ONTARIO BEE JOURNAL. March / april 2018 VOL. 37 NO. 02. Access to antibiotics for honey bees is changing PAGE 08

Transcription

1 ONTARIO BEE JOURNAL March / april 2018 VOL. 37 NO. 02 Access to antibiotics for honey bees is changing PAGE 08 American Foulbrood what it is and how to spot it PAGE 14 Making spring nucs PAGE 18

2 Welcome new members! Call for submissions The OBJ wants YOU! Miguel Abascal Werner Beilke Bob Campbell Jayme Cathcart Lucina Crawford Cameron Davidson Charlie Donovan Jeff Doyle Arthur Dutemple Mary Ann Etmanskie Kerry Gillard Peter Gilpin Mary & Ian Grant Ron Grootjans Simon Grossman Stephen G. Holder Mark Jolley Tyler Knight Ali Korangi AmeliA Leeksma Evan Lewis Christopher J. Mailloux Heather Maughan Tanner Millson Meredith Murphy Ted Norris Mark Patterson Ryan Pogue Ian Randall Shawn Reid Sarah Rodrigues Jeremy Shaw & Jacquleen Hendry Sue Sibley Wilf Sukowski Diana Tyner Phil Worthington Do you have an idea to share? A story to tell? A tip for other beekeepers? The OBJ is looking for article submissions to appear in future issues of the magazine. Tell your story in Meet a Beekeeper (750 words) Share your advice in How I Do It (750 words) Review your favourite book (500 words) Give us a tip or tell us about your favourite beekeeping tool (250 words) Submit your favourite honey recipe Do you have great beekeeping pictures to share? Send us those too! Writing not your thing? English not your first language? Not to worry we re here to help! Last issue of the OBJ unless you renew for 2018! Download the 2018 renewal form from the website or call the office and we ll set you up over the phone. Don t miss out on future issues of the Ontario Bee Journal or the opportunity to purchase affordable group liability insurance, advertise your hive products, or receive discounts on OBA programs. Learn, Connect, Protect Contact Natalie Ann Comeau at editor@ontariobee.com for information and writer s guidelines.

3 March & April 2018 The Ontario Beekeepers Association is working to ensure a thriving and sustainable beekeeping industry in Ontario. TABLE OF CONTENTS 03 President s report 04 Issues American Foulbrood 06 From the province updates from the National Honey Bee Conference 07 Breeding marking queens in TTP feature access to antibiotics for honey bees will be changing 10 Ask an expert what was behind the queen problems last spring? 14 American Foulbrood what it is and how to spot it 18 How I do it making spring nucs 20 Meet a beekeeper Jim & Jasmine Gordon, Back 40 Beekeeping, Cobden 22 What s on my bookshelf The Honey Farm by Harriet Lye 23 OBA spring meeting Tips, tricks & tools making a soft inner cover 24 Club buzzins IN EVERY ISSUE 02 Advertising rates 02 Advertisers 26 Classified corner Beekeepers grab your cameras! The OBA photo contest is coming. Watch for details in our next issue. VOL. 37 NO. 02 PUBLICATION AGREEMENT # TREMAINE ROAD, BOX 476 MILTON, ONTARIO L9T 4Z1 T F i n f Editor: Natalie Ann Comeau DESIGN: ASTER* DESIGN Honey bee foraging on willow catkin by Tibor Szabo (OBJ photo contest) It was brought to our attention that the cover Photo of the Jan/Feb 2018 issue of the OBJ was not a honey bee. The OBJ regrets the error. The opinions in the articles published in the Ontario Bee Journal are those of the authors and not necessarily the Ontario Beekeepers Association. Further we do not endorse any of the products, goods or services mentioned in this publication unless specifically stated.

4 PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS (WHO IN TURN HELP TO SUPPORT US)! BeeMaid Dancing Bee Equipment Dickey Bee Honey Dominion & Grimm Early Queen Arrivals Ferguson Apiaries Global Patties Innisfil Creek Honey Medivet Pharmaceuticals Nature s Taste Oxford Brand Honey Propolis-etc... Szabo Queens Wellington County Nuc Boxes Thanks to all our contributors TO THE march / april issue Tom Childs Jim Coneybeare Cathy Crowder Tibor Csincsa Paul de van der Schueren Les Eccles Fran Freeman Jim Gordon Elizabeth Huxter Paul Kozak Mary Lye Emily Mills Devan Rawn Durda Slavic Tibor Szabo OBJ AD RATES The Ontario Bee Journal is published in January, March, May, July, September and November. The deadline for ads is the 1st day of the month preceding publication. For premium placement add 10%. MEMBERS (40% DISCOUNT) } 1 ISSUE 3 ISSUES 6 ISSUES Full Page $432 $1166 $1944 1/2 Page $252 $673 $1134 1/4 Page $144 $389 $648 1/8 Page $86 $233 $389 Classified ads are $.35/word with a $20 minimum for members and $.70/word with a $40 minimum for non-members. Contact: Lorna Irwin, OBA GENERAL MANAGER (905) LORNA.IRWIN@ontariobee.com NON- MEMBERS } 1 ISSUE 3 ISSUES 6 ISSUES Full Page $720 $1944 $3240 1/2 Page $420 $1122 $1890 1/4 Page $240 $648 $1080 1/8 Page $144 $389 $648 2 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

5 PRESIDENT S REPORT As I sit down to write this report, we are already through a month of 2018 and we have been very busy at the OBA. One of my board members said: We have two seasons one with the bees and the other in meetings! This year, it is a true reflection of what we are experiencing. We are very fortunate with the OBA because we have an extremely dedicated board and staff, as well as Tech-Transfer who all drive many kilometres and spend many hours in meetings on behalf of Ontario beekeepers. Ontario beekeepers have voiced various concerns over the past several months. One of the most frequently asked questions is: What about availability of oxytetracycline? This is a great question that we are working to address. (Soon beekeepers will require a vet s prescription to purchase antibiotics.) First of all, this is a World Health Organization directive for all livestock groups and is not a result of honey residues or concerns with honey quality or bee health. Meetings are ongoing with OMAFRA, the Ontario College of Veterinarians and the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association we have lots of common ground to work with and we will do everything to make access to antibiotics as trouble-free as possible. We are very optimistic as the OBA has assembled a great team of veterinarians as well as beekeepers and bee specialists to work with these organizations to have beneficial outcomes for our beekeeping community (see the article by Les Eccles of the TTP on page 8 for more). For many, queen quality continues to be a great concern. The cool, wet weather of 2017 was a hindrance to queen production, but other environmental factors are also contributing influences. Research from Dr. Amro Zayed and Dr. Christian Krupke, as well as from Dr. Ernesto Guzman working with our Tech-Transfer Team, shows us how very small amounts of pesticide residue affect queen quality. January 16, 2018, we met with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to discuss our concerns with honey bee health, queen longevity, and premature queen failures. They are continuing to monitor pesticide use and residue levels found in the environment. Lab work continues on 2017 sampling and we will have further updates in the next few weeks (read more about queen problems in Ask an Expert on page 10). The OAHN (Ontario Animal Health Network) continues to be an excellent resource for beekeepers. We anticipate many opportunities for information and resource materials being developed for our industry in the future months. Go online and check them out at There are podcasts and other resources available and we will regularly update information there. The Ontario Wildlife Damage Compensation Program (www. omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/predation/owdcguidejan17.htm) is undergoing some evaluations and we are working to see improvements for beekeepers here. Two of the aspects we are assessing are hive/equipment value and length of claim payment. There are several things, among many, that come to mind regarding bee health as I consider the coming season. 1) Weather this is always a factor and, unfortunately, is far beyond our control. 2) Management there are two definite aspects. First, what you do to control brood diseases and varroa levels, as well as queen health and management. Second, what your neighbouring beekeeper within 1-2 km is doing for management. It is important to be vigilant, not only for your own livestock but for the health of nearby hives. Manage your bees well for the health of the entire industry. 3) Queen health weather and other environmental factors (pesticides) are two of many factors affecting queen longevity. Inspect for eggs, larva, and brood on a regular basis. Simply put, pull frames out of the brood nest regularly (14 day intervals) to check brood and hive health. 4) Varroa once again, there are two sides to this. First, varroa themselves suck the blood of bees and are a stressor. Second, viral load increases with varroa. If a treatment is applied, we can kill off the mites but the viruses linger, often for months afterwards. Mites are serious and are a double-hitter for bee health. Plan to treat spring and fall and monitor regularly. Make sure the treatment you applied worked. 5) To coin a phrase from the U.S. beekeeping meetings: Don t let the internet kill your bees! Educate yourself with the correct resources. Just because something is on the internet doesn t mean it works or is credible. We have excellent resources with the OBA and our website ( Tech-Transfer ( University of Guelph (www. uoguelph.ca/honeybee), and OMAFRA ( If you are going to cruise the internet, please surf the best places. Hopefully we will see all of you at the spring OBA meeting in March! Best regards, Jim Coneybeare Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

