A 琉璃神社 bee farmer鈥檚 hives are relievedly happy and healthy for the spring season.

Bob Chisholm, with Brainy Bee in 琉璃神社, said he鈥檚 experienced a 20 per cent loss, about five per cent more than a usual year.

鈥淲e can recover from that, absolutely,鈥� he said.

The honey bees were put to bed at the end of October, and he expects the extra five per cent loss is because of a warmer winter, with the honey bees eating more of their food source, followed by February鈥檚 cold snap.

Chisholm has 175 hives. To lose a hive means $450 in losses to replace just the bees.

During an Okanagan bee farmer鈥檚 meeting held in mid-March, bee keepers said they haven鈥檛 experienced a significant loss, compared to come farmers in the Lower Mainland.

Paul van Westendorp, beekeeper with the province, gave a presentation during the meeting, saying where there has been a beekeeper in the Fraser Valley who experienced a loss of 6,000 out of 7,000 hives, hive losses have varied across the province and it鈥檚 too early in the season to tell accurately if weather played a significant role.

READ MORE: Bee symposium generating a buzz in 琉璃神社

Abnormal winter patterns will always impact the bees, but how much they鈥檙e impacted has yet to be determined, he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 never a singular cause,鈥� he said.

Another bee keeper鈥檚 in the Vernon area, Ed Nowek at Planet Bee, also experienced an average loss of bees this season, about 10 to 15 per cent.

鈥淲e are not completely out of the woods just yet because there can still be cold weather periods as late as the third week in April,鈥� said Nowek, who said he heard one local beekeeper has lost 50 per cent of his colonies and will have to replace at the cost of about $20,000.

READ MORE: 鈥楤ee survival is too variable to predict鈥�: Okanagan beekeeper hoping for minimal losses

Others, he said on Tuesday, following an overnight snowfall, have recorded losses of 10-to-15 per cent and winter does not appear to be over.

This weekend, an event hosted by 琉璃神社 Museums and Border Free Bees, will allow the public to build mason bee houses for their gardens.

People can drop in at the Laurel Packing House anytime between 1 and 3:30 p.m. on March 30 to build a home for mason bees. The event is free, but participants should bring a clean one-litre, cardboard milk carton. They will be able to take home their DIY bee house to place in their garden or yard.

At 2 p.m., volunteers with Border Free Bees will give a 15-minute talk about native pollinators and explain why they are important and how people can help protect the species. Participants will also get pointers about the care of mason bees and watch a demonstration by The Men鈥檚 Shed on different ways to create wooden mason bee houses.

鈥� With files from Roger Knox/Morning Star

carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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