OBA does not support the National Honey Bee Health Survey
May 19, 2015
"This letter will inform you that the Ontario Beekeepers' Association will not be supporting the National Honey Bee Health Survey. While we believe your study may be helpful to beekeepers in some provinces, in Ontario we have an extensive program of bee inspectors that do an excellent job monitoring our hives and informing Ontario beekeepers about the health of their bees.
In addition, the terms of reference of your study will not provide any data into the effects of pesticides on bee health. Honey bee health is at risk from factors such as parasites, diseases, poor nutrition, stress and environmental toxins. Research has shown that neonicotinoid pesticides can compromise bees' resistance to other disease or pests. In our estimation, any Canadian study that we support must have as an objective, colony pesticide analysis to assess both the varity and quantity of pesticides present in honey bee hives."