6 American Foulbrood by Emily Mills Emily Rose Apiaries, Northumberland County, and OBA board member photo courtesy TTP As OBA president Jim Coneybeare pointed out in the previous issue of the Ontario Bee Journal (see the President s Report, Jan/Feb 2018) beekeepers will soon require a veterinary prescription to purchase antibiotics this will change the way beekeepers access oxytetracycline to prevent American Foulbrood. In light of these pending changes, we will need to ensure we are using antibiotics in accordance with best management practices and be even more vigilant regarding the health of our bees. Therefore, the OBA wants to remind members about how to prevent AFB, how to recognize the infection in your hives, and what to do if you suspect your bees are infected. What is American Foulbrood (AFB)? AFB is caused by a spore-forming bacteria that specifically affects honey bee colonies these spores are likely present in most hives in high density beekeeping areas such as southwestern Ontario. Antibiotic treatments are used to suppress a destructive outbreak of the disease but antibiotics do not kill the spores or eliminate AFB. The disease is highly contagious and spreads rapidly. Once an outbreak occurs, colonies weaken and often die. Since there is no cure for AFB and because of its highly contagious nature prevention and detection are absolutely essential. How does a colony become infected with AFB? While a honey bee is foraging outside of the colony, she can travel up to eight kilometres in any direction. During her trip, she may come across a weak, dead, or neglected colony and proceed to rob it of its honey stores and potentially bring AFB spores back home along with the stolen honey. Another way AFB spreads is through drifting, when bees accidentally return to a colony other than their home colony. Some of the actions we take as beekeepers may also contribute to the spread of AFB. Since spores can exist in honey, it is important to use caution when transferring honey from one colony to another and to avoid putting wet frames out in the open for bees to clean up. Transferring frames of brood between colonies, or purchasing used beekeeping equipment, can also be risky. Swarms from unknown origins may be contaminated with AFB spores, so it is important to always quarantine a swarm and check the developing colony thoroughly for signs of AFB before introducing it to your beeyard. Because AFB spores can remain viable for decades, the risk of infection is high. Once an outbreak of AFB occurs, there is no treatment so it is essential that beekeepers are able to recognize the signs of AFB and practice management strategies that mitigate the risk of its spread. How do you detect AFB? Thorough brood chamber inspections should be conducted every days throughout the beekeeping season (watch the University of Guelph s how-to videos at During these inspections, beekeepers should check for any signs of AFB. The infection only affects developing bee brood; it does not affect adult bees in the colony. As with other honey bee diseases, AFB can cause sunken, darkened, and perforated brood cell cappings. If you see perforated brood cappings, it s good practice to check the developing brood underneath for signs of AFB. A healthy larva is white in colour. Many honey bee diseases can cause discoloured brood, but AFB specifically causes brood to become mucus-like in consistency and darken to a brown colour. This liquefied brood settles to the bottom of the cells and eventually dries into black scales that adhere to the inside of the cell. AFB can be detected using the ropey test using a small twig, swirl the brood around in the cell then slowly draw it out. If the gooey brood pulls out of the cell and forms a rope longer than 2.5 cm, it can be diagnosed as AFB (see Durda Slavic s article on page 14 of this issue for details). Keep in mind that not all stages of AFB will display this symptom. If the brood has not disintegrated enough, it will be too dry to create the rope. If the stages of AFB are more advanced, only dried out black scales will be found in the cells. These scales are flat, black, and brittle. The detection of these scales is another method of diagnosing AFB. A colony infected with AFB also has a distinctive smell reminiscent of rotting meat (hence the name foul brood.) 4 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

7 What do I do if I suspect I have AFB in my colony? First, do not inspect more colonies as this will only spread the disease. Immediately contact the provincial apiarist ( or ) or your local bee inspector ( inspection/bees/info_beeinspectors.htm). The bee inspector will evaluate your colony and, if the presence of AFB is confirmed, the hive will need to be burned. As mentioned previously, there is no treatment for AFB complete destruction of the affected colonies is the only option. However, it is better to burn one colony that is positive for AFB than to delay, allow the infection to spread, and end up burning 10 or 100 colonies. How do I prevent AFB from infecting my colonies? Clearly, the best and only approach to managing AFB is prevention. Deadouts (equipment from dead colonies) are a major source of AFB spores. Do not leave dead equipment accessible to other bees! This includes not just your own colonies, but also the bees of other beekeepers around you. Instead, store dead equipment in a bee-tight shed or garage. Also, do not give a colony honey from a deadout unless it has been carefully inspected, since AFB spores can exist in honey. Equipment must be thoroughly examined for AFB before integrating it into your operation. Any beekeeper wishing to sell used beekeeping equipment in Ontario is required to obtain a permit from OMAFRA which states that a proportion of their operation or equipment has been examined for AFB. The same can be said for those selling queens and nucs, where the seller must obtain a queen and nuc permit from OMAFRA. Be sure to ask for a seller s permit to protect yourself from purchasing contaminated bees and equipment. It is important to implement biosecurity measures in your operation to prevent the spread of AFB and other diseases. Regularly sterilizing your hive tool with a torch and wearing disposable gloves are good first steps to take. The OBA s Tech-Transfer Program runs excellent workshops on both biosecurity and integrated pest management, which includes AFB identification. More information on these workshops can be found at www. ontariobee.com/outreach/ttp. Another method of AFB prevention is the use of the antibiotic oxytetracycline (also sold as Terramycin, Oxytet, Oxysol, and Foul Brood Mix). Currently, this antibiotic can be purchased at bee equipment supply stores, although the avenue of purchase will be changing in the coming year (see the TTP feature on page 8 for more information). Always follow the label directions and keep in mind that this is not a treatment oxytetracycline is used as a preventative only (it can break the transmission cycle in spring and fall and prevent an infection from establishing in a colony) and is useless once AFB has taken hold of a colony. Keep in mind that this antibiotic can mask the symptoms of the disease, so it is essential that you do a thorough examination for any signs of AFB before applying it to the colony. Oxytetracycline needs to be administered at least one month before honey boxes go on or after honey has been harvested to prevent contamination of the honey with the antibiotic. Tylosin (Tylan Soluble) is another antibiotic option which can only be applied in the fall. There is currently no oxytetracycline-resistant AFB found in Ontario. It is essential to closely adhere to label instructions and plan your AFB management strategy in advance. ISSUES MANAGEMENT Some take-home points Every beekeeper must participate in AFB prevention and regularly examine their colonies for any signs of the disease. In addition to antibiotics, other preventative measures should be taken. These include proper storage of dead equipment, not encouraging robbing behaviour, and biosecurity protocols. Any suspected cases of AFB must be reported to OMAFRA s apiary program immediately. ( or ) Remember that your actions, or lack thereof, can affect others around you. There are more than 3,300 registered beekeepers in Ontario and bees travel great distances. Without everyone s cooperation, an outbreak of diseases like AFB can be devastating to our industry. But together, we can prevent the spread of this disease and the unnecessary loss of honey bee colonies. For more information about prevention and detection of American Foulbrood, OMAFRA s recommendations can be found online at food/inspection/bees/afb-mgmt.htm. OMAFRA American Foulbrood Biology and Diagnosis afb-biology.htm OMAFRA American Foulbrood Prevention and Management afb-mgmt.htm OMAFRA Destruction Protocol for Honey Bee Colonies Found with American Foulbrood destructionprotocol.htm OMAFRA AFB Images: americanfoulbrood.htm Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

8 PROVINCIAL APIARIST S REPORT From the province Updates from the National Honey Bee Conference by Paul Kozak Provincial apiarist, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs The following is a summary of my notes as a participant in the conference, as well as various committees and stakeholder meetings: The North Okanagan Beekeepers hosted the 2017 British Columbia Honey Producers Association annual general meeting along with the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA) and the Canadian Honey Council s (CHC) National Research Symposium from October in Kelowna, BC. This annual event is the major technical, regulatory, and industry meeting for the Canadian apiculture industry. This meeting sees provincial apiarists, apiculture researchers, representatives of the industry, and federal agencies come together to address national and international issues in apiculture. The most important issue highlighted during the conference was the first documented cases of amitraz (Apivar) resistance in varroa mites in Canada. Evidence was presented at the conference which indicated that resistance to amitraz has been observed in apiaries in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. This is a concern because amitraz is the primary treatment option for the management of varroa mites throughout Canada. In addition to amitraz, Ontario beekeepers are using several active ingredients for varroa control, including formic acid, fluvalinate (Apistan), coumaphos (CheckMite+), and oxalic acid. The good news for beekeepers is that alternative varroa treatments with novel active ingredients may be available in the near future. For example, a flumethrin based product called Bayvarol was registered in Canada by Bayer Inc. in A registration package for another product, Hop Guard II (which is derived from hop compounds), was submitted to Health Canada s Pest Management Regulatory Agency in Normally, new registrations take approximately 18 months to become available in the Canadian market. Monitoring varroa populations, combining different control methods with sound beekeeping practices, and following label instructions should be part of every beekeeper s integrated pest management program. Over time, pests are likely to develop reduced susceptibility to an active ingredient. To slow the development of resistance, beekeepers should rotate between treatments to a product from a different chemical class. During the conference, there were numerous issues that were discussed by the CHC. Representatives shared ongoing concerns about the low prices for bulk honey in Canada. The CHC also noted concerns regarding suspected pesticide poisonings which have been reported by beekeepers in honey bee colonies pollinating blueberry crops in BC. The cause of the pesticide poisoning in these cases was suspected to be related to an increase in the use of fungicides due to the wet weather conditions. Additionally, the CHC shared growing concerns about the impact of fungicides which were previously considered to be of low risk to honey bees. The spread and establishment of small hive beetle (SHB) continues to be concerning to beekeepers in many regions of Canada. During the conference, representatives from the CHC and CAPA hosted a joint session on SHB. The purpose of this session was to provide education regarding the status of SHB in Canada. In particular, the prevalence of SHB in Ontario, SHB protocols, inspection requirements from other provinces, the level of risk associated with the pest, the amount of resources that have been dedicated to SHB since 2010, and the work that has been done in collaboration with the industry and other jurisdictions on establishing SHB best management practices were discussed. Although protocols and scope may vary, many provinces reported allocating more attention and resources to surveillance for SHB. Finally, provincial apiarists from across Canada reported common themes including an increase in the number of beekeepers and a growing trend of urban beekeeping. Everyone was in agreement that the movement of honey bee colonies from one province to another remains an important economic activity for honey bee sales, the restocking of honey bee populations, and a key pollination resource for high value sectors such as blueberry, cranberry, and canola. To support continued trade, provincial governments have committed to working together to determine inspection requirements to allow the interprovincial movement of honey bees. 6 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

9 Breeding Marking Queens in 2018 by Devan Rawn Shelter Valley Queens, Grafton Photo courtesy Devan Rawn Marking our queens with a small dab of paint makes beekeeping a little easier. A marked queen can be more noticeable when inspecting our colonies, and spotting the queen is always a comforting achievement. Identifying a marked queen also tells us that it s the same queen we saw in the past, and that no supercedure has taken place. Most beekeepers who are in the habit of marking queens follow the five-year pattern of white, yellow, red, green, and blue. Starting with years that end in 1 or 6 being white through years ending with 5 or 0 being blue. This means 2018 is a red year. Five years ago, it became clear that there was a better alternative to the red paint markers that were available. The reds were dark and didn t stand out when inspecting frames, but pink sure did. I, and most other queen producers I know, will substitute a bright pink for red in So, don t be surprised if you purchase pink mated queens this year! If you re interested in marking queens yourself, the best markers I have found for the job are the Craftsmart brand available at Michael s. They are water-based, non-toxic, and come in all the colours we need including pink. There are alternatives from Sharpie, Elmer s, and likely other brands as well just make sure to choose a water-based and non-toxic option. After marking your new queen, it is best practice to put her in a cage for a few minutes to let the paint dry before releasing her back into the colony. WHITE YELLOW RED / pink INTERNATIONAL QUEEN MARKING COLOURS COLOUR GREEN BLUE FOR years ENding in: 1 or 6 2 or 7 3 or 8 4 or 9 5 or 0 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

