Over the past few weeks the Canadian Bee Tech Transfer Programs and the Canadian Honey Council organized and facilitated two excellent honey bee health webinars for the Canadian beekeeping industry with the support of Véto-pharma. These webinars consisted of various talks regarding the management of Varroa mites and both the surveillance and action response plans for the threat of Tropilaelaps mites. Read this week’s blog for the highlights of the two webinars.

Review of National Honey Bee Health Webinars

The first webinar of the 2026 series “Adaptive Management to Keep Honey Bees Healthy” presented by the Canadian Bee Tech Transfer Programs and the Canadian Honey Council, with the support of Véto-pharma took place on March 18^th, and consisted of 243 virtual participants from across the globe. The focus of this webinar was on Varroa mite management and discussing new products that have recently been approved in North America.

The first talk was from Rémi Padé (Véto-pharma) who discussed Apivar 2.0®, Amiflex® and Bactobee®. Only Apivar 2.0® and Amiflex® are registered in Canada both of which have the active ingredient amitraz. Recently ATTTA has written two blogs to discuss the formulation and usage of both Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency registered products “What Beekeeper's Should Know about Apivar 2.0®” published on December 4, 2025 and “What Beekeepers Should Know about Amiflex®” published on January 15, 2026.

Paulo Mielgo (Vita Bee Health) discussed the product VarroxSan^TM which has the active ingredient oxalic acid, and has also recently been approved by the PMRA to manage Varroa mites (see past blog “New Varroa Mite Treatment Product: VarroxSan^TM” published on November 13, 2025 for details of the PMRA label). Paulo discussed the efficacy of the product which was tested in multiple independent laboratories and apiaries.

Finally, Adam Pachl (GreenLight Bioscience) presented on the product Narroa^TM, which is not yet registered for use in Canada, but there is a registration application submitted to PMRA. The product known as Narroa^TM has the active ingredient vadescana, which provides a unique mode of action from other Varroa mite control products. Vadescana relies on an RNA formulation which targets a gene sequence in Varroa mites and interferes with mite reproduction. To learn more about this production formulation read ATTTA’s past blog “Varroa Control: A new class of miticide!” published on September 11, 2025.

Canadian Honey Bee Health webinars taking place on March 18^th and March 25^th which were organized by the Canadian Honey Council and the Canadian Bee Tech Transfer Programs.

The second webinar, which took place on March 25^th, had 235 participants once again representing beekeepers from across the globe. The first presentation of the second webinar was from Manuel Hempel (Norce - Norwegian Research Centre) who discussed how to adapt beekeeping practice to changing climate conditions. Manuel discussed how the length and variability in the beekeeping season is having an impact on beekeeping management practices, including Varroa mite management and feeding practices. Manuel also discussed predicted climate trends and what this could mean for the beekeeping industry.

The final presentation of this webinar series was from Geoff Wilson (Saskatchewan Provincial Apiculturist) who discussed the biology of the Tropilaelaps mite, and the threat the pest presents to the Canadian beekeeping industry. Geoff is one of few Canadian beekeepers who has had first-hand experience learning about Tropilaelaps mites in both Thailand and the country of Georgia where the mite is prevalent in honey bee colonies. Geoff discussed potential routes of introduction of the Tropilaelaps mite to North America, potential monitoring methods and potential treatment methods. Geoff also gave an overview of Canada’s Tropilaelaps mite response plan which includes the Canadian Honey Council, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Pest Management Regulatory Agency, Provincial governments, Canadian Border Service Agency, Bee health suppliers and researchers. Overall, there is still a lot of unknowns around the risk and management of Tropilaelaps mites to the North American beekeeping industry. ATTTA will be publishing a blog and factsheet on Tropilaelaps mites in the near future to share current knowledge of the biology of the mites and current research regarding monitoring and management of this pest which is happening globally.

These webinars provided an excellent learning opportunity for beekeepers across Canada and internationally. The hope is that this webinar series will continue on an annual basis discussing important and current topics of the beekeeping industry. For those who registered, but could not attend the live webinar, we encourage you to access the recording sent to you for a full understanding of the information presented.

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

Yesterday a member of the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture attended the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia (WBPANS) Winter Information meeting in Truro, NS. The event was well attended by industry representatives and provided a great opportunity for producers to discuss last year’s season and expectations for the upcoming growing season. Continue reading this week’s blog to learn the highlights of some information discussed during the meeting.

