Dating back to the 18th century, AŽ hive panels depict stories of marriage, damnation, and daily life.

BY REBECCA L. RHOADES

Slovenia’s Beautiful Beehives Turn Apiaries Into Art

“SLOVENIA HAS A STRONG connection with beekeeping,” says Peter Kozmus, one of the country’s—and the world’s—leading experts on bees. “Historically, every village had at least one beekeeper who produced honey for himself, his relatives, and neighbors.” This tradition continues today, with approximately one in every 200 Slovenians keeping and tending to bee colonies.

Kozmus has been a beekeeper since he was 14 years old. Today, he runs a honey farm in Pilštanj in eastern Slovenia, where he tends to more than 100 bee colonies. He also heads the breeding program for the 8,000-member Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association, a nearly 150-year-old education, research, and training organization.

Drive through the verdant countryside, and you’ll notice hobbit-sized huts, similar in appearance to garden outbuildings or she-sheds. But these small structures aren’t filled with landscaping tools or craft supplies. Instead, they’re apiaries that house unique hives, known as Alberti-Žnideršič (or AŽ) hives. Invented at the turn of the 20th century by beekeeper Anton Žnideršič, the hives—kranjichi in Slovenian—take their name from their inventor whose design was inspired by a leaf hive system by German teacher and beekeeper Adolf Alberti.

Kozmus in front of one of his beehouses. COURTESY PETER KOZMUS

Unlike their American counterpart, the Langstroth hive, with its vertical box shape and hanging honeycomb frames, AŽ beehives are smaller and open from the back instead of the top. They also can be stacked together. Their structural design and small size allow them to be incorporated into the walls of the apiaries, providing protection from the elements and making it easier for beekeepers to inspect and manage their colonies. More than 90 percent of beekeepers in Slovenia use AŽ hives.

Like everyone else in Slovenia, Kozmus oversees colonies of native Carniolan honey bees, the only species the country allows beekeepers to tend. Kozmus’s bees are divided between four apiaries outfitted with AŽ hives. A large one near his house serves as the main source of honey production and is used for tourism purposes. Two mobile apiaries can be moved around the property “to find better pastures,” Kozmus explains. And a small house is reserved for nucleus colonies—developing colonies with breeding queens. But there is no standard design for an AŽ hive house. It can be as small or as large as the beekeeper desires and can hold dozens of hives, stacked two or three high.

Typically, the hives are built into the south side of a bee house to capture the sun, while the opposite wall blocks the cold north winds. The eaves should extend about three feet to protect from rain and snow, while the entire house should be raised about four feet off the ground in order to keep the hives dry. Many bee houses are built on wheels, allowing them to be moved around the property as the seasons change.

Inside, the apiaries are a mix of workspace and living room. Depending on their location, they can include heat or air conditioning. Some are large enough to hold the extractor and other machinery needed to process the honey, as well as space for the beekeeper to hang out. “You’ll see a lot of bee houses that have beds or a table and chairs in them,” says Suzanne Brouillette, the owner of Slovenian Beekeeping. Brouillette, a New Hampshire resident, organizes beekeeping-themed trips to Slovenia and is one of the few providers of AŽ hives in the United States. “You’ll go out and take care of the bees, have some bread and wine and cheese, and take a nap,” she says.

A small hole or slit on the front of the hive allows the bees to enter and exit, while the beekeeper accesses the combs from the rear of the hive, which is located inside the apiary. The hives themselves are divided into two chambers. “They’re basically two-story bee apartments,” says Wesley Brittenham, director of horticulture for Los Poblanos, a historic inn and lavender farm in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The property recently built a Slovenian apiary as part of its beekeeping program. “The queen does all the brood rearing and egg laying in the downstairs portion, while upstairs, all the bees can build pure, clean honeycomb,” he explains.

Each weighing about eight pounds, AŽ bee house frames are easy to remove, simply sliding out one at a time like books off a bookshelf. Langstroth hive frames can weigh as much as 40 to 90 pounds and must be lifted up out of the hive. “There are so many benefits to this style of beekeeping,” Brouillette says. “Number one, anyone can do it—children, the elderly, if you’re in a wheelchair. It really opens up beekeeping to everyone.”

But the most memorable aspect of Slovenian bee houses is their colorful appearance. The hives often are painted in bold primary hues and adorned with artistic panels, known as panjske končnice.

Brouillette says there are 600 known panel motifs from the 1800s, ranging from the religious to the political to the quotidian. “It was a way of being a little bit more prestigious than your neighbor if you had them,” she says.

About half of the motifs tell stories from the Bible. “The panels were like frescoes in a church,” Brouillette adds. The oldest-known bee panel is from 1758 and depicts the Madonna and Child. There’s Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, images of patron saints, and scenes of sinners in Hell.

Secular subject matter includes animals and hunting scenes, caricatures of important figures, and social commentary. There are themes of marriage and funerals, moral tales of drinking and infidelity, important events from history, and amusing looks at daily life.

While the art of hand-painting bee panels faded away after World War I, many beekeepers still use reproduction panels or ones with their own designs. “Beekeepers still paint the fronts of their hives because it’s our tradition and because we want to have beautiful hives,” Kozmus says. “Some apiaries still have such beautifully painted beehive headboards that visitors can watch them like they’re watching TV, because each headboard tells a story.”

When it comes to the story of beekeeping, the future looks uncertain. The prospect of a world without bees is dark: The Beekeepers’ Association warns that “Without bees, there is no life, no diversity, and almost one-third less food production. Which means no future.” But there is hope, as more Slovenian beekeepers continue the historic tradition. Thanks to the group’s educational efforts, the average beekeeper age has decreased from 65 to 59 over the past 15 years in Slovenia.

“In our country, we have mostly small hobby beekeepers for whom beekeeping is a way of life,” Kozmus explains. For Slovenians, he says, tending bees is not viewed as work, but something “that makes their lives better.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-are-slovenian-beehouses

Bee colonies are severely weakened by varroa mite, pesticides, according to expert

Timo Kirez

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Honey bees in the Alpine republic of Switzerland could become extinct within one to two years, a researcher warned.

