Researchers are predicting that the varroa and
honey bee trachea mites will decimate Ontario's
wild honey bee population by 1998 despite efforts
to develop pesticides and other methods to control
the mites. The mites suck the  hemolymph - the
insect equivalent of blood - which weakens the bees
and they become more susceptible to disease. 
Infestations are primarily in the
Kingston-Brockville areas and the mites have been a
problem in New York state for a number of years.
Because of the role wild bees play in pollinating
orchards and berry fields, growers are expected to
have reduced yields. 
Herb Williamson, of the Ontario Apple Marketing
Commission, says the mites were a topic of
conversation among orchardists at last month's
Royal Winter Fair. "Apples don't need bees since
pollination is air-borne," he says, but
acknowledges that bees likely ensure all trees are
fully pollinated.
Domestic bees are a good alternative and although
the mites attack them, bee-keepers have developed a
'pest-strip' that controls the mites when placed in
the hive after the honey's been removed, he says.
Some growers are also looking to a new
mite-resistant breed of domestic bees, called
Buckfast bees, as a long-term solution. Bees
provide $94 million in free pollination to growers,
says Davis Bryans of the Ontario Beekeepers
Association: "We are already losing feral
colomies."- SL

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