COCHRANE— Playing a critical role in the ecosystem, beekeepers in Cochrane are helping tiny worker bees find success as pollinators.
Local beekeeper Brad Smith collects and sells honey and creates beeswax and creams for his company Brad's Bees.
“I really enjoy it and of course I get lots of honey and beeswax,” Smith said with a grin.
Smith works with a gentle breed called the Italian bee. They are one of the most common bees used in beekeeping because they are mellow and easy to work with.
Smith said he got into beekeeping as a teenager learning about the art from an uncle who taught beekeeping at university.
After working with bees for decades, Smith said the process of beekeeping has changed significantly— Including the gear he wears when visiting the bees.
“Back then I could beekeeping with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt,” Smith said with a laugh. “Now I’ve got the complete suit on to prevent the bees from stinging me.”
He received many a sting when he first began beekeeping to the point he developed an allergy to bee stings. Luckily, he was able to get bee venom injections to build his immunity back up so he could continue beekeeping.
Over the years the most challenging aspect of beekeeping has become the cost of maintaining and growing hives.
When he first started Smith said he could buy a package of bees for $5— It now costs about $230 for a package of bees.
Smith added that it has been especially complicated maintaining colonies this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has limited the availability of bees that can be shipped to the province.
“This year I had four packages of bees ordered from New Zealand and they called me and said they can’t ship any bees because of COVID,” Smith said. “I’m anticipating that number one there will be a shortage of bees to pollinate crops and they’ll be a shortage of bees to produce honey.”
Because of this consumers will likely see honey prices rise.
Smith has two yards for his bees, including a yard with three hives located near the Bow River. The hives are surrounded by electric fencing to help dissuade any hungry bears from pilfering honey.
He has never had bears break-in, but has a fellow beekeeper who had his hives destroyed by bears, Smith said.
During the summer an average hive is home to anywhere between 40,000 to 50,000 bees. In the winter the bee population drops down to around 5,000.
June is a great time of year to introduce new bees into his collection, Smith said, because there is a plentiful selection of flowers available, a critical source of pollen and nectar for bees, and the weather is warm.
“I have put them in April in the middle of a snowstorm and they don’t always survive then,” Smith said. “It can be deadly for the bees.”
Alberta is an amazing place to raise bees and the province is one of the biggest honey producers in the world due to the climate, said local beekeeper and owner of Hive and Harvest Gisele Hardock. The long summer days, fairly good weather, flowering and nectar sources and expansive habitat make for a great location for bees.
There is a rich tradition of beekeeping in the province, but the cold hard winter pushes the bees to the edge of survival.
“It’s easy to get into, but it’s hard to do a really good job."
Hardock raises European Honey Bees that would have arrived with settlers when they first arrived in Alberta. She added that none of the bees used by most keepers are native to Alberta and instead were transplanted from other continents.
Beekeeping has become more challenging over the years because new pests have emerged through globalization, she said.
Hardock highlighted varroa mites that arrived in the 1980s that came from bees in Asia. The mites were never a problem in Canada before this, but now they are something beekeepers always think about.
It is constant work keeping the bees safe from mites, parasites and disease. It is especially difficult because bees and mites are similar in life cycles and body types making it challenging to find a way to wipe out the mites without hurting the bees.
“That’s making it trickier and trickier as time goes on,” Hardock said. “We’re always kind of experimenting to find something that will hurt a mite but won’t hurt a bee.”
Bees, especially native bees, are incredibly important to the local ecosystem, Hardock said, because they pollinate every and any plant that blooms.
“If you don’t have that our world would be kind of a different place,” Hardock said with a chuckle. “You wouldn’t have apples or any of the fruits really that you get from the grocery store.”
The most important step people can take to support bees and help them thrive is to create habitat for them, she said.
“That’s the biggest thing that is threatening bees right now— The habitat loss,” Hardock said. “If they see a grassy lawn that has no dandelions or flowers that’s like a dessert.”
People can create a bee oasis in their back yard with a few steps, she said. Filling gardens with blooming flowers in different seasons can help the diversity of the bee population.
It is exciting because developing a habitat for native bee is something everyone can do,
Hardock said she recommends native flowers because they will help native bees in the province thrive. Native bees pollinate everything in the province and a harder to count and harder to help then the honey bees.
“You don’t have to become a beekeeper to help bees,” Hardock said. "You can take grassroots action in your backyard."