“All honey bee colonies in Switzerland are chronically ill,” Peter Neumann, a professor at the University of Bern’s Institute of Bee Health, said in an interview with Swiss news portal Watson.

“And if beekeepers don’t do anything about it, all colonies will be dead in one to two years,” he warned and added these bees are infected with varroa mite – an external parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on honey bees.

He added: “Likewise, there are viruses that have nothing to do directly with the mite.”

Suggesting ways to improve the situation, he called for steps to better inform beekeepers and the general public, and devise methods to protect bees.

In addition, he said, insecticides and pesticides must be abandoned. “There are frightening data on this, it almost blew my mind recently,” the bee researcher said, adding: “It made me wonder why we still have insects at all.”

He also pointed to Africa and South America where honey bees “can cope with the varroa mite without any problems.” It is about time that a solution without drugs is also found in Switzerland, Neumann added.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Honey bees in Switzerland can become extinct within 1 to 2 years, warns researcher (aa.com.tr)

From Our Changing World,
Claire Concannon,
@cconcannonsci ourchangingworld@rnz.co.nz

Photo: Phil Lester

Varroa destructor mites are bad news for honey bees.

Not only do they attack the bees by chewing on a vital organ called the fat body, but they also introduce problematic viruses to the hive – such as deformed wing virus, which does exactly what it says on the tin.

Beekeepers worldwide must treat for varroa mites several times a year just to keep their numbers in check. They mostly use pesticides, which can have damaging effects on the bees and environment. The mites are also beginning to develop resistance to pesticides, but a new treatment method may be just on the horizon.

RNA interference

This is what PhD candidates Zoe Smeele and Rose McGruddy have been researching. Under the supervision of Professor Phil Lester, they’ve been working with US biotechnology company Greenlight Biosciences to investigate how their new treatment for varroa mites works.

The treatment is based on a technique called RNA interference. An interesting bio-hack that researchers have figured out is how they turn a natural virus defence mechanism in the cell against one of the mite’s vital proteins.

Greenlight Biosciences were able to identify a working treatment that reduced mite numbers in field trials in the states but turned to the New Zealand researchers for help in uncovering exactly how it works.

Zoe Smeele (left) and Rose McGruddy (right). Photo: Claire Concannon / RNZ

Mini-hive experiments

In one of the research labs in the School of Biological Sciences at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, Zoe and Rose have been conducting mini-hive experiments. Their participants are larval stage bees taken from the hives on the roof of the building, infected with varroa mites.

The nurse bees that feed the larvae are given plastic pouches full of sugar water with the RNA interference treatment inside. What the team has discovered is that instead of killing the mites, what the treatment does is severely impact the mites’ reproduction.

But what about real beehives?

Initial field trials with New Zealand beekeepers have showed some promise, but also highlighted that there’s much to learn in terms of the dosage per bee. A next round of trials is just getting underway, and this will also include RFID tagging of bees to monitor any impacts at the individual bee level.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: A new way to help honey bees | RNZ

A long-simmering feud over where this country’s honey producers can obtain bees to replenish their stock goes to the courts Monday (November 6), pitting some of Western Canada’s beekeepers against the federal government in a battle over whether this country’s ban is lawful or necessary.

By Kate Allen Climate Change Reporter, Steve McKinley Staff Reporter

John Gibeau says he can sometimes see American honeybees flying around just across the border when he takes his own colonies to pollinate blueberry crops in the southern part of British Columbia.

But if Gibeau wants to buy those bees in bulk — say, to restock his colonies after a long winter — he can’t do it.

The Canadian government has long placed a ban on the importation of large shipments of U.S. bees.

A long-simmering feud over where this country’s honey producers can obtain bees to replenish their stock goes to the courts Monday, pitting some of Western Canada’s beekeepers against the federal government in a battle over whether this country’s ban is lawful or necessary.

But the class-action suit is also threatening to expose major rifts within the apiary community, delineated on one side by those who argue that the risk of importing pests and diseases along with the U.S. bees is too high, and on the other by those who feel that the importation ban is unfairly harmful to their businesses.

Win or lose, those involved say what is at stake is not just the already-plagued beekeeping industry, but the health of Canada’s food system.

“Your food is not produced in the stores … It’s (produced) in farmers’ fields,” said Ian Grant, president of the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association, adding that up to a third of crops are pollinated by bees.

“Without bees, you’re not going to have the same quantity of food or quality of food.”

Canadian winters are harsh. That is especially true for honeybees, a non-native species imported to North America by European colonists. Canadian beekeepers see varying levels of die-offs every season. The 2022 winter was a particularly brutal one, with beekeepers reporting an average of 45 per cent losses — double the recent average.

Aside from weather, a long list of pests and pathogens have also beset honeybees, including varroa mites, small hive beetles and American foulbrood. Researchers are also worried about what they call “Africanized honeybee genetics” and what the media sometimes calls “killer bees” — a hybridized honeybee found in the Southern U.S., but not Canada, that aggressively defends its territory and poses a threat to human health.

Research also suggests that some of these problems are spilling over into wild, native bee populations, a threat to Canada’s wider ecological health.

When replacing or expanding their colonies, beekeepers have two main options. One is to purchase queens, a small box with a single queen bee and a few attendants. Another is to buy a full bee “package,” a box the size of a toaster oven filled with two or three pounds of bees.

In the 1980s, fearing American bees would bring pests and pathogens over the border, the government prohibited imports of bees from the U.S. in any form. In 2004, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) began allowing imports of queens, but continued to prohibit U.S. bee packages.

The class-action lawsuit, which was initiated almost a decade ago, revolves around a question of administrative law. The plaintiffs’ statement of claim alleges that after the last order banning U.S. bee package imports expired at the end of 2006, officials simply communicated to the beekeeping industry that no import permits would be granted, so they shouldn’t apply — a move the plaintiffs describe as having no lawful authority.

