Cold-Hardy Queens: Canada's Bee Breeding Revolution

0:00Canada imports between 260,000 and 300,000 Queen bees every year from places like Hawaii, California, Chile, and New, Zealand. These queens kickstart the hives since local production can't keep up with spring demand. But here's the issue. They come from warm spots and struggle big time with our harsh Canadian winters. Domestically raised queens survive winter 25% better than imports, and the foreign ones often carry more brewed diseases like choproot. Over time, this mixes in genetics that art tuned to our cold snaps weakening the whole bee population. Plus, any trade hiccup or outbreak could cut off supply overnight. Bees pollinate billions in crops like blueberries, apples, and canola, so colony crashes hit hard. Surveys show poor queen health causes most winter losses, and factors like diesel exhaust pollution mess with their foraging by hiding flower smells. Even after cutting antibiotics in 2018, overwinter deaths climbed.

1:01Now researchers are eyeing the queen's microbiome, the gut microbes that boost immunity and longevity just like in humans. Imported queens might bring mismatched microbes that don't vibe with our plants and seasons, making problems worse than genetics alone. The University of Guelph's Canadian Bee Gut Project is mapping these microbiomes coast to coast, comparing local and imported queens to craft. Outhardy ones through better breeding and microbe tweaks. It's time to cut import reliance and build hives that thrive here on their own. From your city, powered by AI, this is Vancouver News Today, I'm Corey with The Story.