10 Access to antibiotics for honey bees will be changing by Les Eccles TTP lead Photos courtesy TTP Regulations for antimicrobial use in livestock is about to change for all farmers. Increased oversight of antibiotic use stems from a World Health Organization decision in 2000 the aim is to reduce antibiotic use in livestock that could cause an increased risk of building antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in diseases that affect humans. The main concern with overuse of antibiotics stems from label claims that promote the use of certain antibiotics in livestock for increased yields, rather than actually defending the animals against health risks. There are two main routes identified that can accelerate AMR in human diseases through livestock production: 1) One is antibiotic residues that could make it into the food system and be consumed by humans, with diseases building resistance to those drugs over time. 2) Second, diseases developing in livestock with over-exposure to antibiotics could develop resistant strains that cross over to humans the most common being food-borne illnesses such as Salmonella. Although the Canadian livestock industry already has well-established labels, food testing, and regulations to reduce the levels of antibiotic exposure through food production, in 2015 the Auditor General of Canada released a report that stated Health Canada has not taken some important steps needed to promote prudent antimicrobial use in food animals, and Canada joined other G7 health ministers in signing the Berlin Declaration recognizing AMR. The new regulations being introduced by Health Canada are part of a global initiative that will take even further measures to increase oversight of antibiotic sales, importation, and use in livestock. Because these new regulations will be applied to all livestock, honey bees have been included in the changes. The oldest honey bee disease on the books is American Foulbrood, and those who kept bees pre-antibiotics understand the impacts it had on the beekeeping industry. In fact, the First A.F.B. Act in Ontario was administrated by the OBA in Over the course of two years, 1,600 diseased colonies were identified and the inspector at the time, William McEvoy, later stated: Five years ago, when I set out to get all the diseased apiaries in the province cured, I soon learned that I had undertaken a tremendous job. (I don t believe he meant tremendous in a good way.) In 1912, 43% of inspected colonies were found to be infected with AFB. In 1922, the Middlesex Beekeepers Association requested that the OBA lobby for improvements to the control of AFB, which triggered strict rules to destroy and quarantine colonies starting in 1925; it took five years, and many incinerated colonies, before AFB levels were contained to 6% (with hot spots of larger AFB flare ups being more of a concern). No further improvements were made in the control of AFB until the 1940s with the introduction of antibiotics that practically eliminated AFB and allowed beekeepers to sleep at night (History of Beekeeping in Ontario, 2006). Fast forward to 2018 and a lot of work by a lot of people has brought us to where we are today with the current recommendations for responsible antibiotic use in honey bees. The OMAFRA 8 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

11 AFB is the main threat to beekeepers seeking pollination/ moving permits or queen and nuc permits. bee inspection program was based on inspection for AFB and, to this day, AFB is the main threat to beekeepers seeking pollination/ moving permits or queen and nuc permits. Migratory beekeeping, more than ever, is an inherent part of the beekeeping world and biosecurity standards are much harder to maintain due to this and the co-mingling of honey bees in their environment. With this history and progress in mind, the OBA is working to ensure Ontario beekeepers will continue to have access to the antibiotics necessary to maintain healthy honey bees and avoid regressing to high infection rates and burning of colonies. The main stakeholders involved in addressing this issue are the Ontario Beekeepers Association, OMAFRA, the College of Veterinarians of Ontario, and the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association. All of these stakeholders will share responsibility for how antibiotics will be used going forward each from a different perspective. Although there are other changes under the new regulations put forward by Health Canada, there are four key aspects that the beekeeping industry will have to address to ensure access to registered antibiotics continues for honey bees: 1) Justify the responsible use of antimicrobials in Ontario beekeeping: Because bees have been rolled into this legislation along with all other livestock, it is important that the beekeeping industry clearly present the history and importance of antibiotic use for control of AFB to Health Canada, OMAFRA, and the CVO. Unlike other livestock industries, we do not use antibiotics as growth promoters and, in fact, the rate of application is low at only two recommended treatments per year. There is virtually no risk of developing AMR to food borne illness in beekeeping products, and the risk of residues in honey is very low if labels are followed correctly. 2) Propose protocols for dispensing of antimicrobial products: Where antibiotics are available for purchase will also change. Under the new legislation, antibiotics will only be sold at veterinary clinics or pharmacies. This will practically eliminate sales of antibiotics through farm or beekeeping supply stores due to the rules around what constitutes a pharmacy and who can own it. Options need to be provided to ensure dispensing of antibiotics continues to be convenient for beekeepers. 3) Defined Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship: An understanding between a beekeeper and a veterinarian needs to be formed through a Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship. A VCPR is a defined relationship between a veterinarian and a producer to ensure a clear understanding of the production and management systems being used in relation to the need for antibiotic use. Currently, there is no defined VCPR for veterinarians and beekeepers. The outline of a VCPR for the beekeeping industry needs to be carefully defined in order to ensure it does not exclude beekeepers from accessing antibiotics, while at the same time providing veterinarians with recent and sufficient information to enable them to have confidence in prescribing antibiotics for the beekeeper. 4) Education and materials for veterinarians and beekeepers: With new regulations, education will also be needed for beekeepers and veterinarians to understand how to form a VCPR and provide beekeepers with antibiotics. One of our main challenges could be ensuring veterinarians have the confidence to prescribe antibiotics to beekeepers and accept the liability on their end. The fact is that we have very few vets in Ontario who understand honey bees and have the knowledge to understand our dynamic industry. The OBA has formed a working group that will address the four key aspects listed above. This working group is comprised of commercial beekeepers, veterinarians with beekeeping backgrounds, academia, and the provincial apiarist. The working group will deliver a document that will provide answers and options for the four key aspects to the CVO and OMAFRA to provide direction on how the new legislation will roll out for the beekeeping industry. From meetings the OBA has had in the last year with OMAFRA and the CVO about this challenge, it has been clear that this legislation is not an attempt to reduce the amount of antibiotics used in the beekeeping industry specifically, but rather to conform with the increased accountability in how we access and keep track of antibiotic use. These new regulations will begin to be enforced in December 2018, so our timeline is short. Watch upcoming issues of the OBJ for updates as we work out the details to continue the responsible use of and access to antibiotics for honey bees. Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

12 ASK AN EXPERT by Les Eccles TTP lead Photo courtesy TTP Question: What was behind the queen problems last spring? Answer: I would categorize the issues we ve been seeing with queens into the following four categories: Weather related Pesticide related Import quality related Management related Weather Related During 2017, we experienced the most intense rainfall we have seen in a long time. It lasted from mid-winter (yes, rain, not snow) until late fall with only two weeks of real sunshine at the beginning of September. This affected queen matings in several ways: 1) May June: With cell introduction, poor mating flight conditions in general resulted in unmated or poorly mated queens. This resulted in either drone-layer or laying worker colonies or another supercedure that could have resulted in another poor queen. Or, with luck, perhaps a decent queen. 2) May June: Increased swarming due to strong colony confinement during rainy weather, then resulting in poor queen mating because of poor mating flight conditions similar to #1. 10 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

13 if you don t have good matings after two weeks, the best strategy is to pinch those queens and replace them as soon as possible. 3) August September: Second round of swarming or supercedure, due to either colony confinement in the rain or poor queen mating earlier in the season, or just general queen supercedure throughout season. Again, poor flight conditions similar to #1 or the general low re-queening acceptance that can happen late in the season. 4) All season: Unique to this year, we had strong mating nucs with cells introduced and healthy hatchings, but high rates of queens not returning after mating flights. The type of rains we experienced this season were frequently intense downpours. Days would often start with a sunny morning followed by a quick incursion of cumulonimbus clouds and intense rainfall coinciding with mating flight hours. This occurred throughout the season and it was common to see bees (including queens on mating flights) caught in the field during these times. With no mated queen returning to the hive, the lack of eggs and queen pheromones in the hive (and the inability to raise a new queen) would result in laying workers. These different scenarios resulted in problem yards such as ones where many splits were made. Cells introduced during poor mating conditions failed to produce viable queens, and beekeepers found themselves spending the entire season finding failing queens and either replacing them or shaking out drone layers. As queen producers, we had to sacrifice rounds of queens in June because they resulted in poor matings for most of the month. Two weeks after cell introduction, approximately 30% of queens were laying; the rest could have eventually been laying after three weeks. Instead of harvesting these queens, we decided to pinch them all and save some for testing. Of those we tested, only 30% were mated and of those that were mated, the sperm Testing the queen s spermatheca to assess sperm count and viability count was half or less of what it should have been. This represented a significant loss in income due to lost product, however selling these queens would have been an even bigger expense to us and our customers. At the same time, we had pulled nucs from colonies with queens from 2016 into which we introduced queen cells in hindsight, we should have pinched all of these queens as well because they resulted in poor production the rest of the year and, in late August, we had to replace a lot of them with newly mated queens. It was a good learning experience, as a producer, to recognize that if you don t have good matings after two weeks, the best strategy is to pinch those queens and replace them as soon as possible this should be a Standard Operating Procedure. The testing service provided by the Tech-Transfer Program and Dr. Ernesto Guzman s lab at the University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre allows queen producers to confirm mating issues. Similar services are also available at the National Bee Diagnostic Centre. Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

