Unfortunately, a number of our hives did not survive the winter 🙁 This was sadly the case for many other beekeepers as well.
In the US, a record high 40% of honeybee colonies were lost this past winter according to The Ontario Beekeepers Association.
Trevor, Abell Route Manager in Ottawa, reported that he lost his hive. However, as a dedicated beekeeper, he sourced a new nuc and started over again a couple of months ago.
“All is going great and this group is lightyears ahead of last years batch at this time”
He has committed to learning best practices and will try splitting the hive this year to increase the chances of survival.
Manager of our Windsor branch, Chris, also experienced the loss of 3 of his 8 hives and is working on rebuilding: he successfully relocated a wild swarm and split his surviving hives in the early spring.
“At present, we are letting the bees do their thing and focusing on continuing education to the general public – encouraging wildflower planting, for example.”
– Chris L
Chris has been experimenting with planting 12″ x 12″ pots around his property to help support his bee friends:
Check back next month to read about the progress from the other 3 Abell Beekeepers!
