The Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks is investigating the mass slaughter of bees that occurred at Mikkola Family Farm & Apiary in Lively in early June.
Spokesperson Gary Wheeler told CBC News in an email that staff visited the property where the sudden deaths occurred in late August.
They are currently “evaluating available information to help determine what may have caused the bee kill.”
Dawn Lalonde, owner of Mikkola Family Farm & Apiary, said half of her approximately 40 colonies suddenly died around June 14.
Dawn Lalonde of Mikkola Family Farm & Apiary in Lively is raising money to send samples of dead bees to a lab for further testing. She and others believe their sudden deaths are a warning that something is wrong in the environment.
A few weeks earlier, an annual inspection by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture had found the bees to be in good health, with no signs of disease or pests on their bodies, leading Lalonde to conclude that an environmental chemical was the cause.
Lalonde managed to raise $10,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to send samples to the University of Guelph’s agri-food lab for further testing.
The test results came back in early August, and Lalonde admitted there were some troubling findings, though she did not specify what chemicals were found in the bees.
The ministry confirmed it was analysing the lab results. It is also “continuing discussions with local commercial pesticide operators to assess whether any local household pesticide applications occurred on or around 14 June 2024.”
The fields of Mikkola Family Farm & Apiary are not located near any agricultural land, so Lalonde believes the chemicals that killed the bees came from nearby homes.
“I feel a mixture of relief and concern that the ministry has launched an investigation,” she said. “On the one hand, they are investigating, but on the other hand, it is a signal that something may be wrong in the community.”
Ministry investigates another incident related to bee mortality
Ian Grant, president of the Ontario Beekeepers Association, previously told CBC News that this winter has brought unusually high mortality rates in apiaries.
“Unfortunately, we are hearing about major losses in the beekeeping community this year and we cannot attribute it to any specific issue,” he said.
The ministry also confirmed it was investigating another incident involving bee mortality.
“We are reviewing the details of the incident to determine the potential source and whether it is related to an activity we regulate, such as pesticides,” Wheeler wrote in an email.
