We depend on honey bees and other insect pollinators for our fresh fruit and vegetable production. One of every three bites of food rely on insect pollinators. By using pollinator-friendly management practices, growers help beekeepers and support a healthy population of insect pollinators.
This spring, beekeepers in Ontario and Quebec experienced catastrophic colony losses associated with the application of chemicals: herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. A Quebec beekeeper lost 260 hives when an herbicide mix was sprayed on his neighbour’s field on a windy day.
Most seed treatments and crop applications can kill bees. Insect pollinators can also be exposed to chemicals by flying in or near sprayed or planted areas. Pollinators are exposed to these chemicals when foragers consume contaminated nectar, pollen or water, bringing the contaminated feed home, which can also damage the queen, brood and younger workers in the hive. Beekeepers may experience a sudden bee kill but may also, on a daily basis, observe numbers of dead and dying bees at the entrance of the hive.
Source : CFFO