A spokesperson for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the department would not comment on a matter before the courts. A statement of defence filed on behalf of the CFIA and the minister of agriculture and agri-Food denies all the plaintiffs’ claims, and states that the defendants have both a lawful authority and a public duty to restrict honeybee importation because they are satisfied doing so would prevent the introduction and spread of pests and diseases.

Gibeau, whose family operates Honeybee Enterprises in Surrey, B.C., and who is one of three lead plaintiffs in the case, says that because of the ban on U.S. bee packages, he is forced to buy them from countries such as New Zealand, where packages are more expensive and of worse quality because of the long travel. If not for the ban, he says, could get them from California for a fraction of the price.

“It’s a crazy situation,” said Gibeau.

Gibeau says the prohibition has driven thousands of beekeepers out of business, and believes the government’s concerns about importing U.S. packages should be allayed by the fact that imports of queens are still allowed, but none of these have introduced Africanized genetics……

To read the complete article go to; This great Canadian bee battle is headed to court (thestar.com)

Kate Allen is a Toronto-based reporter covering climate change for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @katecallen.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: This great Canadian bee battle is headed to court (thestar.com)

Landline

/ By Bronwyn Herbert

Jon Lockwood had to kill his own bees, pouring petrol on 2,500 hives.(Supplied: Jon Lockwood)

Search warrants have been issued as part of the federal government’s investigation into the suspected illegal importation of live bees infected with varroa mite, as the industry works out what’s next in learning to live with the deadly pest.

Key points:

• It’s now thought the pest did not arrive via Newcastle port as originally suspected
• More than 30,000 hives have been euthanased across 286 infested premises
• A beekeeper has called for an exit strategy for those looking to leave the industry

Varroa mite was first detected in sentinel hives at the Port of Newcastle in June 2022, but authorities now know ground zero was near Williamtown further north.

The investigation, known as Operation Decker, began as a result of information passed on by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

“Our information that we’ve provided was intel on the ground as well as all the epidemiology data,” said NSW DPI director-general, Scott Hansen.

More than 30,000 hives have been destroyed as part of the eradication strategy.(Supplied: Jon Lockwood)

“It didn’t come into the Newcastle port in a natural channel that we would have assumed.

“We have our virology team currently looking at viruses that the mites are carrying, and trying to get genomic sequencing of those viruses that might give us an additional piece of information.”

A federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry spokesperson said the AFP and state law enforcement agencies were assisting and as it was an ongoing investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

The maximum penalties for offences under the Biosecurity Act 2015 are up to 10 years imprisonment or $626,000 per offence.

Beekeeper forced to cull his own hives

Second-generation beekeeper Jon Lockwood from Goldfields Honey near Orange had 2,500 hives pollinating an almond farm near Balranald in the NSW Riverina region, when varroa was confirmed in a neighbouring orchard.

“Varroa mite wasn’t detected in our hives, but because our bees were trapped in the eradication zone they had to be euthanased,” he said.

His hives were some of the last killed under the eradication program and because of the sheer scale of his operation, he was pouring petrol on his own bees.

“Because it was such a large amount, the DPI didn’t have the manpower to come in and euthanise the hives themselves,” he said.

“The almond orchard owner needed to spray insecticides, so we had to send our own team to euthanise the bee hives.

“That’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”

Kempsey beekeeper Derek Seam was also caught up in the Riverina incursion.

The third-generation apiarist’s bees tested negative through mandatory alcohol-wash testing, so trucked his 1,000 hives to almond orchards in the Riverina, 1,000 kilometres away.

Mr Seam spent a decade building up his hives to a commercial scale, battling fires, floods and droughts, as pollination was a chance to earn decent money.

However, within weeks of moving his hives to an orchard near Balranald, he found out varroa had been detected on a property there within 3km of his bees, which meant under the eradication order he would have to have all his hives destroyed.

Derek Seam wants to know how varroa mite came into Australia.(ABC: Paul Ree)

“I had no idea of the scale that it would have ended that way,” he said.

“It’s just devastating for our family.

“I work closely with my dad and my brother, we are all in the same area, the same situation and we are all wiped out unfortunately.”

Across the Kempsey region more than 50 properties have tested positive for the mite.

Mite on the move

The DPI, has led the response to the pest as part of the varroa mite national management group, which includes input from 16 pollination-dependent industries.

It has defended the time taken to transition from eradication to management.

The varroa mite eradication strategy was abandoned in September.

More than $101 million has been spent across the response, with NSW spending $57.5 million.

A weekly updated heat map tracks the known spread of Varroa.(Supplied: NSW DPI)

“Unfortunately as it turned out with Newcastle, we know now it arrived 12 to 18 months before it became obvious and apparent to government and the industry parties that it was there,” the DPI’s director-general, Mr Hansen, said.

“With Kempsey, it was there at least eight months before we were able to bring our response to bear.

“Those time lags really are an impediment to an effective eradication response.”

NSW is home to 45 per cent of Australia’s beekeepers, but according to Mr Hansen, there was patchy industry compliance with varroa testing.

“We had less than half of the registered beekeepers undertaking the alcohol washes in the time frame required — that’s a significant disadvantage to any eradication program,” he said.

A DPI spokesperson said in terms of compliance, 35 investigations remained open, 23 penalty notices had been enforced and five warning letters had been issued.

Beekeeper calls for exit packages

Goldfields Honey’s managing director, Mr Lockwood, said there was a lot of uncertainty across the industry, as apiarists waited for varroa to move through the landscape, all while battling low prices due to a sharp increase in imported honey.

“There’s a lot of old guys out there,” he said.

“It is going to take a good decade to learn to manage varroa and anyone that is currently not making a dollar, they won’t be viable because are going to have massive input costs.”

Industry data estimates a third of commercial beekeepers will leave the field, with a reduction of up to 60 per cent among hobbyists and semi-commercial operators.

Mr Lockwood said there was a lot at stake.

“Beekeepers need to make a decision very quickly while their beehives are healthy and not riddled with varroa,” he said.

