Interview with Dr. Fahim Raza | Rogers TV Saskatoon
The British Columbia Technology Transfer Program’s newest team member, Dr. Fahim Raza, had the recent opportunity to be interviewed about the world of honey bee research on Rogers TV Saskatoon, hosted by Randy Pshebylo. Watch his interview below to hear more about the current environmental challenges and diseases honey bees are facing across Canada.
Some important takeaways from the interview:
Honey bees are vital for maintaining the balance in ecosystems and pollinating flowering plants including 75% of agricultural crops.
American foulbrood is an economically important disease that affects honey bees and can wipe out whole apiaries if not carefully managed.
Most beekeepers in colder regions of Canada, such as Saskatchewan, use black covered hive wraps before the onset of the winter season to help maintain a constant temperature in the hive and help the honey bees survive the winter.
Honey bees form a cluster inside the hive during the winter season, which maintains a core temperature of approximately 33°C. This is a successful behavior of winter honey bees to survive the winter.
Many growers use pesticides in agriculture to control various pests and protect crops, but these chemicals pose significant risks to honey bees. Exposure to these pesticides during pollination can impair honey bee behavior, physiology, and overall colony health.
Fahim has recently been hired as the BC-TTP's Apiculture Technician!
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Interesting in learning more about the diseases and pests that affect honey bees in Canada? Take our new, self-paced course offered year-round, Diseases and Pests of the Honey Bee. This course will cover the basic life cycle of pathogens, including Varroa destructor, European foulbrood, and American foulbrood, their main impacts on honey bees, and basic management and treatment options. Visit Our Courses for more information.