It is frequently discussed within the beekeeping industry if wild blueberry pollination has an impact on honey bee health. In a recent blog “Associated Honey Bee Health Risks of Wild Blueberry Pollination and Migratory Beekeeping Practices” (published March 12, 2026) it was explained how migratory beekeeping practices can promote the spread of pests and diseases which directly impacts the health of colonies during and following pollination. However, other than the spread of pests and diseases, there are additional honey bee health risks related to pollination. Both the transportation of colonies and placement of colonies on various agriculture crops, such as wild blueberries, can add stress to honey bee health, which will be explored in this week’s blog.

 

Understanding how Wild Blueberry Pollination can Impact Honey Bee Health

 

Each spring thousands of Maritime colonies travel around the region to pollinate wild blueberries and other agriculture crops. Although pollination is an essential service provided by honey bees it has been questioned by beekeepers and researchers what impacts pollination has on the health of honey bees. To start, it is important that beekeepers understand that the transportation of colonies increases stress on bees. The migratory beekeeping practices discussed in a past blog post (March 12, 2026) have a known impact on the health of honey bees. Transportation can impact bees in a variety of ways such as impacting their ability to thermoregulate the hive, increasing susceptibility to pests and diseases (such as European foulbrood), preventing access to diverse forage sources, and creating physical stress due to the vibrations of transport¹. Transportation practices create a less healthy environment for honey bees, and can weaken colonies prior to pollinating crops or returning to their home apiaries. Therefore, beekeepers must mitigate this stressor by sending strong and healthy colonies to pollination, with adequate food stores. Beekeepers can also make their own management decisions regarding the distance they are willing to transport colonies to support colony health.

 

Once colonies are placed on various agriculture crops there are other health considerations. The availability of nutritional forage while pollinating crops is a key consideration for colonies to remain healthy. In the Maritime region the majority of honey bee colonies are used to pollinate wild blueberries. The ATTTA team investigated the availability of diverse forage by collecting pollen samples from colonies placed on wild blueberry fields over a three-year period. It was found that the diversity and nutritional value of available pollen during wild blueberry pollination is highly dependent on individual field conditions. For example, wild blueberries fields surrounded by a diversity of land use, such as agriculture and residential area, offered a variety of pollen sources to honey bees and greater potential to fulfil their dietary needs, whereas vast blueberry fields surrounded by coniferous forests offered fewer, less varied sources of pollen². Stocking density of colonies during pollination can also impact the availability of forage, and is something worth discussing between the beekeeper and grower.

Honey bee pollinating wild blueberry flower (ATTTA©2016)

 

One other health risk associated with pollination practices is exposure to agrochemicals. If fields are treated with pesticides before or during the pollination period honey bees, among other commercial and native pollinators, are at risk of pesticide exposure and associated impacts. Recent research found that various insecticides, herbicides and fungicides are found on wild blueberry fields in Quebec, however, pesticide concentrations found in bee bread and nectar remained below the LD₅₀ for each active ingredient tested³. To help protect honey bees, and other pollinators, from agrochemicals, there should be clear communication between beekeepers and growers regarding the timing and choice of various pesticide applications. Growers should aim to use products with reduced toxicity to bees, and should not apply any agrochemicals immediately before or during the pollination period.

 

Pollination services are essential to food security, provide needed revenue to beekeepers and provide a service required of wild blueberry production. The use of honey bees for pollination services is vital, however, that does not mean that beekeepers and growers should not recognize and help mitigate the stress pollination can cause for honey bees. It is in the best interest of both the beekeeper and grower to help keep colonies healthy during the pollination period to ensure a sustainable pollination industry year after year.

 

References

1. Melicher, D., Wilson, E.S., Bowsher, J.H., Peterson, S.S., Yocum, G.D. and Rinehart, J.P., 2019. Long-distance transportation causes temperature stress in the honey bee, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Environmental entomology, 48(3), pp.691-701.
2. Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture. 2023. Best Management Practices Guide For Honey Bee Pollination of Wild Blueberries in Atlantic Canada.
3. Quiroga-Arcila, A.M., McCune, F., Fournier, V. and Giovenazzo, P., 2025. Bee-ing a Pollinator: Constraints, Concerns, and Challenges of Lowbush Blueberry Pollination. International Journal of Fruit Science, 25(1), pp.28-63.

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

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