Alan Dixon of Hannibal lost  75 percent of his 150 or so hives over the winter.  That's what it's been like lately," said Dixon, who isn't sure whether the problem is new pests or pesticides or other factors in what is being called "colony collapse disorder." Such losses are high, but this was a bad winter season for bees and beekeepers in many parts of the state, said Aaron Morris, president of the Empire State Honey Producers Association. It wasn't the winter weather, he said. It was mostly brought on by dry conditions in 2012 that weakened the hives heading into winter.

The Ontario beekeeping industry is facing extinction if the use of a popular class of pesticides is not banned, the Ontario Beekeeping Association told iPolitics Thursday. “It’s not looking like we’re going to be able to keep producing bees,” said Dan Davidson, a beekeeper and spokesperson for the Ontario Beekeeping Association, when reached by phone at his farm near London, Ontario. But Scott Kirby, one of Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA)’s directors, disagrees. He told the House committee on agriculture and agri-food Thursday that the PMRA – responsible for pesticide control – was in the process of re-evaluating the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on pollinators, but that their review was not expected to be complete for another five years.

Ben Volk has been beekeeping for more than seven years; he is now president of the Knox County Beekeepers Association. Volk has 15 hives on a farm outside of Luttrell. He spent an afternoon in April trying to rid his colonies of the small hive beetle, one of many pests that can destroy a hive. "It's impossible to just point at one thing and say, 'This is what's wiping out the bees.' And it would be a lot easier if we could," Volk said.

Kentucky state apiarist Sean Burgess said the state suffered high winter losses this year, something beekeepers did not need. “A lot of beekeepers have lost up to 50 percent of their colonies, with an average of 35 to 40 percent losses this year,” he said. While some winter losses are expected, those experienced this year were likely the result of early spring temperature swings from warm back to cold.

Environmental campaigners are calling for help from the public to halt the decline of a rare species of bee. The wall mason, a stone-dwelling pollinator, is highly dependent on the pollen of the wildflower bird’s-foot trefoil, which it needs to feed its young. As a result of intensified farming and urban development, the plant has declined, and this is believed to have had a bad impact upon the wall mason population. Bob Fulton, a beekeeper from Darwen, said there was also a problem of people mistaking the bee for other insects.

Article written by Terrence N. Ingram

On  May  8, 2013 in Ottawa the  Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz today announced the release of a national biosecurity standard designed to protect bees from pests and disease. The standard offers a consistent national approach to biosecurity and is applicable to bee operations of all types and sizes. "Protecting bee health is important to safeguarding the bee industry and the Canadian agricultural industries that depend on it," said Minister Ritz. "The value of the honey and bee products industry is substantial, and many other valuable crops are reliant on pollination by bees. Canada has seen rapid growth in pollination-dependent crops such as fruits and vegetables. In fact, approximately $2 billion in agricultural products rely on bees." "Healthy bees contribute to a healthy economy," said Minister Ritz.

Corresponds to the month of May 2013

Corresponds to the month of june 2013

The food industry should adopt ‘a criminal mindset’ to beat food fraud, advised the IFST Consultancy Group. The IFST Consultancy Group said the horsemeat scandal challenged the way food industry and technical professionals considered traceability. Those responsible for supply chain management and developing and undertaking audits should adopt “a criminal mindset” to account for the likelihood of fraud, according to the group.