“They need to decide whether they are in or out, and whether they can afford to keep going with varroa in their business.”

Mr Lockwood said varroa mites could breed in massive numbers, creating “mite bombs” that could then affect other beekeeping operations.

“A strategy needs to be developed for those beekeepers to exit the industry while they still have something to sell,” he said.

He is calling for financial incentives from government to help beekeepers leave the industry before it gets too difficult to manage the pest.

Beekeepers can bounce back

Experts predict varroa will spread across Australia within three years, except for Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

While native stingless bees will be spared, the number of feral bees is expected to be reduced by 95 per cent.

Cooper Schouten said the price paid for pollination in NZ increased by 30 to 100 per cent when varroa spread.(ABC: Cam Lang)

Southern Cross University Researcher Cooper Schouten said despite the destruction, for those who could manage the pest it could provide an opportunity.

“When we lose those feral honey bees from the environment, growers will likely need to pay for more hives to get the same pollination service,” Dr Schouten said.

“It’s going to really increase the demand for pollination services at a time when beekeepers are finding it even harder to keep their bees alive.”

A 2014 study of the economic contribution of all managed and wild honey bee pollinators, including honey and bee products, totalled $14 billion annually.

“It’s not the end of the industry, there’s lots of beekeepers out there that have viable businesses, and Australia will remain that way as well,” Dr Schouten said.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Beekeepers battling varroa mite count the cost of failed eradication and call for industry exit strategy – ABC News

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the “Minefields Honey” project to draw global attention to the issue of de-mining and Ukraine’s new agricultural reality.

by Kateryna Zakharchenko, Petro Zhyzhyian

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has become one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about eight million hectares of land is now mined in the country. Of these, six million are in the temporarily occupied territories and two million have already been liberated from Russian occupation.

The Ministry calculated that the total area of mined land constitutes 30 percent of the country’s territory – more than 174,000 square meters. This spans private territories, critical infrastructure, bodies of water, forests and fields.

To tackle a problem on such a scale, the Ministry took an “outside the box” approach and partnered with creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi Ukraine, and the agro-industrial company Kernel, to set up The Minefields Honey project.

What is the project about?

The basic idea is to use drones to sow mined fields with seeds of honey plants, therefore avoiding human contact with the mines. Their nectar will be collected by bees. Thus, Minefields Honey!

The Ministry plans for Ukrainian diplomats to take this honey to meetings and on work trips, handing it to public figures around the world.

The project’s creators conducted consultations with agronomists, the State Emergency Service, Dronarium Ukraine (a collective of drone enthusiasts) and the Union of Beekeepers of Ukraine. This involved a combination of preparatory work, test seeding with drones and seeking professional advice on various elements.

The project is set to be fully operational from the next agricultural season and a website for pre-ordering honey is already in place.

Background to the concept

Kostya Shnyder, creative director of Publicis Groupe Ukraine & Czech Republic and Saatchi & Saatchi Ukraine, told Kyiv Post that the product aims to become a powerful symbol to draw attention to the new realities in Ukraine.

“Minefields Honey is a product that should not exist in the modern world; however, due to the war and the area of mined territories, it has become our reality,” Schneider said.

He emphasized that the honey will be a limited product and is not aimed at conquering the global market through store sales.

“First of all, it is intended to be sent to diplomats and influential citizens of other countries who can help Ukraine in de-mining,” Schneider summed up.

How will the project work in practice?

Kateryna Spivakova, communications director of the agro-industrial company Kernel, reported that most honey plants will be sown in the front-line zones, specifically in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions.

“We take a field where, for example, corn or sunflowers were supposed to be growing, but the field cannot be worked on because of mines,” Spivakova told Kyiv Post. “The seeds are then planted using drones.”

During the spring season, drones will begin scattering the honey plant seeds. As soon as herbs start blooming, the bees will take over. Beehives will be situated in a safe and mine-free area next to the fields.

A unique beehive design has been developed for the project, shaped in the form of a mine danger sign.

How is it being funded?

According to Schneider, all project participants are working purely on a voluntary basis. “It’s a social project. Everyone who helps, advises and supports us does so voluntarily,” he explained.

What is the ultimate aim of the project?

The Ministry believes that the collected honey will act as a powerful communication tool to attract more international partners, donors, and additional resources to de-mining Ukraine.

“The project will allow [us] to draw more attention to the problem of Russian mining of Ukrainian land and mobilize additional resources to solve it,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, announced at the start of the project.

Mixed opinions

Not everyone in Ukrainian political circles is favorable to the project. According to Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU, the Foreign Ministry should focus on more important matters.

“It sure would be nice to focus on matters that directly concern the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If we have that many resources to do something on the side, then great. But unfortunately, we do not have enough resources even for the simplest things,” said  Klympush-Tsintsadze said in a comment to Kyiv Post.

“In my next trip abroad, I would much rather take a fragment of a missile or a toy from a house destroyed by a missile strike. And it would be much more impactful than any sweet treat,” she added.

Time will tell whether the Minefields Honey project will prove the diplomatic nectar that the Ministry hopes it to be.

Meanwhile, Kyiv Post has requested further information from the Ministry about how pre-ordering of honey on the website will work; how the price of the product will be set; and how funds from the sale of “minefields honey” will be distributed.

Kateryna Zakharchenko Born and lives in Kyiv. A journalist for Kyiv Post. Writes exclusive articles and interviews.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Minefields Honey: Bees to Help De-Mine Ukraine (kyivpost.com)

Gary McDonald Business Editor

Some of the staff and pickers at work in the Gilpin farm in Armagh

POLLINATOR: A bee inside a flower

NATURE – and the art of reproduction – is being given a helping hand in Co Armagh in a unique initiative where farmers are being assisted to track pollinators to maintain quality of produce and improve crop yields.

Retailer M&S is teaming up with agri-tech start-up AgriSound to provide in-field noise sensor technology to boost pollinator activity.

More than 70 per cent of the world’s food crops grown for human consumption rely on pollinators for sustained production, yield and quality.

