Alberta beekeepers, conservation experts worry about wildfire impact on bees

Ginette Paradis, co-owner of Paradis Valley Honey in Watino, Alta., is concerned about what wildfire smoke could mean for this year's honey harvest.

The business — located about 470 kilometres northwest of Edmonton — has been blanketed by smoke that has also settled in communities across Alberta as wildfires continue to burn.

"Northern Alberta has a great deal of bees and beekeepers producing a large quantity of honey, and so the area here is probably very hard hit when it comes to the smoke," Paradis said in an interview with CBC on Saturday.

"[Bees are] less likely to come out of the hive and do the work that they're supposed to ... depending on the severity of the smoke."

While smoke is used by beekeepers to calm hives, it can interfere with the insect's sense of smell and vision.

When bees don't venture out of their hives, they're unable to pollinate local greenery. 

"If the bees are not visiting flowers and collecting nectar, that means they're not making honey, which puts us, as beekeepers, in a very tight spot," Paradis said.

"Because it is the honey production and the sale of our honey that pays the bills here."

The conditions caused by wildfires present yet another setback for beekeepers and honey producers, who saw some of the worst winter mortality rates for their hives in 2022.

For Megan Evans, president of the Alberta Native Bee Council, the current situation highlights the importance of protecting bees.

"In Alberta, we have over 370 native bee species, and they all have different kinds of life histories," she said. 

"Bees are being impacted by a lot of things. Habitat loss, is a major driver of insect decline, biodiversity loss."

Hot, dry conditions continue to challenge Alberta crews fighting fires this weekend.

These conditions also present risks for bees, as drought can have a severe impact on food sources.

"It's important to recognize that there's natural variability in the population, so the numbers go up and down," Evans said. 

"But globally, we are seeing declines in abundance across the board of our insect species ... and bees are no different."

Paradis is hoping her bees can survive the intense wildfire season.

"From a business perspective, it's definitely concerning, because we do have very strong healthy colonies this year," she said.

"So we would just love to see them be able to do what they do best."