CAPA Winterloss Report for 2019/2020

The Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA) and Provincial Apiarists coordinated the annual honey bee wintering loss report for 2019-2020. As in previous years, the survey consisted of harmonized questions based on the national beekeeping industry, with Provincial Apiarists collecting survey data across all provinces.Respondents collectively operated 410,451 honey bee colonies across Canada, representing 50% of all colonies wintered during 2019-2020. The national winter loss, including non-viable bee colonies, was 30.2% with provincial losses ranging from 16.9% to 40.5%. The overall national colony loss reported in 2020 is in the higher range of reported losses since 2007. Through the hard work of beekeepers replacing losses and making increases, Statistics Canada reports show that the total colony count across Canada has increased by 34.8% during the period between 2007 and 2019.