14 Supercedure cells from a hive attempting to requeen Pesticides Related I won t spend too much time on this one, other than to say many (but not all) producers are having this specific issue. Pesticide problems are more likely to occur in areas of intensive production of certain agricultural crops in which the use of certain pesticides is prevalent. Generally, what you see in this scenario is: Supercedure if the pesticide incident is severe enough. This could also result in poorly reared supercedure queens due to pesticide presence; general low-quality supercedure queens; or no queen at all because eggs and larvae are removed by the colony due to increased hygienic behaviour (as they try to detoxify the hive). Poor matings of queens in this environment at a sub-lethal dose. Geoff Williams and others have published articles about this. The Tech-Transfer Program in Ontario also did a controlled field study on this after seeing circumstantial evidence of poor sperm viability in queens from areas where more pesticide incidents were reported. This is the most complicated scenario to manage because it is a complex environment and a moving target with many symptoms. It is difficult to come up with a SOP for this except to be attentive to pesticide impacts and replace comb and queens in an effort to detoxify the colony and help it recuperate a frustrating, expensive, and time consuming endeavour. Imported queen quality We had reports of poor queens from a particular source. Beekeepers who received these queens had to replace most of what they had imported because they were not well mated or the queens were superceded. This, in turn, lead to weather-related queen issues as outlined above in #1. This was a costly loss of investment for producers. Management Related In general, unless you were keeping a close eye on the scenarios stated above, it was common to have late queen issues, laying workers, or empty colonies at the end of the season. The cause was not so much poor beekeeping but a complicated season with poor conditions. For a queen producer, I would say losses came in the form of low production rather than colony loss. Queen producers manage their colonies on a more consistent basis it s the nature of the business of selling queens and bees. However, a commercial pollination contractor or a honey producer would not be checking colonies nearly as often due to the type of production system. Assessing sperm count and viability in mated queens 12 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

15 Frame from a queenless drone laying colony There are two good years in farming 40 years ago and next year. Wrap up Because of all of the above experienced during the 2017 season, beekeepers experienced more issues with queens. It likely won t be a longterm or widespread issue as much as a seasonal issue in Ontario, although those in pesticide situations may dispute that. Some important points here are: 1) Take advantage of queen testing services to gather more information so you can make an educated diagnosis 2) Do not keep queens that are not mated after two weeks 3) Pesticide issues are complex and location-specific and a moving target 4) Operational management systems (pollination vs. honey production vs. bee production) will all experience different impacts due to the inherent differences in management procedures 5) Supercedure queens are a risky business and can be a longterm problem due to poor rearing and mating conditions 6) You can t control the weather (this is what makes farming so much fun ) One of my favourite farmer sayings is: There are two good years in farming 40 years ago and next year. With 2017 behind us, we are already looking forward to an excellent 2018 season! Eggs and Brood from a Laying Worker Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

16 American Foulbrood (AFB) What it is and how to spot it By Durda Slavic, DVM, MSc, PhD, Animal Health Laboratory, University of Guelph editor s note: this article is reprinted from the July/August 2016 issue of the Ontario Bee Journal. All photos courtesy Durda Slavic 14 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

17 Science American Foulbrood (AFB) is the most devastating bacterial disease of honey bee larvae. It is caused by Paenibacillus larvae, a Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium. P. larvae can also form spores which can be described as a resting stage of the live bacteria. This resting stage is protected by a special envelope that is formed when living bacteria are exposed to harsh conditions including extreme heat and chemicals. The envelope provides protection against a variety of environmental conditions and ensures survival for a prolonged period of time (e.g., more than 35 years). When spores encounter optimal living conditions, they can revert back into fully functional bacterial cells. In the case of P. larvae, only spores can cause AFB and only in honey bee larvae, as the name suggests. Adult bees are not affected, but they play an important role in spreading the disease they feed the spores to honey bee larvae in the early stages of their lives via contaminated larval food. It has been shown that larvae are most susceptible to infection within the first hours after hatching. At that time, fewer than 10 spores are needed for AFB to develop. When they reach the larval midgut, the spores revert back to fully functional bacterial cells which produce enzymes resulting in degradation of the larvae into a semi-fluid, glue-like mass (ropey stage). This mass eventually dries out, forming AFB scales which are important for disease persistence because they contain millions of spores. This number of spores, together with spore resistance, makes control of AFB very difficult. Genetic characterization of P. larvae isolates using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) method showed that there are four different types of P. larvae: ERIC I-IV. They differ primarily based on their ability to cause the disease (virulence) and their geographic distribution. ERIC III and ERIC IV isolates can cause AFB in honey bee larvae, but have not been isolated from field clinical cases in decades these isolates can only be found in bacterial culture collections in certain laboratories. By contrast, ERIC I and ERIC II isolates are frequently isolated from clinical cases of AFB. ERIC I isolates are known to be spread worldwide, while it was thought that ERIC II isolates were present only in Europe. However, more recent study showed that these isolates are also present in Canada and New Zealand, indicating that ERIC II is wider spread than initially thought. Aside from differences in geographic distribution, differences in the ability to cause the disease have been observed among different ERIC types. ERIC II to IV isolates kill honey bee larvae within seven days of infection. Brood cells have not yet been capped at this stage, and up to 90% of the dead larvae are removed by nurse bees, resulting in fewer spores and slower spread of AFB within the colony. In contrast, ERIC I isolates are less virulent at the larval level and take up to 12 days to kill infected larvae. Most of the infected larvae are Two signs that are specific to AFB are glue-like consistency of dead larvae (as shown by the ropey test) and black AFB scales adhering to the bottom of the brood comb cells. Left Ropey test: Rotate a wooden stick inside the cell and slowly pull it out. If the glue-like substance stretches 2.5 cm and more, it is a definitive sign of AFB. Source of image: inspection/bees/afb-biology.htm Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

18 it is essential to perform a thorough colony inspection for any signs of AFB because the absence of ropey mass detection and/or AFB scales may not be a true indication of colony AFB disease status. Fig. 1. capped at that time, resulting in a lower removal rate (approximately 60%) of dead larvae by nurse bees, resulting in the presence of more spores and rapid within-colony spread of AFB. It is critical to keep these differences in mind when it comes to disease detection. Clinical AFB that is most frequently detected is caused by ERIC I isolates. Typically there are changes in brood pattern, capping, and larval colour and appearance. When compared to healthy colonies, AFB usually causes a spotty brood pattern with many empty cells. If cells are capped, the capping may have a dark, greasy appearance or it may be sunken in (figure 1). Instead of the pearl white larvae present in healthy brood, the larvae in AFBinfected colonies will gradually become discoloured, changing from white to black as they dry out. Although most of these clinical signs are present in AFB, it should be kept in mind that they are not specific to AFB and may indicate other health issues within the colony. Two signs that are specific to AFB are glue-like consistency of dead larvae (as shown by the ropey test) and black AFB scales adhering to the bottom of the brood comb cells. When performing the ropey test, it is important to keep in mind that this test may be negative in the early and/or late stages of infection, when larvae are either not degraded enough or have begun to harden. It is also important to keep in mind that very few larvae will develop into a ropey mass if the AFB infection is caused by ERIC II strains. As mentioned earlier, ERIC II strains will kill a majority of larvae before they are capped. As a result of the honey bee s social immune response, most of these larvae will be removed and very few will end up being capped. This may lead to false-negative diagnosis because most beekeepers, when looking for AFB, will look for a typical ropey mass inside capped cells. Therefore, it is essential to perform a thorough colony inspection for any signs of AFB because the absence of ropey mass detection and/or AFB scales may not be a true indication of colony AFB disease status. AFB is a notifiable disease in Canada, meaning that its presence must be reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) which in turn reports annually the number of cases to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). As a result, any sign or suspicion of AFB must be reported to a local bee inspector or the provincial apiarist. They will work closely with the beekeeper to prevent the spread of AFB within and between bee yards. In general, clinically affected colonies are burned to completely destroy the hive and everything that was inside it in order to kill P. larvae and its spores. In some cases, antibiotics may be recommended to preventatively treat the rest of the colonies within the same yard. The affected bee yard will be placed under the AFB quarantine for two years during that time, no colonies or beekeeping equipment may leave the site. After two years, the quarantine may be lifted following inspection by apiary inspectors to validate the disease status. At present, very little information is available about different ERIC types of P. larvae isolates present in Ontario. Based on the limited testing done at the Animal Health Laboratory, as expected, all of the clinical isolates belong to ERIC I type. However, there is a need to collect more samples from clinically affected and also apparently clinically healthy colonies and test for the presence of P. larvae to determine if any ERIC II types are present. Detection of ERIC II type may result in changes regarding field and laboratory diagnostic approaches to AFB. For more information on AFB detection and a description of clinical signs, please visit the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) website at food/inspection/bees/afb-mgmt.htm. 16 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

19 FEATURE AFB by the numbers from the 2016 Provincial Apiarist Report Ontario Beekeeping Industry at a Glance Number of registered beekeepers: 2,896 Number of producing colonies: 97,342 The prevalence of common apiary pests and diseases was assessed by ministry apiary inspectors during the inspection of 9,684 colonies (brood nest inspections) during the beekeeping season. American Foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae) was detected in 49 honey bee colonies or 0.51 per cent of the colonies inspected in Ontario. This represents a decrease from 2015 when AFB was observed in 0.95 per cent of colonies. Sample analysis has confirmed that the strains of AFB circulating in Ontario remain susceptible to registered antibiotics (oxytetracycline and tylosin). While antibiotic-resistant strains of AFB to oxytetracycline and tylosin have been detected in other jurisdictions, no antibiotic-resistant strains of AFB to these compounds have been detected in Ontario to date. Antibiotics are not a cure for AFB, rather they are to be used prudently as a management option to reduce the chances of clinical (observable) AFB becoming established in a colony. When a colony has clinical AFB, antibiotics are not effective and all infected colonies must be destroyed by fire or irradiation. View the full report online at food/inspection/bees/16rep.htm#4 AFB Integrated Pest Management Late Winter / Early Spring Spring Buildup Major Nectar Flow Harvest Fall Late Fall Cultural Control monitoring chemical control Adapted from Agriculture Canada s Best Management Practices for Honey Bee Health Manual Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

