Honeybees. (Photo 85485633 © Miroslaw Kijewski | Dreamstime.com)

By Derek Craddock

WHAT'S THE BUZZ?

Sask. beekeepers preparing for harvest after busy season

Aug 28, 2023 | 2:00 PM

Saskatchewan beekeepers are breathing a little easier this summer as they prepare for their harvest this week.

Over the past couple of years, Varroa mites killed a large portion of colonies in the province. Last year alone, roughly 30 per cent was lost due to the pests.

READ MORE: ‘It’s gonna be a tough year’: Local beekeepers face loss of income due to lack of bees

Varroa Mites are small parasites that feed and live on adult honeybees, causing malformation and weakening of bees and transmitting numerous viruses.

However, this year is a different story, according to Nathan Wendell, president of the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Development Commission.

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“We didn’t see the same degree of losses this spring that we did the previous year,” he said. “Although there were areas of the province west of Saskatoon towards the Alberta border and south of Saskatoon that did see some high losses.”

Murray Hannigan owns Hannigan Honey in the Shell Lake area of Saskatchewan and said the mites were not as big an issue this year.

“The good news is that the level of concentration of the mites was a bit lower than what we experienced in 2022 and 2021,” he said.

While that is good news for farmers like Hannigan, there were still some major challenges with drought.

Hannigan mentioned his apiary was hit hard by inflation and rising costs as well.

“Everything from our drums to our winter feed for the bees, staffing challenges are a constant issue because to keep good people just seems like you have to keep upping the wages so,” he said. “It’s an ongoing battle just to sort of find that balance, where you’re keeping your people, but you’re trying not to break the bank.”

Despite this, Hannigan said they should be finished extracting this week and going on to treating the colonies for winter storage.

Wendell said so far, he has heard mostly positive reports from beekeepers.

“Most people are just wrapping up their harvest now, and so they’ll begin to prepare their bees for winter and maybe have a better idea of the health status as they go into winter and their bees.”

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com