An Alberta master beekeeper is testing an isolated hive that he says could help the struggling Canadian industry.
Sheldon Hill, who works as a teacher three hours southeast of Calgary, says the Australian-made product could help change the beekeeping game.
“The sensor data tells me that bees can regulate the space inside their hive easily and much more efficiently,” Hill told CBC News.
He found that an isolated hive resulted in greater accumulation and increased honey production, but this could be a difficult task for an industry that often shys away from such big changes.
Hill was a commercial beekeeper in Porcupine Plain, Sask., for three decades, working for a multi-generational beekeeping family.
He recently left large-scale beekeeping to take on a new role as an educator and researcher. Prairie Rose School Division in southeastern Alberta.
Thanks to partnership with Medicine Hat College Innovation CenterHill is conducting a year-long test comparing the HiveIQ setup with a traditional wooden hive in Neubauer Farms property about five minutes from Medicine Hat.
Its pilot project began in May during the spring honey harvest and continued into the critical summer honey production period.
While Hill cautioned that large-scale research will still be needed, he said he hopes beekeepers, often wary of silver bullets, will be open to the innovative potential of isolated hives.
“I'm really trying to change the minds of the industry because a lot of producers right now don't think much about this concept,” he said.
For more than a century, beekeepers around the world have relied on a system of stackable wooden boxes known as a Langstroth hive.
In 2011, third-generation beekeeper Victor Crocker began developing a polystyrene insulation solution to combat the extreme heat of the Australian outback.
More than ten years later, Crockers HiveIQ is now sold worldwide and tested by Hill in Alberta.
While many Canadians may think of insulation as a way to stay warm in the winter, HiveIQ wanted to keep bees cool using the same method.
“Thermodynamics in a hive work both ways,” said Robert McBain, who sold HiveIQ to Hill from his Shop for supplies for workers and beehives.
Commercial beekeeper Nathan Mutch of Halcomb Honey & Hives near Miramichi lost $50,000 after losing 99 percent of his bees this spring.
Bees need optimal temperatures in their hives – above 30C depending on the season – and an isolated approach can help bees regulate temperature in both summer and winter.
These conditions are especially important in the spring, when bee colonies are formed for the summer honey production period.
Nathan Reed, operations manager for HiveIQ North America, said Hill's work is important to getting things moving in Western Canada.
“I would rather have a beekeeper hear another beekeeper’s opinion than me,” Reed said.
“Already invested too much”
While isolated hives have been around for a long time, several Alberta beekeepers who spoke to CBC News say they haven't become widespread due to the costs involved and a desire to stick with traditional methods passed down through generations.
Lance DubosThe fourth-generation beekeeper from St. Lina, Alta., says his equipment has been passed down in his family for decades.
“We've been using the same box and pallet system since my great-grandfather started beekeeping.” said Dubos, who is also director Alberta Beekeepers Commission Council.
A new wooden hive could cost Dubeau Farm about $60, he said. HiveIQ models can cost hundreds of dollars more.
“So it would be quite difficult to convince us commercial people to launch it on a large scale,” Dubo said.
“But I think it's a great idea and I love hearing about new opportunities and new projects being done in the industry because it's kind of a dying industry.”
The transition can be difficult for amateurs too.
Stephen and Simone HiddenS2 Apiary in Burberry, Alta., started with one hive in 2017 and has since expanded to more than 40.
“We're traditionalists. We use wood frames, wood boxes, all of our equipment is made from wood,” Simone said.
She explained that it didn't make financial sense to replace all the equipment with new, expensive hives.
Wooden boxes, Steven added, are flexible in a way that polystyrene is not, because beekeepers can mix and match equipment to save money.
“I don’t mind putting a hole in our wooden boxes, I can handle it,” he said.
“But I wouldn’t want to start cutting holes and modifying all the styrene equipment.”
However, the Doldses told CBC News they have a different approach for new beekeepers.
“If someone is just starting out, absolutely. If they look at two different hive bodies and one has better insulating properties, that might be the right decision,” Simone said.
“But we’ve already invested too much in what we have.”
Hill acknowledged that it will take time to change the minds of the Canadian beekeeping industry, but added that a made-in-Canada solution could potentially speed up the process.
“I'm really trying to change maybe the way people think about how they do things, or maybe the equipment they're going to build in the future,” he said.
“Or is there an opportunity to create a product that is more targeted at the Canadian market?”
For now, Hill plans to share his findings widely once his study is fully completed next May.
