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Honey bee queen production: Canadian costing case study and profitability analysis

Miriam Bixby, Shelley E. Hoover, Robyn McCallum, Abdullah Ibrahim, Lynae Ovinge, Sawyer Olmstead, Stephen F. Pernal, Amro Zayed, Leonard J. Foster, M. Marta Guarna
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.14.906461
Miriam Bixby
1Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, 2125 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4, (, )
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  • For correspondence: miriambixby@gmail.com miriambixby@gmail.com foster@msl.ubc.ca
Shelley E. Hoover
3Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Agriculture Centre, 100, 5401-1 Ave., South, Lethbridge, AB, T1J 4V6, Canada (, )
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  • For correspondence: shelley.hoover@gov.ab.ca Lynae.Ovinge@gov.ab.ca
Robyn McCallum
4Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture, 199 Dr. Bernie MacDonald Drive, Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Canada, B6L 2H5 (, )
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  • For correspondence: rmccallum@perennia.ca solmstead@perennia.ca
Abdullah Ibrahim
5Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Beaverlodge Research Farm, Box PO 29, Beaverlodge, Alberta T0H 0C0, Canada (, , )
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  • For correspondence: Abdullah.Ibrahim@Canada.ca Steve.Pernal@Canada.ca Marta.Guarna@Canada.ca
Lynae Ovinge
3Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Agriculture Centre, 100, 5401-1 Ave., South, Lethbridge, AB, T1J 4V6, Canada (, )
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  • For correspondence: shelley.hoover@gov.ab.ca Lynae.Ovinge@gov.ab.ca
Sawyer Olmstead
4Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture, 199 Dr. Bernie MacDonald Drive, Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Canada, B6L 2H5 (, )
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  • For correspondence: rmccallum@perennia.ca solmstead@perennia.ca
Stephen F. Pernal
5Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Beaverlodge Research Farm, Box PO 29, Beaverlodge, Alberta T0H 0C0, Canada (, , )
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  • For correspondence: Abdullah.Ibrahim@Canada.ca Steve.Pernal@Canada.ca Marta.Guarna@Canada.ca
Amro Zayed
6Department of Biology, York University, Lumbers Building #208, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada ()
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  • For correspondence: zayed@yorku.ca
Leonard J. Foster
1Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, 2125 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4, (, )
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  • For correspondence: miriambixby@gmail.com foster@msl.ubc.ca
M. Marta Guarna
5Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Beaverlodge Research Farm, Box PO 29, Beaverlodge, Alberta T0H 0C0, Canada (, , )
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  • For correspondence: Abdullah.Ibrahim@Canada.ca Steve.Pernal@Canada.ca Marta.Guarna@Canada.ca
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Abstract

The recent decline in honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colony health worldwide has had a significant impact on the beekeeping industry as well as on pollination-dependent crop sectors in North America and Europe. The pollinator crisis has been attributed to many environmental and anthropological factors including less nutrient rich agricultural monocultures, pesticide exposure, new parasite and pathogen infestations as well as beekeeper management and weather. Canadian beekeepers have indicated that issues with honey bee queens are the most significant factor affecting their colony health. In Canada, beekeepers manage colony losses by relying on the importation of foreign bees, particularly queens from warmer climates, to lead new replacement colonies. Unfortunately, the risks associated with imported queens include the introduction of new and potentially resistant pests and diseases, undesirable genetics including bees with limited adaptations to Canada’s unique climate and bees negatively affected by transportation. Importing a large proportion of our queens each year also creates an unsustainable dependency on foreign bee sources, putting our beekeeping and pollination sectors at an even greater risk in the case of border closures and restrictions. Increasing the domestic supply of queens is one mitigation strategy that could provide Canadian beekeepers, farmers and consumers with a greater level of agricultural stability through locally bred, healthier queens. Our study is the first rigorous analysis of the economic feasibility of Canadian queen production. We present the costs of queen production for three case study operations across Canada over two years as well as the profitability implications. Our results show that for a small to medium sized queen production operation in Canada, producing queen cells and mated queens can be profitable. Using a mated queen market price ranging from $30 to $50, a producer selling mated queens could earn a profit of between $2 and $40 per queen depending on price and the cost structure of his operation. If the producer chose to rear queens for his own operation, the cost savings would also be significant as imported queen prices continue to rise. Our case studies reveal that there is potential for both skilled labour acquisition over time in queen production as well as cost savings from economies of scale. Our queen producers also reduced their production costs by re-using materials year to year. Domestic queen production could be one viable strategy to help address the current pollinator crisis in Canada.

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Posted January 21, 2020.
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Honey bee queen production: Canadian costing case study and profitability analysis
Miriam Bixby, Shelley E. Hoover, Robyn McCallum, Abdullah Ibrahim, Lynae Ovinge, Sawyer Olmstead, Stephen F. Pernal, Amro Zayed, Leonard J. Foster, M. Marta Guarna
bioRxiv 2020.01.14.906461; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.14.906461
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Honey bee queen production: Canadian costing case study and profitability analysis
Miriam Bixby, Shelley E. Hoover, Robyn McCallum, Abdullah Ibrahim, Lynae Ovinge, Sawyer Olmstead, Stephen F. Pernal, Amro Zayed, Leonard J. Foster, M. Marta Guarna
bioRxiv 2020.01.14.906461; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.14.906461

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