Review of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia Winter Information Meeting 2026

Yesterday Nova Scotia wild blueberry producers gathered in Truro, NS for their winter information meeting. Janette McDonald (Executive Director of WBPANS) welcomed everyone to the meeting and provided an update on behalf of the association. Janette discussed the priorities of the association which includes cost of production, provided information on WBPANS drought response for the 2025 growing season, gave an overview of the various events held by WBPANS this past year, and discussed the work of the WBPANS research committee. Additionally, Janette provided information on upcoming events for wild blueberry producers which includes the Maritime Wild Blueberry Conference which will be held in Moncton, NB on April 10^th and 11^th, and the WBPANS field day which will be held on June 24^th in Onslow, NS.

Patrick Whynot (Ag Business Advisory) gave a presentation on agriculture cost of production with key considerations for wild blueberries. Patrick discussed what makes cost of production models for wild blueberries unique which includes the fact wild blueberries are a biennial crop, producers have field heterogeneity, critical time windows for management practices such as pollination, and a unique market structure. There are some aspects of blueberry production that cannot be changed by the grower such as the market structure, climate variability, farm interest rates, and trade and tariff policies, which presents challenges for building a cost of production model. However, there are also some key considerations that are often missed by blueberry producers when assessing the economics of the business such as the full economic costs of sprout year fields, depreciation costs of equipment, owner labour costs, and inaccurate time estimates of various management practices.

Ashley MacDonald (Dalhousie University) gave a presentation on profit margins with key advise for wild blueberry producers to make small adjustments to their production practices to help provide small increases in profit margins. For example, Ashley discussed the value of producers to invest more resources into their best producing fields and reducing inputs in low performing areas or fields.

Sawyer Olmstead (Nova Scotia Provincial Apiculturist) provided an overview of the Nova Scotia honey bee industry. There are currently 983 beekeepers registered in Nova Scotia, and it is expected that number may increase to over 1000 this spring, which is the highest number of Nova Scotia registered beekeepers to date. Sawyer discussed the geographic spread of colonies across the province, where the most populated region is Kings/Hants counties with over 15,000 colonies. Sawyer discussed colony winter loss where last year the province had a winter loss average of 18.3%. He discussed the 2025 pollination and honey production season, which had significant challenges given severe drought conditions. Finally, Sawyer discussed challenges to the beekeeping industry including climate, decreasing honey yields, honey bee pests and diseases, and challenges associated with pollination.

Sawyer Olmstead, Nova Scotia Provincial Apiculturist, presenting at the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia Winter Information Meeting 2026.

Hugh Lyu (Perennia Wild Blueberry Specialist) gave a talk on the 2025 wild blueberry growing season. Hugh highlighted how drought stress impacted the growth of plants in both sprout year and crop year fields. This past winter has provided favourable conditions for wild blueberry plants with the required chilling hours for winter dormancy, and adequate snow cover across the province. The next challenge will be for good spring temperatures for plant deacclimation, which is when plants lose their hardiness and prepare for spring growth. Once the deacclimation process has started extreme cold conditions can cause plant damage. 

Hugh Lyu, Perennia Wild Blueberry Specialist, presenting at the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia Winter Information Meeting 2026.

The final presentation of the morning was from Lisa Jenereaux (Spurr Brothers Farms) who discussed the history and challenges of their farm and the importance of diversifying farms to produce multiple commodities and include other revenue streams such as agrotourism.

During the afternoon Dr. Harrison Wright (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) gave a talk on the impact of the 2025 drought on wild blueberry bud hardiness. Last summer most of Nova Scotia experienced either D3 (extreme drought) or D4 (exceptional drought) conditions with the driest summer on record. Overall, the research suggests that bud hardiness levels do not appear to have been significantly compromised by the drought conditions. Drought conditions appeared to have impacted nutrient reserves, but minimally impacted carbohydrate reserves.

Hugh Lyu gave a second talk on new technology available for wild blueberry producers. Hugh shared the new “Wild Blueberry Management Tool” available to growers which can be used to plan for management of Monilinia blight and Botrytis blight.

To conclude the meeting Dr. Scott White (Dalhousie University) discussed the biology and management of weeds. Scott discussed the biology and treatment options for 2 main weeds of wild blueberries – sheep sorrel and hair fescue.

Thank you to all members of WBPANS who helped organize this great event, which provided an opportunity for growers to recap the 2025 season and to learn from ongoing research.

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