Honeybees in Arnprior, Ont. are dying with no clear answer why
It's being described as the worst winter for beekeepers ever.
Across Ontario, beekeepers are finding millions of their bees dead following the winter with no explanation as to why.
"I started to feel the tops of the hives inside the boxes and they were all chilled and cold, which told me there was no life inside," Andre Pilon describes to CTV News.
The Arnprior beekeeper says across his three local bee yards he cared for 70 colonies, 62 of which have now died.
"If each hive went into the winter with 10, 20, maybe 30,000 bees and all of a sudden there isn't a bee alive in this yard it's pretty discouraging," says Pilon.
The frustrating part is he has no idea why so many of his bees have died.
"We don't know exactly what happened," says Amro Zayed, a biology professor and bee expert at York University.
"Most likely it's probably a combination of things where you have high mite levels, potentially new agro-chemicals, and having this perfect storm of all the stressors."
Zayed adds that the 2021 season was longer than average, which could have allowed a longer period for the harmful Varroa mite to reproduce.
"Thirty per cent mortality would be pretty high, but this year I'm hearing some people with 60, some have 90 per cent mortality," says Zayed of the bee situation across the province. "So it really seems to be an unusually bad year."
Experts say honeybees provide $5.5-billion per year to the agriculture economy in Canada through pollination. With fewer honeybees, there is the potential for shortages in local honey and produce.
"Our honey probably feeds a third of the people in Arnprior who buy honey from our local stores," says Pilon, who adds that his bees probably pollinate the entire town of Arnprior.
"Losing a big chunk of our colonies in the winter will put a big stress on our systems," says Zayed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.