied research partnership with SBDC to look at new solutions for challenges facing bee populations due to a small but persistent parasite called the varroa mite.”

Varroa are sometimes referred to as monster mites because beekeepers haven’t yet figured out how to control them. The pests, which originated from Asian bees and travelled to North America via Southeast Asia in the 1980s and have kept beekeepers and researchers on a steep learning curve. As well as being parasitic, they further stress colonies by introducing viruses. Western bees haven’t yet developed resistance and, as a result, colony collapse is becoming more common.

“We initially had some luck with European miticides,” notes Nasr, “but varroa quickly became resistant and we’re down to the last available miticide in the world. Our collaboration with Sask Polytech is looking to come up with a new solution.”

Nasr and his team of interns (currently comprising one from Sask Polytech and one from the University of Saskatchewan) are investigating new treatments and their economic thresholds. “We are looking at several organic acids that kill mites but not bees and we have had some exciting results,” says Nasr. Each type of acid has its pros and cons with variables such as temperature. “What we’re really looking at is integrated pest management,” explains Nasr. “It’s much more than just developing a product—it’s finding out how best to apply it, when and how much.”