Canadian Bee Gut Project, microbiome research, overwintering success, domestic vs imported stock.
Every spring, Canadian beekeepers wait for queens. That sentence sounds simple, but it explains a major weakness in the way our beekeeping system works. A colony needs a queen to build population, replace winter losses, produce workers, and prepare for the season ahead. But in Canada, our climate does not produce enough early mated queens […]
Queen Bees, Imports, and Overwintering in Ontario: A Practical 2026 Outlook for Beekeepers
The Queen Is the Winter Plan: A Practical Ontario Beekeeper’s Outlook on Queens, Imports, Nucs, and Overwintering If you keep bees in Ontario, sooner or later you learn that winter does not kill colonies by itself. Winter exposes every weakness that was already there. A colony that goes into winter with a poor queen, high […]