And one of 18 sites across the UK chosen for the experiment is Gilpin Farms in Armagh, where sensors will be placed in its pumpkin patches.

Two in-field sensor trials were launched last year to help farmers better support pollinators like bumblebees and increase crop yields.

AgriSound technology allows farmers to track the number of pollinators visiting their farm in real-time and target specific interventions, like differing wildflower densities, for improving numbers and yields and quality of crops.

Now the technology is being scaled up across the UK to cover a diverse range of M&S’s fruit, veg and salad farms, with monitors covering 120 habitats and more than 1,000 hectares.

The technology will provide growers like Gilpins – which supplies M&S with carrots, leeks, pumpkins and Brussels sprouts – with access to real-time data and insights to help set their farms up to be more nature friendly.

Richard Gilpin, head of operations at Gilpin Farms, said: “The technology will be invaluable to help us monitor the pollinator activity across the whole farm, but particularly in the pumpkin crops.

“We currently bring in over 100 hives of bumble bees and honey bees to aid the pollination of the pumpkins, and the AgriSound technology will monitor how effective this is and also help us to make informed decisions about further interventions.

“We’re delighted to have been selected by M&S as one of the locations for this expansion and are excited to see what beneficial outcomes can be achieved by these relatively simple measures.

“If we can attract more pollinators to our farm, this will be a huge success.”

Andrew Clappen, technical director at M&S Food, added: “Improving biodiversity is at the forefront of our plans to help farmers become more resilient to the impact of climate change.

“Pollinators are the unsung heroes of farming – helping to improve yields and quality while benefitting the wider environment.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: How technology is giving nature – and pollinators – a helping hand in Armagh – The Irish News

Propolis is a sticky resinous substance found in bee hives.

Beekeepers look to untapped potential of propolis, or ‘bee glue’, as alternative revenue stream

by Courtney Wilson

A by-product of honey production largely discarded in Australia could provide an alternative income source for beekeepers across the country.

Hidden within the walls of their hives, bees blend up a unique mix of materials that scientists believe holds untapped potential in Australia.

Propolis is a sticky, resinous substance that’s sometimes referred to as “bee glue”.

Bees use propolis as a powerful sterilising agent as well as to seal gaps in their hives against predators and the elements.

‘Propolis is used by the bees because they don’t have an immune system,” Queensland beekeeper Murray Arkadieff said.

“Bees forage within a 7 kilometre radius of the beehive, so that means they cover about 210km²,” he said.

Murray Arkadieff has been a beekeeper his entire life.

Mr Arkadieff said the bees were able to look throughout that 210km² and search for parts of plants that could be used to polish their hives.

The bees not only forage for nectar and pollen, but also for other parts of the natural environment such as sap or bark.

“They bring that back to the beehive and they can mix it all together and it turns it into a really strong antimicrobial, anti-fungal, antiviral and antibacterial material, which they polish their entire hive with,” he said.

Propolis and its medicinal wonders

Propolis also has benefits for people and is used in many different countries in medicines, dietary supplements, and cosmetics.

“Propolis contains high polyphenolic compounds,” organic chemist from the University of the Sunshine Coast Trong Tran said.

“Australian propolis is very diverse and it also shows very comparable, even higher antioxidant activities compared with the other well-known propolis in the world, Dr Tran said”

Despite being part of a well-established industry elsewhere, in Australia there isn’t large-scale commercial propolis harvesting and processing.

“We’ve always mainly been focused on liquid honey production,” Mr Arkadieff said.

“It’s not something that Australians have looked into in a massive way, which is why it’s such an exciting opportunity for the industry.”

Peter Brooks is part of the research team from the University of the Sunshine Coast that has been part of the Australian Propolis Project, an initiative supported by the federal government’s Agrifutures organisation.

“When we started talking to beekeepers about what they were interested in they were saying: ‘Well this propolis product that they throw out, it’s got a lot of value, so how could we use that in some of our research?” Dr Brooks said.

Samples of propolis were collected from different areas around the country and were sent to the lab to be analysed.

“Like everything, if you’re throwing something away that you could be making money for — it could be a new source of income.”

To begin with, scientists needed to ensure that Australian propolis was valuable, given its specific properties were largely unknown.

A buzzing opportunity for beekeepers

Hive and Wellness Australia, formerly known as Capilano, asked its 1,200 beekeepers nationally to consider participating in a trial collection of propolis.

Samples collected from all over the country were sent to the University of the Sunshine Coast for analysis.

“Of those samples that came back I think there was around 55 per cent that showed high antioxidant compounds,” said Jessica Berry, an industry liaison officer with Hive and Wellness Australia.

Dr Tran leads the research team, which is focused on finding out which samples hold the higher antioxidant value, and why.

He thinks one reason might be that about 80 per cent of Australia’s plants are endemic, and so aren’t found anywhere else.

“So we can expect that Australian propolis is unique to other areas in the world,” he said.

The complete article can be found at; https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-23/australian-beehives-propolis-alternative-revenue-for-beekeepers/102625256o

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-23/australian-beehives-propolis-alternative-revenue-for-beekeepers/102625256o

Reuters

Bee hives at a farm on Kangaroo Island, Australia January 20, 2020. Picture taken January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy/File Photo

CANBERRA (Reuters) – The Australian government said it will stop trying to eradicate the Varroa mite, a parasite that kills honey bees, and will instead try to manage its spread, which is likely to make pollination of crops such as almonds more costly.

The decision ends an A$132 million ($85.3 million)eradication plan that has destroyed more than 14,000 hives in southeastern Australia since the mite was discovered there in June 2022.

The federal government said the decision was taken on Tuesday by the National Management Group (NMG), which is driving the Varroa programme nationwide.

In a statement on Wednesday, the New South Wales government, speaking on behalf of the NMG, said non-compliant and illegal movement of hives had spread the parasite further and made it impossible to contain.

Commercial crops including almonds, apples and avocados are dependent on pollination by European honey bees, with huge numbers of hives moved during spring flowering to bring bees to plants.

