While the mild weather of recent months has been good news for maple syrup producers, it's been quite the opposite for beekeepers, who have had to cope with the loss of several thousand bees at the dawn of spring. This is the case for Éric Bélanger-Laflamme, owner of Ferme des petites Écorces in Pointe-Fortune, who laments the loss of 100% of his bee population, i.e. 3.5 million bees.

" Last February, we were optimistic, but unfortunately, we found a 100% mortality rate among our bees. We had 125 hives each containing around 30,000 bees, making a total of around 3,750,000 bees," he sums up.

What are the reasons behind this heavy loss? " One of the main reasons is the weather over the last few months. It's been warmer than normal this winter, and we've hardly had any snow. There was one day in February when there was a big difference in temperature in a single day. In the morning, the mercury was 15 degrees, and by the end of the day, it had dropped to -15. It was certainly difficult at the time. Another reason was the varroa parasite, which we also had to deal with" , he explains.

For the uninitiated, varroa mites are parasites of adult bees, larvae and pupae. It is one of the recognized causes of the decline in bee numbers. In fact, the varroa mite deprives the bee of many blood cells and proteins.For example, the royal jelly produced by nurse bees is of poorer quality, which is detrimental to brood development.

The greatest damage caused by this parasite is the transmission of disease through stings, as the wound remains open and becomes a focus of infection.It is often associated with the development of malformations or other diseases such as sacciform brood, foulbrood, acute paralysis and so on.

Despite this ordeal, Ferme des Petites Écores has no intention of giving up." We turned around quickly.We bought 1.5 kilogram packs of bees from Australia, which will be transferred to a hive with a new queen to rebuild our stock. It's going to be a long process.It will take at least two years."

Good news, however, for lovers of honey products. " We have a good inventory of honey accumulated from previous years. So we're okay in that respect. But if another event like this happens again this year, we'll be dry," he confides.

While bees may have a bad reputation, because they can sting some people, Mr. Bélanger-Laflamme points out that they are very useful in our ecosystem.

"In fact, 85% of everything we eat exists on our plates, because bees pollinate the food.When people are scared, it's more of wasps, because they are omnivores and are attracted by what's on our plate.Bees die after stinging."

The public can do its part

Citizens of Pointe-Fortune and the surrounding area who are affected by this story can offer their help to Mr. Bélanger-Laflamme. How can they do so?By sponsoring one of the company's beehives.

" We offer three packages costing $95, $275 or $550.The first allows you to sponsor 10% of a hive, the second allows you to sponsor 50% and the last offers the possibility of sponsoring an entire hive.In exchange for their financial contribution, sponsors receive a certain quantity of honey and a certificate of sponsorship. Corporate sponsorship is also available.This sponsorship formula gives us more money to acquire other hives more quickly."

For those interested, Ferme des Petites Écores will open its boutique to the public on the weekend of May 20.