20 how i do it Making spring nucs All photos courtesy Elizabeth Huxter by Elizabeth Huxter Kettle Valley Queens, British Columbia No matter what number of hives you manage, having nucleus colonies on hand is useful. Typically they are made up of four or five frames of standard size we prefer five-frame nucs in individual boxes. They are much lighter to move and handle, and are handy for adding to colonies that have gone queenless. They are less expensive to feed and treat; they offer a better means to efficiently treat for varroa; and for queen breeders, nucs can serve as a preliminary test of queens. Making nucs can sync well with other hive management practices such as equalizing hives and re-queening. Making spring nucs dovetails nicely with swarm control and equalizing before the honey flow. Hives with too much brood well before the honey flow can be cut back by removing brood using the topper or walk away method. Here, any spare brood is shaken off and put in a spare box above a queen excluder with at least two honey/pollen frames. That evening, or early the next morning, the box with extra brood and the covering bees is taken to another site two kilometres or farther away to make up the nucs. No 18 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

21 queen needs to be found before taking away the brood. At this time of the season, the nights are warm and the bees don t have much trouble keeping the brood warm. Another reason nucs can be made up with the least amount of brood at this time of year is because there is still plenty of time before fall to get a well-filled-out unit ready for winter. Nucs can be made up with only one frame of brood (defined as having at least 60% brood coverage) and two frames covered with bees. If many nucs are needed, the most efficient way of making up nucs is to break out all the hives in a yard. An advantage here is the brood and bees do not need to be moved. For breeders, they can assess the hives as they are being nuced out and the best queens retained. Just be sure not to face the nuc entrance in the same direction as the original hive if the nuc is in the same position. At this time in the spring, queen cells are best to use. Drones are plentiful and the matings should be some of the best. Using queen cells also allows for a break in the brood cycle, helping to control the buildup of varroa mites. If a treatment for varroa is given just when the new queen s brood is about to be capped about 19 days after cell up almost all the brood from the original colony will have hatched and so all the mites will be out from under the cappings. This affords greater efficiency for treatments of phoretic mites (on the bees). The oxalic acid drip method is a good choice. Randy Oliver has a wonderful article illustrating this concept and demonstrates the high efficiency of the oxalic acid drip method (see Making up nucs in the spring offers the most bang for the buck but has the drawback of managing this larger number of units for the rest of the season. One possibility to make up for these costs is getting an extra or free queen out of these units with very little detriment to the nuc s build up. Here s the reasoning: The queen from the first queen cell will have laid the entire comb(s) that the bees are covering in a few days. So, after the first queen has laid the available comb and there are larvae present, she can be pulled and a second queen cell inserted. The brood from the first queen will be hatching in 16 to 17 days. The second queen will typically have mated and be laying eggs within 15 to 16 days, so no brood is lost. The potential for laying more brood increases as the first queen s brood hatches and there are more bees to look after the larger amounts of brood to be laid by the second queen. The first queens can be used in the queenless nucs or for more nucs, splits, or re-queening. During May and June, extra queens come in handy. The table below summarizes nuc make-up over the bee season: (See How I do it in the September/October 2016 issue for Liz s article about making and wintering nucs.) Nucleus hives serve many purposes and give flexibility to any beekeeping operation. Making them up often makes other management practices easier and more efficient. Probably one of their greatest advantages is they allow for local queens to be used at any time of the season, aiding the effort to breed and use bees acclimated to local conditions and pathogens. Table for Nucleus Hive Make Up mininum frames of Approx. # of Use Cells Brood Bees Honey Pollen Nucs per Hive or Queens Pros cons Spring 1 to partial 5 (+)* cells (Queens) free queen potential break in brood cycle; varroa control least $ for nuc make up manage for entire season Summer 2 3 (+) queens (cells) post honey flow; bees have paid for themselves hives well filled, efficient break out save best queens requeen whole yards easily Fall 0 to 2** 4 to to 3 queens post treating hive; queen not treated easily move yard to winter site; smaller, lighter units to move requeen whole yards easily highest cost to make up Always feed nucs at make up. * Depends on hive strength at break out. **Late in the fall there may be very little brood. Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

22 meet a beekeeper Jim & Jasmine Gordon Back 40 Beekeeping, Cobden All photos by Jim Gordon Maybe you can relate to this: One day, I was minding my own beeswax, cracking open my first backyard hive, and the next thing I know I m in my sixth year of business with 35 production hives and three out apiaries and I m thinking to myself, How did this happen? Well, the beekeeping just kind of got ahold of me. My beekeeping style is very much informed by the rest of my life. I m an engineer by trade, and I have a house full of ankle-biters, so I care for my bees the same way I care for my family: I make some observations, give them healthy food and a nurturing environment, and then stand back and watch them thrive. Intervene when necessary is my motto. I live in the beautiful Ottawa Valley with one foot in the city and the other in the country. My home is surrounded by honestto-goodness, hardworking farm families, enthusiastic gardeners, and folks who just love nature. And, boy, people around here appreciate good food! They care about what s in their food and who raised their food and how it was raised. So even though it s January, people are stopping by for raw, unpasteurized honey for their sore throat and chemical-free wax for their homemade skin cream recipes. I run Back 40 Beekeeping as a growing side-venture, selling by farm gate and local retail in my community. My main goal is to provide top quality honey at a reasonable price. A few years ago, I wanted to certify my product to distinguish us from the average supermarket honey and highlight the quality. I also want to pledge to my customers that what they are buying is as healthy a product as possible. My first idea was to certify organic, but it wasn t a good fit: First, the costs are quite high for the size of my operation; and second, they require a three-kilometre radius buffer-zone around the apiaries. For me, that would require somewhere in the range of 500 signed pledges from all my neighbours, stating that they will use only organic sprays on their lawns, gardens, and crops. When I stumbled upon Certified Naturally Grown ( their mission statement piqued my interest: Certified Naturally Grown is dedicated to strengthening sustainable agriculture by offering peer-review certification to farmers and beekeepers who use natural practices free of synthetic chemicals to produce food for their local communities. Rather than focussing on external variables, CNG focuses on basic bee management practices. I wholeheartedly believe that there are as many ways to bee-keep successfully as there are beekeepers. CNG takes a realistic look at the challenges bees face in different environments and situations, then supplies a schematic of actions classified as Required, Recommended, Permitted or Prohibited. This gives the beekeeper room to do what he must to care for his 20 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

23 bees while still maintaining a high standard of natural beekeeping. Truthfully, most of these requirements have become accepted as good management practices in general beekeeping, so I doubt most beekeepers would find them difficult to achieve. (editor s note: CNG s handbook is written in the US, therefore some information it contains is not relevant or applicable to the situation in Ontario. For example, we do not have antibiotic-resistant AFB in Ontario due to adherence to the OMAFRA Bees Act and treatment recommendations for AFB control. Beekeepers should ensure that any treatments they wish to use are legal here in Ontario refer to english/food/inspection/bees/2014-treatment.htm for clarification.) Yearly declaration and peer inspections are at the heart of the program. The declaration is a simple form that outlines the requirements to participate in the program. The peer inspection is my favourite part once a year, I make a big lunch and invite two beekeepers to tour my beeyard with me and complete a set of forms. These beekeepers do not have to be professionals or members of CNG or share a particular philosophy of beekeeping. They simply need to witness my bee management practices and record what they see. As CNG requires different peer reviewers every year, it s a nice way to get to know your fellow beekeepers. The yearly peer review is also the perfect opportunity to review and revise my biosecurity protocols and operations procedures. I log a lot of data in regard to weather, bloom times, hive activity, bee health, interventions, and more. The review forces me to sit down with a piece of paper and examine my mistakes and my breakthroughs, and assess what worked and what didn t over the past year. Certified Naturally Grown operates in both the United States and Canada across several branches: Livestock, Produce, Aquaponics, Mushrooms, and Apiculture. While the Apiculture program is quite small in Ontario, we are finding that when we attend large markets, passersby are beginning to recognize the program logo and what it means. That response has brought us more sales. For customers who are not familiar with CNG, the stickers we put on all our honey bottles open a conversation about the level of care taken to produce a healthful bottle of honey. We have begun to see more repeat business as people feel good about our honey. Our favourite comment is that ours is The best honey I ve ever tasted with You ve ruined me for store-bought honey coming a close second. In addition to an increasingly recognizable certification, CNG membership has given us a listing on their website, access to further education about natural beekeeping methods and honey marketing, feedback on our business s web presence, design and marketing assistance, promotional material, and even an offer to have a volunteer photograph our apiary. Not only has CNG helped us grow our beekeeping skills, they have helped us grow our business as well. Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

24 what s on my BOOKShelf the honey farm by harriet Lye by Mary Lye Photo courtesy Mary Lye Some OBA members may remember me I worked with the Canadian Honey Council and then the OBA over a period of six years or so during the 1990s to create marketing opportunities for Canadian and Ontario honey without buying advertising. As such, my daughter, Harriet Alida Lye, grew up in a household that was a hive of activity around all things honey related. Fast forward to April 2018 when Harriet s first novel The Honey Farm will be published in Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Harriet has written this novel over a number of years, and has visited André Flys at Pioneer Brand Honey in Nobleton, and Al and Keri Lockhart at The Honey House in Clarksburg (Beaver Valley Gold Honey) to help with research. We hope you ll consider purchasing a copy of the book and perhaps one for a friend. And if you have a book club, Harriet is available via Skype to chat with your members. The Honey Farm is available for preorder through Amazon or Indigo/ Chapters until April 15th. From the publisher Vintage Margaret Atwood meets Patricia Highsmith in this slyly seductive debut set on an eerily beautiful farm teeming with secrets. The drought has discontented the bees. Soil dries into sand; honeycomb stiffens into wax. But Cynthia knows how to breathe life back into her farm: offer it as an artists colony with free room, board, and life experience in exchange for backbreaking labour. Silvia, a wide-eyed graduate and would-be poet, and Ibrahim, a painter distracted by constant inspiration, are drawn to Cynthia s offer, and soon, to each other. But something lies beneath the surface. The edenic farm is plagued by events that strike Silvia as ominous: taps run red, scalps itch with lice, frogs swarm the pond. One by one, the other residents leave. As summer tenses into autumn, Cynthia s shadowed past is revealed and Silvia becomes increasingly paralyzed by doubt. Building to a shocking conclusion, The Honey Farm announces the arrival of a bold new voice and offers a thrilling portrait of creation and possession in the natural world. 22 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

