Honeybee Diagnostic Services in the Peace Country

世界各地蜜蜂数量的惊人下降引发了人们对养蜂和授粉服务的可持续性及其可能对粮食生产的影响的担忧。科学界一致认为，虫害、疾病和寄生虫是导致蜂群崩溃的主要因素。在过去的几年里，冬季养蜂人的平均损失超过30%，而且还在上升，加拿大的养蜂人目前正在努力维持业务。在艾伯塔省，每年的费用在1670-2470万美元之间。国家蜜蜂诊断中心(NBDC)是格兰德草原地区学院(GPRC)与加拿大农业和农业食品-海狸研究农场合作建立的新设施，旨在为养蜂业提供诊断服务。该中心是加拿大唯一一个全面分析蜜蜂种群的专门实验室，采用最先进的设备、SMMD技术能力和最新的分子工具。NSERC-TAC赠款将确保获得NBDC诊断服务，并促进获得GPRC教职员工的专业知识和中心设备，以满足其应用研究需求，从而提高养蜂人的生产率和创新能力。我们将系统地从和平之乡的蜜蜂养殖场收集和诊断样本，产生有价值的数据，并制定综合病虫害管理(IPM)战略，以将冬季蜂箱死亡率降低一半，并将其降至15%或更低的正常平均水平。该项目是NBDC获得经验并最终调整IPM战略、支持新的应用研究并将诊断服务扩展到加拿大各地养蜂人的关键一步。

The alarming decline of honeybee colonies around the World raises concerns on the sustainability of beekeeping and pollination services, and the impact it could have on food production. There is consensus in the scientific conununity that pests, diseases and parasites are among the main factors contributing to colony collapse. With average ovetwinter losses over 30% in the past few years and rising, Canadian beekeepers are at present struggling to remain in business. In Alberta it costs between $16.7-$24.7 million annually. The National Bee Diagnostic Centre (NBDC) is a new facility of Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) in partnership with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada- Beaverlodge Research Farm developed to provide diagnostic services to the beekeeping industry. The Centre is the only specialized laboratory in Canada for a comprehensive analysis of honeybee stock, employing state-of-the-art equipment, smmd technical capabilities and up-to-date molecular tools. The NSERC-TAC grant will enhance beekeepers productivity and innovation by ensuring access to the NBDC diagnostic services; and facilitating access to GPRC- faculty expertise andCentre equipment for their applied research needs. We will systematically collect and diagnose samples from honeybee farms in the Peace Country, generate valuable data, and develop an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy in order to reduce winter hive mortality by half retmning to the normal average of 15% or below. This project is a pivotal further step for the NBDC to gain experience and eventually adapt IPM strategies, support new applied research and expand diagnostic services to beekeepers all across Canada.