Report on the health situation of the 2026 bee population

The short answer is that 2026 has been a year of recovery for many beekeepers, but it has also highlighted just how fragile the health of our pollinators has become. For Findlay Creek Apiary, it is a year of expansion as we continue growing the pollinator sanctuary we have envisioned for years.

To understand 2026, we first have to understand what happened last winter.

The winter of 2025–2026 was brutal. Cold weather arrived early, followed by prolonged periods of deep freeze. Many colonies entered winter already weakened by varroa mites, and when the cold settled in they simply could not survive. Across the industry, many beekeepers experienced devastating winter honey bee losses.

The cold was only part of the story.

Varroa mites remain the single greatest challenge facing modern beekeeping. They weaken bees, transmit viruses, and shorten the lives of winter bees that are essential for colony survival. Unfortunately, poor beekeeping practices have made the problem even worse. Colonies that are not properly monitored or treated become breeding grounds for mites, and when those colonies collapse the mites spread rapidly to neighbouring apiaries. One beekeeper's complacency quickly becomes every beekeeper's problem.

Adding to this concern is Tropilaelaps, a new parasitic mite currently affecting honey bee populations in parts of Asia. It has not reached Canada yet, but its spread is being closely watched by beekeepers around the world because it has the potential to become an even greater challenge than the varroa mite.

This is why I often say:

We do not need more beekeepers. We need better beekeepers.

Honey bees are livestock. They require continual education, careful management, disease monitoring, mite control, proper nutrition, and responsible stewardship. Simply owning a hive does not make someone a conservationist.

Many people are surprised when I say that honey bees themselves are not endangered. Honey bees are managed livestock found throughout much of the world. If colonies are lost, they can be rebuilt—although doing so is expensive and time-consuming.

That does not mean everything is fine.

Honey bees are one of the best indicators we have of the overall health of our pollinator ecosystem.

A single Honey bee colony contains tens of thousands of bees that collectively forage thousands of acres every day. They collect nectar, pollen, water, and tree resins from the same environment shared by native bees, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, and countless other beneficial insects.

Because honey bee colonies are so large, changes in their health are obvious. When honey bees struggle, it often tells us the landscape itself is under stress. When they produce abundant honey, healthy brood, and surplus pollen, it tells us there is abundant forage available for many of our wild pollinators as well.

Honey bees also interact with other pollinators in ways many people don't realize. Diseases, viruses, and parasites move readily between honey bee colonies, and several pathogens are known to spill over into wild bee populations. Healthy honey bees usually indicate a healthier environment. Sick honey bees are often an early warning that something larger is happening.

In my view, the greatest threat facing pollinators today is not nature.

It is us.

Not because people don't care, but because many of our decisions have unintended consequences.

One example that continues to concern me is Ottawa's roadside herbicide program for wild parsnip. The City's program is essentially a default opt-in system. Rural roadside ditches are sprayed automatically unless the landowner has specifically requested otherwise. Many landowners are never even aware spraying is planned.

After years of observing our own apiary and the timing of these herbicide applications, I have concluded that this spraying has significantly contributed to losses in our operation. Those roadside ditches are often some of the richest forage available to honey bees and our essential wild pollinators. To be clear it is not the loss of ditch forage that is harming the bees it is the herbicide poison that is directly killing the pollinators by spreading through the ecosystem and our natural waterways. 

For months, through our local councillor, I have tried to arrange a discussion with the City employee responsible for this program. Despite repeated attempts, that conversation has still not happened.

Another issue I believe deserves far more discussion is urban and backyard beekeeping.

After years as a commercial beekeeper, I believe the City's decision to broadly permit urban beekeeping was a mistake.

There is a wonderful movement encouraging people to reconnect with nature, and I fully support it. Unfortunately, it has also created the impression that simply putting a hive in a backyard automatically helps the environment.

It doesn't.

Poorly managed colonies become reservoirs for mites and disease. They spread pests to neighboring honey bee colonies and increase pressure on the wider pollinator community.

Again, we do not need more “bee havers” —we need better Beekeepers.

People committed to learning. People committed to managing mites. People committed to improving habitat. People who understand that every hive they own affects every beekeeper around them and affects every wild pollinator in their larger area.

Another trend we have noticed comes through our stinging pest removal service.

This year alone we have received numerous requests from homeowners asking us to destroy bumble bee colonies and other native bee nests simply because they are inconvenient.

We are happy to remove wasps and hornets. They are significant predators of all bees and are not significant pollinators. Honey bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees, and many other native bees are different. Learning to coexist with pollinators is far better than reaching immediately for pesticides or eradication

Despite everything I have written above, I remain optimistic.

Our own colonies are exceptionally strong this season, and we are experiencing one of the best honey harvests we have ever had.

To me, that says something important.

It tells me that the pollinator sanctuary we have been working for years to build is doing exactly what we hoped it would do. Healthy forage, protected habitat, diverse flowering plants, preserved hedgerows, and responsible beekeeping are creating an environment where pollinators can flourish.

My hope is that this doesn't stop at our property. Like a stone dropped into a pond, I hope the positive effects continue to spread outward into the surrounding landscape.

My family has lived on this farm for generations. We have always believed we are not simply owners of the land—we are its stewards. That belief guides every decision we make.

Many honey companies focus primarily on selling honey, even by importing it and passing it off as a local procduct. There is nothing wrong with that business model as long as we are honest about actual contributions.

Our focus is different.

Honey is not our mission.

Honey is what allows us to pursue our mission.

Our mission is to build and maintain a pollinator sanctuary where every species has a better chance to thrive.

Every acre of forage we plant, every hedgerow we preserve, every bee colony we relocate instead of destroy, every effort we make to reduce unnecessary pesticide exposure, and every management decision we make is intended to improve this landscape—not only for our honey bees, but for every pollinator that calls it home.

If future generations inherit more bees, more butterflies, healthier hedgerows, richer biodiversity, and a landscape that is healthier than the one we inherited, then we will consider Findlay Creek Apiary a success—regardless of how many jars of honey we sold along the way.

Honey is the product.

Stewardship is the purpose.