25 OBA Spring Meeting 2018 Thursday, March 22nd and Friday, March 23rd Blue Mountain Inn, Collingwood Call now to reserve your accommodation and quote Ontario Beekeepers Group Reservation Number GRP128027: Join Ontario beekeepers for a very practical learning and networking opportunity just as the 2018 beekeeping season kicks off. Preconference Highlights Wednesday, March 21st Queen Breeding Workshop offered by OBA s Tech-Transfer Program, space is limited so sign up early Honey Producers Day is Thursday Choose sessions from two streams: Honey OR Mead Dr. Pierre Giovenazzo of Université Laval Drs. Michael Jennings and Cheryl Ketola of Fanshawe College, reporting on Ontario s Healing Honey research gavin North of Honey Pie Hives and Herbals honey Labelling Clinic this was a standingroom only session at the OBA AGM in November, so it s back by popular demand Note: no honey house tour this year. Bee Breeders Day is Friday The program is still being finalized, so watch the website for details. Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

26 Tips and tricks Soft inner cover by Tibor Csincsa, Holland Centre The soft inner cover has many advantages: it s cheap, it never warps or cracks, and it s easy to store. The biggest problem with plywood inner covers is that you need to pry them up they crack apart, and the vibration disturbs the whole hive. With a soft inner cover, I can slowly peel it back and the bees hardly notice my intrusion even those on top of the frames remain absolutely calm. The other advantage, depending on the material, is that it is moisture resistant yet can still breath, which is a great advantage during the winter when I use absorbent hive-top insulation. I prefer to use woven plastic seed and feed bags, which are big enough to make four covers. Don t use greenhouse foil, roofing material, or typar they don t breathe, so they trap moisture in the hive. In the case of typar, the fibreglass back is also a hazard for bees as they can get tangled in the fibres. The woven seed bag has a disadvantage too it frays easily. It looks ugly and the threads, flapping in the wind, are unsightly. If you fold the loose threads inside the hive, the bees glue them to everything and can get entangled in them. To solve the fraying problem, I use silicone caulking to create a permanent seam around the edge. The silicone application is quick, it dries in a couple of hours, and it remains soft even in the coldest weather, providing flexible support for the cover. I use a super body or queen excluder to mark the size of the cover on the fabric with a permanent marker. I then apply a medium sized silicone bead inside the marking and smear it with a piece of wood (I don t like to get silicone on my fingers and if you do several covers at a time, your hands will be covered by the time you re done). I make sure the silicone remains mainly inside the line, but the marking should be covered as well, since this is where you cut with scissors after the silicone is cured. One tube of caulking is enough to make about 25 covers. You can also use silicone to patch holes if your covers ever needs repairs. This way, your inner cover never has a fraying edge and lasts for a long time (I have some that are 8-10 years old). One more advantage to using a soft inner cover is that you can partially open the hive by peeling back just a corner or a narrow strip. It is very handy during cold weather inspections (late winter or early spring) or when applying treatments. Urban Toronto Beekeepers Association hosts honey tasting event by Fran Freeman, Sticky Bees Urban Honey The Urban Toronto Beekeepers Association and Humber Arboretum co-presented two day-long honey-tasting workshops led by super-taster Dan Douma of Humble Bee in Hamilton. Topics included the science of honey, nectar sources and honey production, tasting methodology, and varietal vs multifloral honeys. We also explored factors that can affect honey flavour and quality and even our perceptions of those attributes. Over the course of the day, we were encouraged to engage our senses fully as we sampled ten unifloral honeys. We learned to use visual, olfactory and tasting cues to experience and describe each honey and, with the assistance of tasting wheels, describe them. Initially, I had some difficulty ascribing smells and taste descriptors to each honey, but found this became a little easier as the workshop progressed. Afterwards, John and I went through our own honey cupboard of collected samples, gifts, and travel mementos and applied what we had learned. We also picked up some varietal honeys at a couple of shops around town to continue with our homework. I m told Practise, practise, practise is the key to developing an educated palate. Photo by Reid Williamson 24 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

27 club buzzins Muskoka-Parry Sound Association 2018 Meetings by Cathy Crowder, Communications, Muskoka-Parry Sound Beekeepers Association Location: Raymond Community Hall, 2013 Highway #141, west of Utterson Sat March 17 9:30 am - 11:30 am Sat April 21 9:30 am - 11:30 am Fri May 11 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm Sat June (TBA) 9:00 or 9:30 am until done (Bee Tour, Bracebridge area) Fri August 10 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm Fri September 7 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm Fri October 12 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm Sat November 25 11:30 pm - 2:00 pm (Pot luck luncheon) Peterborough Pollination SummiT by Tom Childs Peterborough Pollinators The Peterborough Pollinators is a dynamic, grassroots group working together to cultivate a resilient environment for pollinators. We welcome members of our community to join us in growing and stewarding pollinator habitats throughout Peterborough bringing health, beauty, and the experience of pollinators to our neighbourhoods and daily lives. We are excited to be planning the Peterborough Pollination Summit on Saturday, May 5th and Sunday, May 6th with special guest Mark Winston, author of Bee Time and Listening to the Bees. The weekend will include visits to Peterborough s outstanding pollination gardens, community stewarded urban beehives, and exciting cross-pollination dialogue between community and pollinators. Mark Winston will be our keynote speaker the evening of May 5th at the historic Market Hall in downtown Peterborough. Registration for this event will be through Market Hall s Box Office. Professor Mark Winston is the author of the Governor General s Literary Award winning book, Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive and former Director for the Centre for Dialogues at Simon Fraser University. Recognized as one of the world s leading experts on bees and pollination, Mark has had an illustrious career researching, teaching, writing, and commenting on bees and agriculture, environmental issues, and science policy. Please visit or contact Marcy at marcy.adzich@gmail.com for sponsorship inquiries. Toronto District Beekeepers Association by Paul de van der Schueren, Co-President, TDBA The Toronto District Beekeepers Association has been around for a quite while, with records dating back from We are fortunate to have a box of files and notes from years gone by which always makes for an interesting read. The current TDBA is still very much active 2016 was a renewal year with a new executive taking over from some key folks who had been leading the group for many years (many thanks to Grant MacKinnon, John Flys, and Stephan van Heerden). Our association meets eight times per year the first Monday of each month from April through November at the Kortright Centre in Vaughn. Members socialize and talk about their bees, garnering new information and ideas. We then have an informal bee talk and Q&A led by Co-President James Murray. This is always a good discussion, especially for new beekeepers who benefit from the input of experienced beekeepers. Our formal presentation follows with a diverse selection of speakers. Tech Transfer is a staple for us, presenting the latest beekeeping news in Ontario this year, we had an update on the small hive beetle. We try to get a good cross-section of speakers; some academic / research topics, as well as speakers with practical beekeeping experience. If you have any suggestions for speakers, we re looking to fill our 2018 calendar. We also reach out to the community where we present to schools and other associations, and we have been active volunteers at the education booth at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair along with the OBA and TTP. November is our last meeting of the year where we host a pot luck dinner, auction, and a liquid honey competition. The auction raises money for our association, a Guelph scholarship fund, and support for the TTP. The Vladimir Shaparew trophy is awarded to the winner of the liquid honey competition this year s winner was Katherine Obando. We are thankful to the OBA and the tech transfer team for their ongoing support. We would also like to hear about other associations in Ontario and welcome members from other associations to join one of our meetings as a guest. Paul de van der Schueren, Co-President TDBA pauldvds@gmail.com Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

