Latest Newsletter

Tag Archives bees — page 3

An Asian giant hornet, trapped at Birch Bay, Wash. on July 14, 2020 by Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) researchers, is seen at Olympia, Wash. on July 29, 2020. (Photo: WSDA/Chris Looney/handout via Reuters)
Livestock

U.S. training ag staff to track, trap, kill ‘murder hornets’

Invasive species remains threat to bees, honey producers

By
Blaine, Wash. | Reuters — The first Asian giant hornet nest of the year has been found in Washington state, and plans are being developed to eradicate it, likely next week, the state’s agriculture department said on Thursday. The so-called stinging “murder hornets,” the world’s largest hornets, can grow to five centimetres in length and […] Read more
File photo of an Ontario cherry orchard. (UpdogDesigns/iStock/Getty Images)

Ontario extends lost-labour production insurance

COVID-related coverage held over for 2021 program year

By
A temporary expansion of Ontario’s AgriInsurance program, to cover losses caused by COVID-19-related short-handedness on the farm, will be held over. The province and federal government on Dec. 22 announced the expansion of coverage will be extended to cover the 2021 program year — and that it will insure production of “additional commodities.” Further details […] Read more
Asian giant hornets have noticeably large orange heads and black eyes; worker hornets are about 3.5 cm in length; queens can be up to four to five cm in length, with a wingspan of four to seven cm. (B.C. Ministry of Agriculture)
Livestock

Two more ‘murder hornets’ turn up on B.C. mainland

One nest found last month in neighbouring U.S. town

By
Beekeepers in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland are asked to keep an eye out for so-called “murder hornets” after two were found in the region within a week. A single Asian giant hornet was found Saturday at Aldergrove, near the intersection of Fraser Highway and Highway 13 — about five km from where […] Read more
Asian giant hornets have noticeably large orange heads and black eyes; worker hornets are about 3.5 cm in length; queens can be up to four to five cm in length, with a wingspan of four to seven cm. (B.C. Ministry of Agriculture)
Livestock

More ‘murder hornets’ found in B.C., Washington

Findings suggest some were able to overwinter

By ,
Reuters/Staff — Officials in British Columbia and Washington state have confirmed new sightings of the Asian giant hornet, dubbed the “murder hornet,” indicating the invasive, predatory insect survived the winter in the Vancouver area and U.S. Pacific Northwest. The stinging hornet, whose queens can grow as large as 2-1/2 inches in length, could potentially pose […] Read more
Using a system called bee vectoring, the insects will deliver a fungus called Clonostachys rosea to prevent disease in a wide variety of crops.
Crops, News

Bees approved to deliver disease control

Ontario technology gets U.S. approval for bio-fungus delivery by bees

By
Glacier FarmMedia – Thirty years is a long time to wait. For John Sutton, the wait has been worth it because his novel idea from the late 1980s is finally coming to market. The United States Environmental Protection Agency recently approved a Canadian technology that uses bees to deliver a bio-control fungus that protects plants […] Read more
An artist’s rendering of the new bee research centre.
News

University of Guelph creates bee research centre

By
The University of Guelph is expanding its pollinator health and conservation program into North America’s first one-stop shop for honey bee research, education and outreach. The university is planning a $12-million facility aimed at helping understand the stressors affecting honey bees and other pollinators. A recent gift from the Riviere Charitable Foundation will cover a […] Read more
Workers pause for a photo at Dancing Bee during a recent workday. They include Malcolm McColl, left, Edwin Newman-Jones, Travis Hill, Bill McKee, Cassandra Macklem, Jennifer Steedes, David Cressman, Todd Kalisz, John MacFarlane and Ibi Tatar.
News

Beekeeper makes a big bet on bees

Dancing Bee is a rapidly growing supplier of all things honey. Here’s how they got there

By
For more than a decade, Todd Kalisz’s adaptability and business sense has meant success for his Dancing Bee Equipment in Canton. But the business, already the largest beekeeping supplier in Canada, is taking its next leap, growing hive numbers and honey processing capacity. Why it matters: Honey bee producer numbers are growing across Canada, and […] Read more
Mike Donnelly-Vanderloo, right, explains the family’s Operation Pollinator plot to tour participants on July 3 near Thorndale.
News

Pollinator plots open eyes and create conversations

Sixty plots will be established at the edges of farms after two years of the program

By
Across Ontario’s farm country over the past two years, small patches of fields have been transformed into a mix of flowering plants ideal for attracting bees and other insects and birds, as part of Operation Pollinator. There’s no confirmation on whether the global agricultural input company that created and supported the project, Syngenta, will continue […] Read more
Health Canada has released its final decision on neonic insecticides and their potential impact on bees and other pollinators. The department will take several steps to reduce the risk to bees, but neonic seed treatments will not be affected.
News

Neonic seed treatments seen as safe for bees

Health Canada ruling yet to come on safety for aquatic insects

By
For years, groups like the David Suzuki Foundation and the Ontario Beekeepers Association have argued that neonicotinoid seed treatments represent a systemic threat to bees. “Health Canada… will be cancelling some uses of these pesticides, and changing other conditions of use such as restricting the timing of application,” a department news release said. “Remaining uses […] Read more
Jack Gray and Rachel Parkinson study locusts in their lab at the University of Saskatchewan.
News

Canadian neonic, metabolite research shows insecticide effect on insect navigation

Locusts in wind tunnels exposed to neonics lost their ability to move themselves where they wanted

By
Drunk drivers are more likely to get in an accident because the alcohol in their blood impairs vision and delays reaction time. University of Saskatchewan biologists have identified a comparable phenomenon in locusts, when the insects are exposed to a small dose of insecticide. Why it matters: Farmers require a wide range of pesticides to […] Read more

Cyber-Savvy Farmer

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast