Prince George hive inspector helping bees flourish

Apiculture can be a complicated and stressful hobby or occupation, even at the best of times. However, one local is making the task easier for everyone caring for nature's best pollinators.

Barry Clark is Prince George’s local bee inspector and a member of the Prince George branch of the BC Honey Producers’ Association (BCHPA). He has held the position for the past eight years.

The BCHPA has been around for almost 100 years, and Clark’s job has existed in some form since 1910.

“In 2020, we celebrated our 100th year of existence,” said Clark. “The BCHPA and the BC Ministry of Agriculture's Inspection Services both came about around the same time. In 1910, BC appointed its first bee inspector in the interior of the province. That position was primarily to combat American Foulbrood and to try to save the bee industry from that disease. Around 1920, beekeepers in BC began organizing locally, and by the end of the decade, they had come together as an organization.”

The primary goals of the BCHPA are education, research and partnerships in beekeeping. They maintain about 700 partnerships with beekeepers across the province, with approximately 70 maintaining hives in Prince George.

In 2018, there were approximately 52,000 bee colonies in the province, and Clark estimates that number is closer to 85,000 today.

Clark told The Citizen that his role as a bee inspector often involves identifying and combating disease and illness in bees in Prince George.

“It’s all about animal health,” said Clark. “It’s about trying to keep honeybees healthy and preventing the spread of diseases. There are some nasty ones, like American Foulbrood, that have been around for over 100 years, so we keep on top of that. There have been some massive losses down south in the United States, especially this spring as people were preparing to pollinate and ship bees to California for almond pollination.”

Clark usually inspects bees for disease and health issues when they are being moved to milder climates for winter or transported for sale. He also inspects used beekeeping equipment that might be sold, ensuring it is free of disease.

“It’s all fairly routine for me,” said Clark. “Let’s say someone is selling bees and shipping them to Alberta, for example. I have to inspect a minimum of 25 hives or 10 per cent of the total number of bees. So, if a beekeeper has 1,000 hives, that’s a lot of work. Essentially, I inspect a random sample. I perform a mite wash or mite test on those colonies. That involves collecting 300 bees from a frame, ensuring the queen isn’t included, doing an alcohol wash, and counting the mites. To get a permit, the mite infestation must be under one per cent.”

Clark may say his job is routine, but he has had more than a few run-ins with bears, including one with a grizzly that destroyed his personal hives.

“I had bees out at the Barquet Ranch,” said Clark. “Their farm manager called me and said, ‘I think you might have a bear in your bee yard.’ The manager said it looked like one or two hives were knocked over. So, I came back the next evening, and I found one hive still standing, with all the rest completely smashed. The bear had dug under the fence and ripped everything apart. It was a mess. I spent the day cleaning up, and in the evening, I was restringing the bear fence around the debris when the grizzly came back and scared the pants off me. It charged and came within six or seven feet, then started throwing mud at me. I thought I was a goner!

“It scared me senseless. It’s funny — when I got home, my wife asked, ‘Did you fall? You’re covered in mud.’ I told her it was from the grizzly bear. She didn’t believe me, but she came back with me the next morning. Sure enough, there was the grizzly, a big one, sleeping right on top of the pile of debris it had left behind.”

Incidents like this have made Clark somewhat bear-savvy. He told The Citizen that all beekeepers should ensure their fences are up and running and leave them turned on, as bears are beginning to wake up in the province.

Clark’s job has become even more important over the years as reports indicate that honeybee losses across Canada averaged 32% in 2023, with the United States facing a 48 per cent loss in 2022-2023.

Another frequent and costly disease affecting hives across North America is Varroa mites. Clark told the Citizen that honeybees from both North America and Europe have failed to adapt to this new threat, meaning it can easily wipe out colonies if not managed properly. The Varroa mite is currently the number one killer of bees.

Clark is a longtime member of the BCHPA and has seen the benefits it provides to both local beekeepers and those looking to start their own hives.

“We provide a venue for new and experienced beekeepers to get together,” said Clark. “We meet once a month… We try to incorporate relevant educational material for the time of year, management tips, and advice. Then we open it up to a discussion where people can share what they’re seeing in their hives and get answers from others with more experience, or even those who are dealing with the same issues. There’s an old saying: ‘If you ask three beekeepers a question, you’ll get six or eight answers.’ That speaks to the complexity and nuances of beekeeping.”

Beekeeping is both an art and a science. Honeybees are among the most studied insects in the world. Once the study is done, the art comes in, like how climate change is affecting bees today. Here in the Prince George area, we have a number of different microclimates. What I experience here might be quite different from what someone living along the Fraser River experiences.”

The Prince George branch of the BCHPA attends many local events, such as farmers’ markets and the BC Northern Exhibition. They also have preliminary plans to participate in the Live Well Prince George & Multicultural Heritage Society’s Children’s Festival at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park.

The organization also provides tools and resources for its members, such as organic oxalic acid, which is a safe and environmentally friendly way to treat mites, one of the most common killers of bees.

They also provide tools for aspiring beekeepers for a small fee, such as honey extractors, which would normally cost $700 to $1,000.

If you are looking to join the BCHPA or have any general questions about beekeeping in Prince George, please visit the Prince George branch’s website.