The Australian government has said a widespread mite infestation could destroy most wild European honey bee nests and managed hives not adapted to Varroa, reducing pollination and causing losses of over A$70 million a year.

“The recent spike in new detections have made it clear that the Varroa mite infestation is more widespread and has also been present for longer than first thought,” the New South Wales government said in a statement.

“The potential to eradicate is no longer possible… We now need to work collaboratively to manage and minimise the impact of Varroa.”

Varroa is a reddish-brown mite around 1 mm in diameter that attaches itself to European and Asian honey bees and feeds on them, weakening them and killing colonies.

The mite also carries viruses and has caused the collapse of honey bee populations around the world.

Varroa does not target native Australian honey bees.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-abandons-efforts-eradicate-deadly-honey-bee-parasite-2023-09-20/

ABC Rural

/ By Lucas Forbes, Bronwyn Herbert, Emily Doak, and Tina Quinn

Beekeepers Denille Banham and Daniel Costa stand to lose all their hives due to varroa mite. (ABC News: Tina Quinn)

As authorities race to control the outbreak of varroa mite in Australia’s bee population, many beekeepers are saying it is time to learn to live with the mite.

Key points:

• A US bee health group is working on a “varroacide” to defeat the pest
• A New Zealand beekeeper says the worst effects of varroa mite were over in two years
• Beekeepers losing hives to euthanasia in Australia are calling for a policy shift from eradication to management

But what would that look like?

More than a year after varroa mite was first found at the Port of Newcastle, detections of the parasite have ramped up.

In recent weeks, thousands of beehives have been quarantined or euthanased after the mite was detected in hives in Kempsey on the NSW mid-north coast, many of which were delivered to parts of the Sunraysia and Riverina districts for almond pollination.

With Australia the only continent in the world where varroa has not taken hold, authorities have maintained a policy of eradication.

Varroa mites can destroy entire hives. (Supplied: Gilles San Martin)

For Kempsey beekeepers Denille Banham and Daniel Costa, the eradication strategy means their hives will be destroyed after varroa was found in some hives taken to Nericon, near Griffith, for the pollination season.

They have 750 hives in the eradication zones and 480 will have to be destroyed.

“Your 23 years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears, just all gone,” Mr Costa said.

Beekeepers are now calling for Australia to move towards managing the mite and living with it, instead of trying to eradicate it.

How is varroa mite managed?

The United States has been living with varroa mite since the late 1980s, when the pest was accidentally introduced to Florida.

The Honey Bee Health Coalition (HBHC) teaches beekeepers how to manage varroa mite and invests in research into developing pesticides that could kill the pest.

HBHC facilitator Matthew Mulica said varroa mite was so common in North America that if any hive did not have it now, it would within the next year.

That is why American beekeepers test for varroa two to four times a year.

If there are more than three mites per 100 bees, the coalition says beekeepers should start control measures immediately.

It is crucial to identify varroa to stop them spreading.

“If you do nothing, then in their last dying breath bees will fly off and infect other hives around you,” Mr Mulica said.

Regular testing carried out

One of the costs of management is hiring people to test hives and apply treatments.

Tumut beekeeper John Casey estimated his labour bill would double under a management policy, but said that would be preferable to staying with eradication.

“We’ve got 2,000 hives up at Euroley in the red zone. We don’t know if they’re going to let us move them or euthanase them,” he said.

“It’s a big loss of the bees and also the income we could make off them for the next couple of years.”

Hundreds of Belinda and John Casey’s hives have been impacted by measures aimed at controlling varroa mite. (ABC Rural: Emily Doak)

In the US, beekeepers can use chemical treatments to kill the mites, and there are some non-chemical techniques as well that interrupt the life cycle of the hive and slow varroa down.

Since varroa mite grows in the pupa of bees, producers can also remove the queen from the hive temporarily to reduce the number of pupa and cut down the opportunities for the mite to grow.

Mr Mulica said the HBHC was working with scientists in the US, Canada and Spain to create a “varroacide” to control the pest.

“We’re looking at all of these things and testing different compounds to find that next miracle molecule, if you will,” he said.

Varroa-resistant bees are also being developed which attack mites or kick infested bees out of the colony.

Silver linings in New Zealand

New Zealand beekeeper Barry Foster said the varroa mite outbreak in 2000 had put up to a third of beekeepers out of business, but there was a silver lining for those who remained.

Around the world varroa mites have killed off almost all the feral bees — the ones bred by beekeepers that escape into the wild.

Feral bees pollinate a lot of crops for free, but with fewer hives in the wild there is more demand for commercial pollination services, and that is what happened in New Zealand.

Mr Foster said beekeepers were paid more for their services and the industry recovered in just a couple of years.

“It was a fairly quick turnaround. Probably within a year or two we had gone through the most difficult learning and mental health period,” Mr Foster said.

He said the beekeeping industry had to adapt.

“You have to be a better beekeeper because of varroa and more on your game and better at planning,” he said.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Bee pest varroa mite common in New Zealand and the US where beekeepers have learned to live with it – ABC News

ABC Rural

/ By Joanna Prendergast, Sophie Johnson, and Belinda Varischetti

Pemberton beekeeper Mike Cernotta says WA needs to take the varroa threat more seriously. (ABC South West WA, Jon Daly)

West Australian honey producers say they are increasingly anxious about the spread of the destructive varroa mite across New South Wales and fear complacency has left the state’s industry ill-prepared for an outbreak.

Key points:

• As varroa spreads in NSW, the WA beekeeping industry is divided over whether eradication is still possible
• There are fears traffic moving from the east will inadvertently transport the destructive mite into WA
• But authorities say they are “incredibly confident” it can be kept out.

Varroa destructor attacks European honeybees and is regarded as one of the greatest threats to Australia’s honey and honey bee pollination plant industries.

It was detected in sentinel hives in NSW in June last year, but has spread to several new locations in recent weeks, prompting debate about whether eradication is possible, or if NSW should transition to a varroa management policy.

