When Doug and Roberta Knight sold their Swan Valley Honey operation in 2012, Doug expected to remain as a hobbyist in the industry.
“Most people stay in this business because they fall in love with bees,” he says.
The long-time beekeeper and honey producer said on Monday that he is confident local orchardists will continue to be able to rely on local honey beekeepers to get their (primarily) cherry trees pollinated.
Knight now has 200 colonies, and he says he has made contact with another apiarist who can supplement those of Knight and Honey Bee Zen Apiaries if needed.
Knight said he experienced about a 20 per cent loss of colonies over the winter.
“It used to be that three to five per cent was a normal winter loss,” he said. But the varroa mite, fungi, viruses, pesticide and herbicide sprays, and predators like wasps have made larger losses common.
Knight’s beehives did not experience wasp attacks last year, but he said they are not uncommon.
“Wasps are not a new problem to the Creston Valley,” he said. “When wasps find colonies weakened by other factors they go on the attack,” he said. “And they just keep going until the cold kills them. You can’t stop them once they start attacking a colony.”
Knight knows what it is to experience a devastating loss. Years ago the varroa mite arrived on the scene and wiped out nearly all of his more than 500 colonies.
“It took me ten years to recover,” he said. “Really, we go into every winter hoping and praying.”
Even with his many years of experience, the slightest mistake can have a large impact. His biggest loss recently was caused “when I inadvertently missed treating some hives on time.” When he realized his oversight it was too late, and all the colonies in that location were wiped out.
Now primarily a honeycomb producer, Knight said the amount of honey produced has dropped from what was once about 140 pounds per hive.
“It’s not nearly that any more. Now we have less alfalfa for the bees to feed on, we are experiencing hotter, drier weather, and smoke from wildfires just shuts down the bees—they can’t orientate themselves when the smoke gets heavy.”
Knight said he keeps going in part because he feels compelled to help orchardists get their trees pollinated. But farmers also have to do their part, too, he said.
“Any kind of spray can have a negative effect on the colonies,” he said. “With what we know now, there should be no neonicotinoids (an insecticide) used any more. But even non-toxic sprays affect bees. And we’ve had some spray damage from neighbouring orchards to where our hives are placed, so it is a big challenge.
“Some orchardists push the limits, and I understand that. They have their own disease problems.”
With “lots more orchards going in, we are going to need a lot more colonies soon, so we all have to work together.”
Residential property owners also contribute to the bee loss problem when they use sprays. Bees carry sprays like Roundup back to their hives, where the waiting workers “are just sucking that chemical in.”
There is a wistful look in his eyes when Knight thinks back to selling the Swan Valley Honey business he started. The physical toll of lifting honey-filled box is large, and the battle with diseases never ends.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to it as a hobby,” he said. “But I’m back at it full-time right now. I have an obligation to get orchards pollinated.”
Knight invites orchardists who need pollinating hives to call him at 250-424-5320.