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Prince George beekeeper gets provincial support for honeybee health research

Roselyne Lambert is looking at natural alternatives for mite control in honeybee hives
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(via Pixabay)

A local Prince George beekeeper has received funding from the provincial government to support her innovative honey bee health research.

Roselyne Lambert's project is one of five new initiatives around the province selected to receive a total of $20,845 of provincial funding through the BeeBC program.

Lambert is monitoring hives with different queens and watching the effect the queens have on their colony's health and survival.

The project studies the development of locally raised bees that have successfully survived four winters without chemical treatment, along with two other breeds from outside the region.

All breeds have demonstrated resistance to the parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, which has been proven to be one of the most destructive honey bee pests.

Lambert's project focuses on developing a natural alternative to the chemical treatments used for mite control in hives by breeding bees with different traits to help improve hive resilience to mites and reduce colony losses.

"The innovative techniques local beekeepers are using to improve the health of our bee population are truly amazing," said Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture, in a press release.

"Research and education are taking us to new places in the effort to help protect B.C.'s bees and secure their vital role as pollinators and honey producers for generations of British Columbians to come."

The BeeBC program is delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of British Columbia. It will provide up to $100,000 over the next two years to support small-scale regional or community-based projects to research, explore, field test and share information about best-management practices associated with bee health.