Pemberton beekeeper and WA Bee Industry Council vice chair Mike Cernotta said there was a “huge risk” of varroa entering WA through traffic on the east-west freight link or through swarms of feral bees, and the state was not prepared.

“We had a national blitz where we encouraged beekeepers all over the nation to do alcohol washes, which is the primary detection tool to look for varroa, and unfortunately the uptake in WA was relatively poor … I think it’s complacency,” he said.

“We are pleading with WA beekeepers to do the minimum.

Varroa mite was first detected in Australian in June last year. (ABC Great Southern: Sophie Johnson)

“Time is ticking … the risk is growing, and we really need people to get serious about biosecurity, because otherwise we may find ourselves in a similar situation to NSW where we are scrambling to try and get on top of this pest. ”

Mr Cernotta said he supported eradication attempts continuing in NSW.

“I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have extreme levels of anxiety, because there is nothing we can do other than sit and watch,” he said.

“It’s devastating to see beekeepers facing [hive destruction], but the reality is they’re taking a hit for the rest of the nation’s beekeepers.”

Moving forward with varroa

Kim Fewster has been in the honey industry for 50 years, selling into a range of international markets…

To read the complete article go to; WA honey industry fears biosecurity ‘complacency’ has left state ill-prepared for a varroa mite outbreak – ABC News

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: WA honey industry fears biosecurity ‘complacency’ has left state ill-prepared for a varroa mite outbreak – ABC News

Canada and Ontario investing up to $10 million to support sectors hit by extraordinary weather conditions.

Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

TORONTO – The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $10 million through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership to help the grape growing and beekeeping sectors offset extraordinary costs caused by significant grapevine and bee colony losses due to extreme weather conditions in 2021-22.

Two new AgriRecovery initiatives will provide up to $5 million for eligible grape growers and up to $5 million for eligible commercial beekeepers.

“Resuming operations after disaster events can present extraordinary costs for beekeepers and grape growers,” said the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “These initiatives will help to mitigate the impacts of these unanticipated occurrences so that these producers can recover and thrive.”

This July, eligible Ontario grape growers can apply for financial support under the Canada-Ontario Grapevine Winter Injury Initiative (2021-2022) to help recover from significant vine damage and loss. The damage resulted from a series of severe weather events including periods of drought, heavy rains and extreme cold, from summer 2021 to winter 2022. The initiative will provide funding for up to 70 per cent of the costs of replacing or renewing grapevines lost or damaged during the defined period.

“These new AgriRecovery initiatives are welcome news for both sectors and will help our grape growers and beekeepers recover from these extraordinary events that occurred beyond their control,” said Lisa Thompson, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. “This action is an example of our government’s commitment to ensuring our agriculture and agri-food sector has the tools to be successful, even in instances where industry depends on the elements to thrive.”

Supports for beekeepers will offset extraordinary costs caused by abnormal conditions during the 2021-22 winter, including severe weather and varroa mite damage. This July, eligible Ontario beekeepers can apply for financial support through the Canada-Ontario Overwinter Bee Colony Loss Replacement Initiative (2021-2022) to manage increased bee colony losses that occurred over the 2021-22 season. Eligible beekeepers will receive up to 70 per cent of the high cost of purchasing bee colonies to replace those impacted during the defined time period.

These initiatives will be delivered by Agricorp. The agency delivers business risk management programming in Ontario. AgriRecovery initiatives help offset extraordinary costs producers incur to recover from disasters outside of their control but which are necessary to mitigate the impacts and/or resume farming operations as quickly as possible.

“Beekeepers and grape growers are key contributors to Ontario’s thriving agriculture industry,” said Vance Badawey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services and Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre. “AgriRecovery can help growers alleviate unforeseen costs out of their control, so they can continue to deliver high value to the sector.”

AgriRecovery is a federal-provincial-territorial disaster relief framework to help agricultural producers with the extraordinary costs associated with recovering from abnormal conditions or disaster situations. The initiatives are cost-shared on a 60:40 basis between the federal government and participating provinces or territories, as outlined under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP).

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Governments Helping Grape Growers and Beekeepers Strengthen Their Businesses | Ontario Newsroom

ABC Central West

/ By Hugh Hogan, Hamish Cole, Alex James, and Kim Honan

Australia was the last major honey producing country to be free of the pest before the outbreak. ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

An invasive parasite deadly to bees has been detected in central west NSW for the first time.

Key points:

• Varroa mite has been detected at Gumble near Molong, with 23 hives already destroyed
• The hives were legally moved to the area from Sackville North in Sydney and traced to the area as part of the ongoing containment effort
• Local beekeepers remain confident the outbreak can be contained

The Department of Primary Industries has euthanized 23 hives at Gumble near Molong that tested positive to varroa mite after tracing their movement from Sackville North in Sydney.

The department said the movement was legal but was then followed up after a detection in the Sydney region.

The outbreak started at the Port of Newcastle last year and has since been found in almost 200 hives across the Central Coast, Hunter, and Sydney basin.

DPI deputy incident controller Shannon Mulholland said the fact the detection was made so quickly showed the biosecurity measures were working.

The latest detection is the first time varroa mite has been found in the NSW central west. Map can be found at https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/emergencies/biosecurity/current-situation/varroa-mite-emergency-response

“The site has already been euthanized so by acting on that quite quickly we were able to get on top that situation and work to further mitigate spread of the mite,” she said.

Australia was previously the only major honey producing country in the world free of the mite before the outbreak in Newcastle.

The pest is known to weaken and kill colonies of honey bees but can also transmit deadly viruses between hives.

In the last 12 months more than 130,000 hives have been tested for the parasite, with more 25,000 destroyed, according to the DPI.

Local producers confident

The central west was previously a blue zone, meaning it was in the general emergency zone but not in any eradication or surveillance areas.

Despite the fresh outbreak, local honey producer John Lockwood remained confident the ongoing incursion could be contained.

“It is slowly spreading through the Central Coast which is a concern, I do believe they have a ring around it which is fantastic that they’ve found the outer edge and have it contained,” he said.