28 CLASSIFIEDS QUEENS, NUCS & BEES SINGLE & DOUBLE HIVES FOR SALE Contact: David Gale Location: London, ON T: E: Beehives for sale. Single brood chambers $200; doubles $300. Well-maintained. Approximately , depending on spring conditions. Available mid-april to end of May. No low ballers need apply. FOR SALE: STRONG NUCS, HIVES & QUEENS FROM ZAVITZ APIARIES Contact: Orville Zavitz Location: Simcoe, North Shore, Lake Erie T: E: Registered Bee Breeder for many years and third generation beekeeper. Our bees are good honey producers and have good overwintering abilities due to many years of selecting. Order early to secure availability! CHATTY NUCS AND HIVES FOR SALE Contact: Chatsworth Honey Location: Chatsworth, ON T: E: W: Limited quantity of nucs and beehives for sale with locally adapted Chatty queens. Active member of ORHBS breeding program for 25 years. SINGLE & DOUBLE HIVES FOR SALE, AVAILABLE MID-MAY Contact: Tina or John Bueckert, Bueckert Apiaries. Location: Langton, ON T: or cell: E: Single and double hives for sale, available mid-may. All have brand new frames and 2017 Queens. Singles $200. Doubles $300. Minimum purchase 20 hives, please. Order early to ensure availability! NEW WORLD CARNIOLANS NUCS AND QUEENS Contact: Location: Carp, ON E: W: New world carniolans stock, maintained and vigorously tested locally. Always infuse our stock with new genetics from the New world carniolans program. Our top selection criteria are: hygienic behaviors, mite resistance, docile, swarm tendency and comb building/honey production. We select our queens and drones mother from the top 5% colonies. Member of the Ontario Resistant Honey Bee Selection Program ORHBS. Prices: Overwintered nucs with local queens are $190. Spring nucs with Strachans queens are $180 (discounts available for 20+ nucs). Summer nucs with local queens are $180 (discounts available for 20+ nucs). Please check our webpage for more information. NUCS FOR SALE Contact: Doug McRory T: drawn frames, 2 frames of brood with laying queen. Available mid-may to the end of June. Pick up at: 187 Dawn Ave, Guelph, ON N1G 5J9. Please call to be added to the list for 2018 nucs. BUCKFAST DOUBLE BROOD CHAMBER HIVES AND NUCS FOR SALE Contact: Geoff & Gabriela Jennen, Georgian Bay Honey Location: Owen Sound, ON T: E: georgianbayhoney@gmail.com Our hives are built with high quality equipment and with high quality bees. Start with the best, the bees will do the rest. QUEENS & NUCS Contact: Darryl Walker Location: Amherstburg - Essex County T: E: anderdonapiaries@gmail.com Our locally reared and mated queens are gentle and great honey producers. The parent stock is proven to overwinter well in Ontario. We are a certified Queen and Nuc producer. Our products include mated queens, queen cells, nucs, bee packages for top bar hives, Honey, and Apriary supplies. We can provide bees to beekeepers in Essex County and the Western part of Chatham-Kent. Delivery and installation assistance available. Call, text, or for information and pricing. NUCS FOR SALE Contact: Reg Lumley Location: Sarnia, ON T: E: rjlumley@cogeco.ca 4 drawn combs 2 frames of brood with laying queen in plastic nuc transfer boxes (box cost $7.50) 600 new frames and foundations DOUBLE BROOD BOX HIVES AVAILABLE FOR EARLY SPRING 2018 Contact: Saginaw Apiary Location: Cannington, ON T: Taking orders for limited quantity of double brood box hives available in May, June or early July Honey can be produced in the same year of purchase. Inspected by OMAFRA. Please call to place order. FOR SALE: NUCS, WOODWARE AND SUPPLIES Contact: John Location: Innisfil and Aurora, ON T: W: Nucs start at $150. We sell any quantity of bees required. Complete ensemble equipment available including quality woodware: Deep box $11/box (to start) Medium box: $10/box (to start) Inner cover, cover & bottom board $13 (to start) Pollination service also available. Do not hesitate to call. NUCS & COMPLETE HIVE FOR SALE Contact: thesquarebee@yahoo.ca Location: 61 Brechin Cres., Ottawa, ON W: Winterized Strong And healthy Colony and nucs for Sale. Complete Bee hive ($320) contains: 4 Frames of brood 6 frames of pollen and honey Nucs ($200) contains: 2 frames of brood 3 frames of pollen and honey NUCS FOR SALE Contact: Waldemar Betcher Location: Tiny Township, ON T: E: thehoneyplace1964@gmail.com 4 frame nucs with 2017 queens Strong single brood chamber hives Available mid May HIVES WANTEd Contact: Blake T: E: hardysapiaries@yahoo.ca Looking to purchase 500 double hives for end of April or 1st of May NUCS FOR SALE, NEW ITALIAN AND CARNIOLAN QUEENS Contact: Terry Langford Location: Campbellford, ON T: E: tlangford@nexicom.net 2018 honey bee nucleus colonies for sale with new Italian and Carniolan queens. $160 each. Please contact for more information. FOUR FRAME NUCS AND 2017 ONTARIO HONEY FROM THE GEORGIAN BAY AREA FOR SALE Contact: Peter Matveev Location: Elmvale, ON T: or C: E: petermatveev@hotmail.com Nucs are available in mid May. This season s crop of Ontario Honey for sale in barrels. Contact Peter for more information and pricing. NUCS FOR SALE Contact: Adam Ritchie Location: Victoria Harbour, ON T: E: adam@adamshoney.com W: 4-frame nucs for sale. Made up to the Ontario Bee Breeders Association (OBBA) standard. Available starting mid-may. $185, including transport box. Contact to enquire or reserve! HONEY GOLDEN HONEY FOR SALE Contact: Mark Saunders Location: 1 hour north of Kingston near Sharbot Lake. T: E: Inscriptum@protonmail.com 63 pound (20 litre) pails of unpasteurized golden 2017 honey. $167 per pail DRUMS OF HONEY FOR SALE Contact: David Gale Location: London, ON T: E: davewg19@yahoo.com Drums of honey for sale. Locally produced. Light golden colour. Mild flavour. Produced 2016/2017. Contact for pricing and delivery HONEY IN DRUMS FOR SALE Contact: Mark Thompson Location: Berkeley, ON T: E: mthompson_90@hotmail.com 2017 honey for sale in drums. Approx 620 lbs per drum. Light colour, no canola. Call or for details. HONEY FOR SALE IN BARRELS / BULK Contact: Waldemar Betcher Location: Tiny Township, ON T: E: thehoneyplace1964@gmail.com ORGANIC BUCKWHEAT AND WILDFLOWER HONEY FOR SALE IN BARRELS Contact: Tina Bueckert, Bueckert Apiaries. Location: Langton, ON T: or cell: E: jbueckerta@hotmail.com Organic Buckwheat and Wildflower honey for sale in new barrels. $2.40 lb. Contact for price and delivery. ONTARIO WHITE WILDFLOWER HONEY FOR SALE Contact: Blake T: E: hardysapiaries@yahoo.ca 10 barrels of Ontario Wildflower honey available. EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES FOR SALE: POLLEN TRAP FROM MANN LAKE Contact: Don George Location: Burlington, ON T: E: don@cottageinnsofniagara.ca W: Ten frame Superior Pollen trap. Still in the box, never used. It retails for $79.00 USD at Man Lake will sell for $80 CAD. Ross Round Honey super, complete, with extra springs, some rings and covers $85. HIVE N HOE COUNTRY STORE Location: 678 Kincardine Ave., Kincardine, N2Z 2W3 T: or E: lazyj@bmts.com We sell beekeeping supplies and bees! Now taking orders for spring 2018 nucs. 500 singles and 500 doubles for sale. Open Friday 10 am 5 pm and Saturday 10 am 2 pm or by appointment. FRAMES AND FOUNDATION FOR SALE Contact: Henry, Cedarwood Honey Location: Harriston, ON T: or E: info@cedarwoodhoney.com Medium and Deep assembled wooden frames for sale. Available with or without Acorn plastic foundation. Acorn foundation is a long lasting foundation that has precision molded cells and will not bow or warp. Price breaks with larger quantity orders. DOUBLE BROOD BOX HIVES AVAILABLE FOR EARLY SPRING 2018 Contact: Saginaw Apiary Location: Cannington, ON T: Taking orders for limited quantity of double brood box hives available in May, June or early July Honey can be produced in the same year of purchase. Inspected by OMAFRA. Please call to place order. FOR SALE: QUALITY WOODENWARE Contact: Henry, Cedarwood Honey Location: Harriston, ON T: C: E: info@cedarwoodhoney.com Deep and medium depth finger jointed supers (select, commercial and budget). Assembled boxes painted or wax dipped. Wooden frames, bottom boards, bee escapes, inner and outer covers, hive top feeders, screened bottom boards, nuc boxes and more. Competitively priced. 26 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

