Last Friday and Saturday (March 28^th and 29^th) the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture attended and presented at the New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association (NBBA) annual general meeting held in Dieppe, NB. The event was well attended with over 100 attendees, including hobbyist and commercial beekeepers, beekeeping equipment and product supplies, government representatives, researchers, and others who work to support the New Brunswick beekeeping industry. Read this week’s blog for a summary of the excellent meeting that took place.

Review: New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association Annual General Meeting

The New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association (NBBA) annual general meeting took place last Friday and Saturday (March 28^th and 29^th) in Dieppe, NB. On the Friday evening a tradeshow took place with a variety of companies in attendance including beekeeping equipment and product supplies, and research groups, which provided an opportunity for companies to network with beekeepers and share information about how they support the industry. Also on Friday evening, Anicet Desrochers (Miels d’Anicet beekeeping company) gave a presentation on the business model of their company. Miels d’Anicet is an operation of over 1,200 hives and employees approximately 20 full-time staff and 20 season seasonal staff. The company has diverse revenue streams including queen production, honey production, gourmet products, and agritourism. Anicet explained the process of how they grew their business and how they both branded and marketed the company along with their various products.

The second day of the meeting started with the NBBA annual business meeting. Brian Pond (NBBA secretary/treasurer) ran the business meeting. Roland Michaud (NBBA vice president) read the president’s report on behalf of Nathan Mutch (NBBA president) outlining the various activities that occurred for the association over the past year. The group had a busy year advocating for product registrations, developing a pollination strategy and hosting the 2024 Atlantic Bee Tour.

Following the business meeting, Michel Melanson (NB provincial apiarist) provided an update on the beekeeping industry and the wild blueberry industry of NB. In 2024 there were a reported 13,778 colonies from 850 beekeepers. There were an approximate 6,475 honey yielding colonies in 2024 with an average of 23.61 lbs. per colony and a total of 152,901 lbs. The province continues to import hives for pollination of wild blueberries with 21,561 colonies imported from Ontario, 2,480 colonies imported from Quebec and 2,696 colonies imported from British Columbia.

Next, Karen Thurlow (New Brunswick provincial apiary inspector) provided an update on honey bee health trends in New Brunswick. Karen explained the many challenges that are associated with honey bee health including parasites, viruses, bacteria and fungi diseases, pesticide exposure, and habitat quality. The industry should engage in frequent monitoring and testing for various bee health concerns, and in particular beekeepers should be vigilant when monitoring for varroa mites and testing for associated viruses.

The final presentation of the morning was from Dr. Andrew Byers (Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture). Dr. Byers provided a research and extension update on behalf of the ATTTA team. Overall, the team has had a busy winter and is nearing the start of the 2025 research season. Additionally, Dr. Byers presented a couple of awards to New Brunswick beekeepers who received the “Practical Beekeeping and Industry Engagement Award”. The recipients of the award included Rhonda Arrand and Marie-Pier Jones. Rhonda is a great asset to the New Brunswick beekeeping industry, and she has started a program known as AT Ease Bees which is dedicated to supporting Veterans and First Responders through the therapeutic benefits of beekeeping. Marie-Pier has recently been appointed to the NBBA board, and is an active member of the province’s beekeeping industry.

In the afternoon, there was a commercial beekeeper meeting. Additionally, Kayla Gaudet (ATTTA) gave a presentation on both the cultural and physical control measures available to beekeepers to manage varroa mite levels. Kayla discussed how beekeepers can implement an integrated pest management plan to manage varroa mite levels throughout the season, which includes a combination of monitoring, chemical treatment and both cultural and physical controls. Kayla also reviewed the results of ATTTA’s regional varroa mite survey demonstrating the levels of mites being seen across the region throughout the season, and how different methods of control can help keep levels low.

Next, Anicet Desrochers gave a presentation on Miels d’Anicet beekeeping company queen production and sales. Anicet described the company’s process of rearing queens from start to finish, which begins with the selection process of breeder colonies and continues until queens are mated, collected and delivered to the buyer. There are many logistics to coordinate to transport and sell queens, and this is a crucial part of their queen business. Anicet also explained the specifics of selecting their breeder colonies. They look for traits such as honey production, spring building, gentleness, propolis production, and hygienic behaviour. They prioritize honey production for their breeder colonies as this trait is known to be positively correlated with hygienic behaviour and spring production.

The final presentation of the day was from Rodd Scarlett (Canadian Honey Council) who discussed national trends for beekeeping and honey production and sales. Overall, Canada exports more honey than imported each year. The Canadian Honey Council has an important responsibility of mitigating honey fraud on a national level. The organization also is advocating for the registration of products for honey bee pest and disease treatment, involved with mitigation plans and training for emerging pest and disease threats, and works to mitigate Canadian honey bee stock issues in partnership with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The meeting concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Andrew Byers on the timing of varroa mite management. The panel consisted of Fletcher Colpitts, Boyd Hicks and Chris Lockhart. Some of the topics the panelist discussed included: following product label directions, frequency of monitoring for mites, rotating out old comb, alternating between synthetic and non-synthetic treatments, consulting with government representatives or specialists, changes in mite management over the decades and reflecting on past beekeeping mistakes. Thank you to all the panelists for a great discussion.