“This one at Gumble is from a legal hive movement and there is very low [numbers of] mite in the colonies so it is just a spot fire I believe.”

However, the president of Crop Pollination Australia Steve Fuller said the detection of varroa mite was “very concerning”.

“The problem is it is blue zone to blue zone [transmission], that is where the industry is really worried,” he said.

“If it was an illegal movement, industry would be a lot happier.”

A 10-kilometre eradication zone has been established around the discovery at Gumble where all hives will be euthanized.

A 25km surveillance zone has also been established where officials will be monitoring both domestic and wild honey bee colonies.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Varroa mite detected in central west NSW but honey producers remain confident – ABC News

Honey bees aren’t an endangered species; they’re causing chaos

Yes, everyone loves them and keeping them has become a green hobby, but they’d feel differently if a swarm besieged their home

By Antonia Hoyle

Antonia Hoyle: ‘I frantically vacuumed them up and deposited them outside as fast as they arrived’ CREDIT: Geoff Pugh for The Telegraph

For days, there were only a few, upstairs – blown in through a window, I assumed, by the late spring breeze. But then more came downstairs, gaining ominously in number until one morning three weeks ago, I walked into the living room to find hundreds of the creatures crawling, seemingly lethargic, over the carpet.

“Wasps!” I wailed to my analyst husband, Chris, who like me is 44. I frantically vacuumed them up and deposited them outside as fast as they arrived, until the pest controller arrived at our location home. Pointing at a cloud of black dots dancing around our third-floor chimney, he corrected me: “You’ve got honey bees.”

Being gatecrashed by sugar plum fairies would have been simpler, and less controversial, to navigate. While not illegal, pesticides permitted to treat honey bees in a domestic setting are strictly limited, ethically questionable, and some pest controllers refuse to deploy them.

Short of advising us to stuff the fireplaces they’d been flying in through, and spend hundreds hiring a cherry picker to send someone up to the roof to physically extract them (with no guarantee of success) there was little he could do, the pest control man apologised, letting us know, for what it was worth, that we are far from alone.

This month beekeepers reported an increase in honeybee swarms – which happen when the old queen departs the hive with half the bees to set up a new home – caused by the sudden change in weather after a long, cold spring.

Usually, this split happens in a “staggered manner,” explains Matthew Richardson, president of the Scottish Beekeepers’ Association, but because of the delay in decent weather “the bees have been queuing up waiting to swarm and they’re all going at once.”

For many, the image might gladden the heart. Chris’s eyes certainly softened when I disclosed the identity of our uninvited guests and our 12-year-old daughter Rosie was delighted: “They’re an endangered species!”

But are they? In recent years, wildlife campaigners have made huge efforts to raise awareness of the importance of bees, of which there are around 270 species in the UK, including 24 species of bumble bees and hundreds of wild solitary bees that nest alone in cavities or underground.

Many are in decline – we have already lost around 13 species, including the short-haired bumblebee, last recorded in 1956, and the great yellow bumblebee in 1974. Another 35 species are currently at risk, with the use of pesticides in farming and destruction of pollen and nectar to feed off largely to blame – the UK has lost 97 per cent of its wildflower meadows since the 1930s.

Concern around honey bees, however, seems to stem from 2007, when an unexplained condition called colony collapse disorder (CCD), in which worker bees in a honey bee colony disappear, was officially recognised. Colony losses were reported in America and Europe and the potential impact on agriculture – according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the global value of global crops pollinated by honey bees in 2005 was estimated at over £150bn – was huge.

Within a decade, the threat of CCD seemingly passed, but our passion for honey bees continued, often in cities where beekeeping has become a fashionable “green” hobby. In 2021 UK Google searches for “urban beekeeping” jumped 21 per cent in a year. Celebrities who keep bees, meanwhile, include David Beckham and Jeremy Clarkson and last month a picture of the Princess of Wales wearing a beekeeper’s suit while tending to a hive in her Norfolk estate was released to mark World Bee Day.

Yet honey bees, the only species that makes honey, are not at risk – and, experts warn, our obsession with breeding them could be detrimental to bee species that are.

“There’s definitely a popular misconception around bees,” says Andrew Whitehouse of insect conservation charity Buglife, who says honey bees are “not endangered, they’re essentially livestock” and believes misunderstandings began when charities such as his own started to raise awareness of the importance of all pollinating insects around 20 years ago: “Perhaps the conservation organisations didn’t explain things properly and well-meaning people reached for the solution which was to increase the number of honey bees.”

At the same time as charities were starting to promote the importance of “wild pollinators,” he adds, CCD was becoming widely known: “I think the two issues were conflated a bit.”

Because honey bees are good at collecting pollen and returning it straight to their hives, they are less efficient at pollinating some plants than wild bees, with whom they compete for pollen.  And honey bee hives are bigger than most……

To read the complete article go to;

Honey bees aren’t an endangered species; they’re causing chaos (telegraph.co.uk)

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Honey bees aren’t an endangered species; they’re causing chaos (telegraph.co.uk)

The CFIA is committed to its mandate to protect animal health, which includes the health of the Canadian bee population. The CFIA will continue to engage with the Canadian Honey Council, the USDA, provincial governments and apiculturists and a wide range of other stakeholders with respect to Canadian honeybee health.

In addition, the CFIA continues to put significant effort into identifying and evaluating potential new sources of packaged bees and queen bees internationally. Canada currently allows imports of honey bee queens from the United States, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Ukraine, Italy and Malta, and honey bee packages from Ukraine, Italy, Chile, Australia and New Zealand.

Sincerely,

Parthi

Dr. Parthi Muthukumarasamy (he, him, il)

Executive Director, International Programs Directorate

Canadian Food Inspection Agency / Government of Canada

Parthiban.Muthukumarasamy@inspection.gc.ca | 343-550-3542

Directeur exécutif, Direction des programmes internationaux

Agence canadienne d’inspection des aliments / Gouvernement du Canada

Parthiban.Muthukumarasamy@inspection.gc.ca | 343-550-3542