[Pollinator] Fw: Superbug infestation killing bees

[Peter Kevan]

An article in todays Edmonton journal talks about bee losses in Alberta and the approval of Apivar. It would have been nice if some credit was given to Medhat who did so much work in liaising with Veto Pharma and PMRA but at least Alberta Agriculture was supportive of the process.
Heather

-- 


Superbug infestation killing bees: province
David Finlayson, The Edmonton Journal
Published: 2:01 am
EDMONTON - A pesticide-resistant superbug -- not so-called Colony Collapse Disorder -- was responsible for two years of devastating winterkill among Alberta's bee colonies, Alberta Agriculture says.

A large infestation of the varroa mite caused about a 30-per-cent loss across the province each of the last two winters and a further 14 per cent were severely weakened, even though the province's 112 commercial beekeepers treated their hives for the pest, said Paul Laflamme, pest-management branch head.


Normal winterkill is 15 to 20 per cent.


The varroa mite has been in the province for a few years, but increased numbers indicate it has built up resistance to the two registered pesticides, ChickMite and Apistan, Laflamme said.

"There are some alternative treatments that beekeepers can use. Unfortunately, by the time producers identified the resistance problem last year, it was too late in the season to begin the alternative treatments."

Health Canada last week approved the emergency registration of Apivar -- a product that's been effective on varroa mites in Europe and New Zealand -- until next April 27.

That will allow fall and spring treatments if necessary.

Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious U.S. event in which as many as 70 per cent of bees have been disappearing from their hives without a trace in 24 states, initially was thought to have migrated to Canada.

But Laflamme said there's no evidence CCD is in Alberta, and detailed surveys of beekeepers over the last two years prove the varroa mite, which sucks bees' fluids and leaves them susceptible to disease, is the main culprit.

"They've been following some leads (in the U.S), but they still haven't determined what's causing CCD," he said.

"Every couple of months you hear a new theory."

Cold winters and late frigid springs also contributed to the Alberta losses, Laflamme said.

A bacterial pest called nosema, which is treated with antibiotics, is also showing signs of increasing.

Depending on initial reports from beekeepers early next spring, the department may do another full survey, he said.

The varroa mite not only threatens Alberta's 30 million pounds a year of honey, the biggest production in Canada, but honey bees are also vital in pollinating the increasingly popular hybrid canola crops.

Unlike self-pollinating varieties, hybrid canola needs help from bees, with beekeepers contracted to deliver hives to the fields in spring.

Apivar works in a completely different way than the current pesticides, so there are no cross-resistance issues, Laflamme said.

But the mites have developed some resistance to it in other countries, so beekeepers shouldn't rely on it as the sole solution, he added.

They need to look at all the ways colonies can be protected from harm, and a new fact sheet is available from the department that helps minimize losses, he said.

"It can happen again -- and very quickly."

dfinlayson at thejournal.canwest.com




Heather Clay
Chief Executive Officer
Suite 236, 234-5149 Country Hills Blvd NW
Calgary AB T3A 5K8
Canada
Phone : 1-403-208-7141
Fax:1-403-547-4317
Email: chc-ccm at honeycouncil.ca
Web: www.honeycouncil.ca
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/pollinator/attachments/20080904/3d539700/attachment.html>