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
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.