HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-05-31, Page 3Wednesday, May 31, 2017 • Signal Star 3
Huron Fringe Field Naturalists May 2017 meeting
Spring blossoms and a warm,
sunny day put the Iluron Fringe
Field Naturalists (HFFN) in the
mood to learn about bees during
their May 16 meeting.
Speaker Co-ordinator, Bob Simp-
son, introduced Guy Anderson of
the Lazy J I Toney Ranch and I live N
Hoe Country Store.
What began as a hobby over 26
years ago has developed into an
award-winning beekeeping opera-
tion that is one of the "top 10" larg-
est in Ontario, managing 1500 colo-
nies in South Bruce with hives on
66 area farms from Kingsbridge to
Southampton.
Honey and related products are
sold at their own outlet, Hive N
Hoe Country Store, in Kincardine,
and distributed to over 25 other
stores.
In addition, bees wax is sold to
LUSH, a cosmetics producer, and
honey in bulk goes to eastern
Canada, China and the United
States.
Anderson unpacked his bee
keeping tool kit with a sample hive
box explaining the inner workings,
its various parts, their function and
how materials have changed over
the years. For example, the frames
that hang inside the box are now
made of plastic for strength, dura-
bility and cost efficiency.
He passed around samples of
frames, bees wax, pollen balls and
small containers used to transport
queen bees commercially and
demonstrated a smoker and hive
scraper.
Throughout his talk Guy enter-
tained his audience with astonish-
ing facts and anecdotes gathered
over the course of his career as an
apiarist. We learned about the life
cycles of worker- bees and drones,
the environmental triggers that
cause queen bees to be created or
hives to swarm, how new queens
are introduced to a population and
how bees pass the winter months.
HFFN members were amazed to
learn that queen bees can lay up to
2,000 eggs per day.
A member of the Ontario Bee-
keepers Association, the Lazy J
Itoney Ranch works closely with
researchers at the University of
Guelph in areas of breeding and
treatment and control of detrimen-
tal pests and diseases.
At this point Guy introduced
some of the many challenges faced
by beekeepers which include the
disease, Foul Brood, an infection of
the brood chamber which results
in the hive having to be destroyed.
Mites are another serious problem
as they prey on the bees and can
introduce a deadly virus.
Neonicotinoids are a class of
pesticide applied as a coating to
seeds. During the mechanized
planting process some of the
coating may become airborne.
When consumed by bees, they act
as a neurological blocker which
can change bee behaviours such
as navigational skills and ability
to communicate location of food
sources. Exposure to this poison
can also change the composition
of the larval food causing bees to
have shorter lifespans. Although
the term Neonicotinoid is famil-
iar to most, Guy's explanation of
the process and its impact on pol-
linators gave the audience a
much better understanding of the
problem.
In 2013, Anderson lost 62% of his
bees with 785 hives lost at a cost of
over $300,000. This year his opera-
tion experienced an 18% die off
which he attributes in part to
improvements in the seed coating
and a wet spring. Sympathetic to
the plight of farmers trying to maxi-
mize yield, he acknowledged the
difficulties in lobbying govern-
ments to change agricultural
policies.
Throughout his seminar Guy
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394 Huron Rd. •(519) 612-1111 c7oalee,ve%, OOrta,-/b.
"To date 1 have lost 351bs. I am feeling great! All you have to do is follow the plan. The
staff is amazing, they support you every step of the way. The extra energy I have is
amazing. I don't know why I didn't do this earlier. Thank you to the Ewyn Goderich staff,
they gave me a new beginning."
Contributed photic
Guy Anderson, an Apiarist and of the Lazy J Honey Ranch and Hive N Hoe
Country Store demonstrated some of the tools of the beekeeper's trade.
fielded questions from members
and was ultimately rescued by
Donna Murray who thanked him
for an engaging and informative
presentation.
The last regular HFFN meeting of
the season takes place June 27 at
7:30 pm with guest speaker Kerry
Jarvis updating the plight of the
Monarch butterfly.
To learn more about the club
and its activities or to obtain con-
tact information, go to http://hffn.
huronstewardship.ca .
)044 ustil+oNrow
OPEN HOUSE Thursday, June 1 from 2-4pm
Refreshments, live music, activities and some surprises
that you'll have to visit to uncover for yourself.
THE PARTY WON'T START WITHOUT YOU!
104 Suncoast Drive, Goderich
Call 519-440-0110 for more information.