Thank you to all organizers of this great event, and to all of the presenters for their knowledge and expertise they bring to the industry.

Connecting with ATTTA Specialists

If you’d like to connect with ATTTA specialists or learn more about our program, you can:

visit our website at https://www.perennia.ca/portfolio-items/honey-bees/

Email attta@perennia.ca

When inspecting a honey bee colony the presence/absence of brood (eggs, larvae and pupae), and the overall appearance of brood, can tell a beekeeper a lot about their colony’s well-being. It can indicate to a beekeeper how well a colony is developing, the presence and performance of the queen, the availability of resources to the colony, and the presence of various pests and diseases. Read this week’s blog to learn more about how the brood can provide an indication of colony health, and what beekeepers should be looking for when inspecting their brood.

Brood Indicators of Colony Health and Resource Availability

The first thing to recognize when discussing honey bee brood is that the abundance of brood will naturally change with the beekeeping season. Bees can start rearing brood as early as February within Northern climates, and brood rearing will increase throughout March and April. In the Maritimes, some brood is likely to be present in the colony by the time beekeepers can first start to inspect their colonies for the current season. Brood rearing will continue at a steady rate during the months of May to July, and, in a typical season, there will be a dearth period mid-summer which will reduce brood production. Following the usual dearth period (mid-August) the colony will start to rear their winter bees, and will continue to rear brood until October. Keep in mind that the beekeeping season will vary year-to-year depending on the weather, which will have an impact on the timing of brood availability, and should be considered when judging the health of colonies based on brood indicators.

New research demonstrates that a low abundance of brood (based on a brood to bee ratio) can be a strong indicator of if there is low forage availability for the colony¹. The study shows that, during peak brood production, a brood to bee ratio of less than 1 can indicate environmental stress (such as limited forage availability). Bees require pollen for brood rearing. Pollen provides protein, fats, vitamins, minerals and amino acids that brood development requires². When pollen availability is low in the environment brood production slows down. Not only should a beekeeper look at the abundance of brood, but also the appearance of the brood. Wet brood indicates the larvae are being fed well, and dry brood reflects inadequate nutrition for feeding the larvae (i.e. pollen/protein deficiency).

The presence of drone brood can also tell a beekeeper something about the colony’s well-being. Drones are reared when there is an abundance of resources within the hive. Seeing some drone brood within the colony is a good sign the colony is well nourished. In stressful conditions drone production is the first thing to stop. Keep in mind that a lot of drone brood can indicate the colony has a drone laying queen or a laying worker.

Brood indicates if a colony is queen right, and if the performance of that queen is good. First, if eggs and young larvae are present within the colony a beekeeper can have confidence that the colony is queen right. Sometimes it is a challenge to find the queen within a colony, and simply looking for eggs can let a beekeeper know she is present. One indication the queen is performing well is the overall brood pattern. Ideally, the brood should be located at the center of the hive, and, on a single frame, food resources should form an arch over the brood³. Additionally, beekeepers should check if the brood pattern is solid (not “spotty” with many empty cells). A spotty brood pattern may indicate a poor performing queen, and may also be a sign of various brood diseases.

Beekeepers inspect brood to look for signs of diseases. There are several brood disease beekeepers should be aware of and inspect for throughout the season. The first one to mention is European foulbrood (EFB). EFB appears in weak colonies or during times of stress. Typical signs of EFB include: larvae are twisted/coiled within the cell, larvae are discoloured (yellow to brown), and the presence of dry dark brown scales on cell walls (scales are easy to remove). The second brood disease to discuss is American foulbrood (AFB), which is a reportable disease. AFB is highly contagious, it is not a stress related disease, and can infect the strongest to the weakest colony in an apiary. The main signs of AFB to look for include: scales that adhere tightly to the base of the cell, perforated holes within the brood cappings, brood that has a sunken and greasy appearance, and brown coloured larva and pupa. In most cases, AFB can be reliably distinguished from other honey bee brood diseases using the “ropiness” test. Finally, Chalkbrood is another brood disease found within Atlantic Canada. Chalkbrood is a common stress-related disease, but usually does not cause significant colony losses. Chalkbrood is easy to identify in a hive. Beekeepers should look for black, grey or white mummies on the bottom board, in cells, or just outside the hive entrance.

Overall, inspecting brood provides a lot of information to a beekeeper. Beekeepers should regularly inspect the abundance, stage, caste, and appearance of brood to help determine the overall health of a colony. To learn more about colony health and brood production read future blogs from ATTTA.

Connecting with ATTTA Specialists

If you’d like to connect with ATTTA specialists or learn more about our program, you can:

visit our website at https://www.perennia.ca/portfolio-items/honey-bees/

Email attta@perennia.ca

References

Groeneveld, J., Odemer, R. and Requier, F., 2024. Brood indicators are an early warning signal of honey bee colony loss—a simulation-based study. Plos one, 19(5), p.e0302907.
Groot, A.D., 1952. Amino acid requirements for growth of the honeybee (Apis mellifica L.). Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 8(5), pp.192-194.
Camazine, S., 1991. Self-organizing pattern formation on the combs of honey bee colonies. Behavioral ecology and sociobiology, 28, pp.61-76.

Pages