Queen Bees Free to Cross Border

Apiculturists, breathe easy. A hold on the importation of queen bees from Hawaii, linked to the discovery of a virulent parasitic mite, is to be lifted.

"We are quite relieved," said Heather Clay, chief executive officer with the Canadian Honey Council. "It is business as usual."

The queens, who can lay up to 2,000 eggs a day, are a vital component to the health and production of crops that Agriculture Canada estimates are worth more than $2 billion each year.

In late January the mite known as Varroa destructor – partly responsible for high honey bee mortality across North America and recently linked to 85 per cent of bee mortality in Canadian hives – was found on Hawaii's main island. Once the mite was discovered, the queens were in lock down.

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