29 CLASSIFIEDS StickerYou.COM Contact: Bruce Canales Location: 219 Dufferin St. Suite 6A Toronto, ON M6K 3J1 T: E: W: StickerYou is the only online platform in the world where you can upload your own designs or artwork to create completely custom stickers, labels, large format decals, temporary tattoos, iron-ons and magnets. Order your sticky products in any shape, any size and any quantity you wish. StickerYou has no minimum order quantity on most products so you can order the right number of stickers or labels to fit your needs. STANABBEY BEEKEEPING SUPPLIES Contact: Jean Jones T: or Joël Laberge T: Location: St. Stanislas de Kostka, QC E: W: We sell supplies for all your beekeeping needs, including: Queens from Olivarez Honey Bees in California and Kona Queen in Hawaii (from April to September). Package bees. RESERVE NOW!!! Liquid bulk sugar. Complete Bee, an all-natural, all inclusive honey bee food supplement that helps maintain honey bee intestinal integrity. BUSY BEE Beekeeping Supplies, Beeswax, Candle Supplies Contact: Martin and Monika Vogel Location: 20 County Rd. #1, Toledo, ON T: E: W: busybeebeekeepingsupplies.com W: busybeebeeswax.com Please visit our websites for beekeeping supplies & nucs, beeswax, silicone candle molds & candle supplies. LACELLE S APIARY BEEKEEPING SUPPLIES FOR SALE Contact: Paul Lacelle Location: Carleton Place, ON T: E: lacellesapiary@gmail.com W: Check out our new website for beekeeping supplies, honey and beeswax products. COMPLETE LINE OF BEE SUPPLIES FOR SALE AT VERY COMPETITIVE PRICES Contact: Emanuel Martin Location: Wroxeter on Belmore Line Drop in! Martin s Nursery and Bee Supplies Etc. sells a complete line of Bee Supplies available at very competitive prices. We manufacture our own wooden-ware bottom boards, supers, inner and outer covers, etc., so buy direct and SAVE. Taking orders now for strong Nucs, available May and June. Special pricing on Acorn foundation on orders over 50 pieces. Generally open Monday Saturday, closed Sunday. Please drop by: Orangehill Road, RR#1, Wroxeter, ON, N0G 2X0. One concession north of Wroxeter on Belmore Line. X-NOX HORIZONTAL EXTRACTING SYSTEM FOR SALE Contact: Paul Ironmonger Location: Holland Centre T: Frame Extractor for sale. Gently used basket and table system with horizontal extractor. MISCELLANEOUS HIGHLANDS HONEY EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING APIARY Contact: Highlands Honey Location: Portland, ON T: E: highlandshoneyinfo@gmail.com W: WORKSHOP, ECOTOUR, CHEF S LUNCH. Experience the art of raising Queen bees by spending a day with a commercial Queen and Nuc producer. Observe the pollinator`s critical interaction with fields, forest and wetlands. Savour the taste of the season and region in our Chef`s lunch. To learn more or to register, contact: highlandshoneyinfo@gmail.com CPR & First Aid Training Available Contact: Johanna Moloughney Location: Hamilton, Toronto, Niagara, Tri- Cities (K-W, Guelph, Cambridge) T: E: johanndy10@gmail.com Canadian Red Cross Training Partner, AAA Action CPR & First Aid, offers custom training for individuals and groups. Perfect for new staff or as a refresher. Plan your training now before the busy bee season starts. Please call Johanna for more information. WANTED TO BUY, SELL OR TRADE: HONEY, POLLEN, BEESWAX, ANYTHING BEE RELATED Contact: Mike Davidson, Summer s Honey Gold Co. Location: Chatham-Kent T: E: kamandraservices@yahoo.ca I buy, sell and trade anything bee related. Currently seeking a good supply of beeswax. Call me to make a deal! DOWNSIZING: 50 COLONIES OF BEES AND SOME EQUIPMENT FOR SALE Contact: Tom Morrisey Location: Orillia T: E: tommorrisey@hotmail.com 50 colonies for sale. Singles (box, frames and bees): $225 Doubles: $275 Two 6 5/8 supers with drawn comb per hive: $50 Some floors, inners and lids available Available early May. HELP WANTED FULL-TIME SEASONAL BEEKEEPERS WANTED AT ROYAL BEE IN NEWCASTLE Contact: Dao Wang Location: Newcastle, ON, east of Toronto T: (toll free) Two full time-seasonal beekeepers needed at Royal Bee Farm in Newcastle, Ontario from May to November, The work is physically demanding and may involve long hours at various times. Applicants should have at least two years of commercial beekeeping experience. Must be able to speak English. Applicants should have a valid driver s license and be willing to work 60+ hours a week at times, including nights and weekends. Applicants should also be physically fit and able to lift 100+ lbs at a time repetitively. Must not be allergic to bees. Duties: Prepare bees and hives for transportation for pollination and honey production. Harvest the honey. Extract honey. Build and maintain bee hives and equipment. Queen rearing experience would be an asset. Housing is included, if desired. Wages will be based on experience and capability, starting at $14 per hour. Please call for more information. HELP WANTED 8 BEEKEEPERS FOR THE 2018 SEASON Contact: Mike Parker Location: Parker-Bee Apiaries, Beamsville, Ontario (Niagara area) T: E: charlie-beehoney@sympatico.ca Parker-Bee Apiaries is seeking beekeepers for the 2018 season, April - November. Full-time seasonal. The work is physically demanding and may involve long hours at various times hrs per week. Experience as a beekeeper is an asset. Secondary education graduate. Duties: Prepare bees and hives for transportation for pollination and honey production. Harvest the honey. Extract honey. Handle feed and care for bee colonies. Build and maintain bee hives and equipment. Base wage: $14/hour. Please contact Mike Parker by phone or to enquire. HELP WANTED - SKILLED BEEKEEPER Contact: Tina Bueckert, Bueckert Apiaries Location: Langton, ON T: or cell: E: jbueckerta@hotmail.com Seeking a queen breeder with 5 years experience for hive maintenance. Needed from April 1, 2018 to September 30, Wage: $14/hr. HELP WANTED: 2 FULL TIME SEASONAL APIARY WORKERS Contact: Coneybeare Honey Location: Fergus, ON E: coneybearehoneyj@aol.com W: From: April 14 - November 18, 2018 An apiary worker has a physically demanding job that includes hive management and maintenance and harvesting honey. Must be willing to travel (transportation provided). No education is required but experience an asset, training will be provided. Wage is $14/hr with at least 44 hours per week. Send resume to coneybearehoneyj@aol.com HELP WANTED: 6 SEASONAL BEEKEEPER LABOURERS IN ALVINSTON, ONTARIO, CANADA Contact: Munro Honey Location: Alvinston, ON (Southwestern ON) E: info@munrohoney.com W: From April - December Work is physically demanding and includes hive management and maintenance. Need to be in good physical condition. Ability to work long hours and some weekends. International drivers license is an asset, must be able to follow instructions in English, Most importantly not allergic to bees. Wage will be $14.00 per hour. Full time seasonal, team player, education (no degree, certificate or diploma necessary). Send resume to: info@munrohoney. com or mail to: Munro Honey, Box #428, Alvinston, ON, Canada N0N 1A0 BEEKEEPERS (TECHNICIANS & WORKERS) WANTED FOR 2018 SEASON Contact: Mark Thompson Location: Berkeley, ON T: E: mthompson_90@hotmail.com Two full time-seasonal beekeeping technicians needed at Thompson Apiaries in Berkeley, ON from mid- May to early November. Applicants should have at least 2 years of commercial beekeeping experience. Must be able to speak English. Pay will be based on experience and capability, starting at $15.68 per hour. Two full time-seasonal beekeeping workers needed at Thompson Apiaries in Berkeley, ON from mid- May to early November. Pay will be based on experience and capability, starting at $14/hour. Applicants should have a valid driver s license and be willing to work 60+ hours a week at times, including nights and weekends. Duties including supering hives, pulling and extracting honey, treating and wrapping, ect. Applicants should also be physically fit and able to lift 100+ lbs at a time repetitively. Must not be allergic to bees. Housing is included if desired. HELP WANTED: PART-TIME APIARY TECHNICIAN Contact: Bee Local (416) Location: Toronto T: E: info@beelocal416.ca W: From May to November Duties: Handle, feed and care for honey bee colonies in a manner appropriate for the season Recognize, report and monitor hive health issues & apply appropriate cures/controls Collect and package honey, pollen & beeswax Drive vehicles, make deliveries Manufacture, assemble & maintain hive equipment Operate & maintain other apiary related equipment Keep field and/or production records Interact with clients, vendors, and property owners Retail product demonstrations Experience: Minimum 2-5 years experience handling bees. Urban beekeeping experience a plus. Send resume to info@beelocal416.ca PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS PROMOTE YOUR 100% ONTARIO HONEY! OBA CAN HELP. Contact: OBA Office Location: Milton T: E: info@ontariobee.com W: 100% Ontario Honey promotion items are available: Road signs, banners, vendor aprons, brochures. Visit the OBA website, for promotional items to enhance your profile as a local beekeeper and enhance your sales and marketing activities. Available for pick-up in Milton or we will ship FOB, Milton. Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

30 NEW! Available May 2018 CLEAR PLASTIC JARS! (JUNE) 500G & 1KG ERGOS NEW! 43MM & 48MM HONEYCOMB CAPS COMING! HONEYCOMB EMBOSSED 1KG NEW! 106ml 212ml 314ml 375ml / 500g 580ml 750ml / 1Kg Fits 20ml, 40ml, 60ml & 125ml Cylinder Jars, 45ml & 110ml Hex, & 110ml Oval Hex Jars 500G AVAILABLE IN GLASS TOO Stay UP-TO-DATE with our new products by downloading our HONEY CATALOGUE at New products are ALWAYS being added!! FOR ALL YOUR PACKAGING NEEDS OR CALL: 500G & 1KG PLASTIC JAR CAP OPTIONS: YELLOW Smooth Plastic Deep Skirt Cap with Pressure Senstive Liner (63-400) BLACK Smooth Plastic Deep Skirt Cap with Pressure Senstive Liner (63-400) 500G & 1KG GLASS JAR CAP OPTIONS: HONEYCOMB, GOLD, BLACK, WHITE Metal Caps (63mm) MASON JARS 330G jenny@dominiongrimm.ca G 1KG 28 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

31 Queens from Australia, California and Hawaii plan now for 2018 order early to ensure your requests quality service and reasonable pricing for early season: splits, re-queening or pollination needs shipping from Toronto - by air (Air Canada) to major Canadian centres - by courier (Priority Post) to Ontario destinations Contact Peter Mewett Phone: Fax: pmewett@hotmail.com Arrival dates through April and May. Confirm final orders by mid February. tres a NEW DEALERS WANTED Nature s Taste Canada Melancthon, Ontario Ph: info@naturestastecanada.com Web: MANY PRODUCTS IN STOCK MANY NEW PRODUCTS FOR 2018! Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

32 Oxford Honey and Supplies Beekeeping Supplies * Bees * Queens Honey * Creamed * Cinnamon * Buckwheat Pollen * Beeswax * Cosmetics * Candles Winter Hours - January, February, March Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9 am - 3 pm Summer Hours April to December Tuesday to Friday 9 am - 5 pm and Saturday 9 am - 1 pm John Van Blyderveen Salford Rd. Burgessville, Ontario N0J 1C0 van3301@live.com 30 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

33 IT S TIME TO ORDER! Nucs $ Huge discounts for commercial orders. Wooden Ware Solar Wax Melter $ Tried and tested in our own bee yards. Burr comb never goes to waste now. Garden Hive Top $ Observation Hive $ Educate, create interest, and increase honey sales Queens Chilean Queens 1-50 $ $ please call for price Australian and excellent local queens also available Pollen Patties Limited Availability. Order while quantities last. Bee-Pro Patties Single Patties $ lb Case $ Ultra Bee Patties Single Patties $ lb Case $ % Canadian Made Woodenware T: E: sales@dancingbeeequipment.com Shop Online at: Dedicated to helping grow your apiaries in a cost effective and profitable way. dancingbeeequipment Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

34 Ontario Nuc Boxes Polypropolene Nuc Boxes will again be sold by Wellington County The Ontario Nuc Boxes will be offered for sale again this spring. Beekeepers Association They are made of corrugated plastic and can be left in the bee They are made of polypropylene and can be left in the yard bee in yard wet in weather. wet weather. Improvements from last year s design have Information been made sheet to make and order them form easier are posted to put on together. the OBA website Information ontariobee.com sheets available (search at ontariobee.com nuc boxes ). Please deliver or send your order form and payment (cash, cheque or EFT, Order payable forms to available Wellington on County January Beekeepers 26, 2015 Association) on the website. to arrive by February Please have 28, your order forms to me by the end of February. Nuc boxes boxes will will be be available available for pick for up pick near up the on end Monday, of March, March including 30, at 2015 the OBA Spring Meeting in Blue Mountains, March 22nd & 23rd. Profits from this this project project will be will donated be sent to the to the OBA OBA-Technology Tech-Transfer Program to support honey bee research. Transfer Program to bee research. Diane Krout Diane Krout kroutddd@hotmail.com Phone: kroutddd@hotmail.com (905) Wellington County Beekeepers Phone: Association (905) Wellington County Beekeepers Association Your First Choice for Healthy Bees PROUDLY SERVING THE BEEKEEPING INDUSTRY FOR OVER 30 YARS Fumagilin-B Oxytet 25 Foul Brood Mix Varroa Mite Control Strips 65 % Formic Acid, Oxalic Acid Safety Equipment for Acids From Bee Supply Dealers or Medivet Pharmaceuticals Ltd. 4, 55 9 Avenue SE, High River, AB, Tel info@medivet.ca / 32 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018

35 Propolis-etc... Beekeeping Supplies / propolis-etc.ca Spring is around the corner. Order your bees now! WINTERIZED NUCS OUR LOCATIONS IN ONTARIO GUELPH 367 Michener Road 4 full frames Hardy, Canadian-raised queen (Carniolan or Italian) Inspected & guaranteed Available around 20 th May 2018 Price: $210 Available in all our stores. Call to order: NEAR OTTAWA Highway 7, Carleton Place TORONTO 154 Norfinch Drive, North York ALL STORES OPEN Tuesday to Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit us anytime at: Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL

36 34 Ontario Bee Journal MARCH & APRIL 2018