Let's help our bees survive till spring, Regina beekeeper says

Mild March weather could bring out thebees. Sowhat's the best way to keep the little pollen spreaderssafe if the weather changes?

Yens Pedersen, a spokesman for the Regina and District Bee Club, has some suggestions.

Withrecord-breaking temperatures and signs pointing to an early spring, he's recommending several different plants that fellow beekeepers can plant early.

The goal would be to help bees survive through to April and May, in case acold snap or two hits the province.

Pedersensays thatvegetables and herbs are good bee plants, along withsingle flowers.

"Things likedaisies, sunflowers, poppies, holly hocks and marigolds," he said.

Pedersen also recommendedperennialshrubs, like single-rose shrubs.

If we were to get a cold snap right now, they could gothroughtheir food supplies a lotquickerif they're raising brood.- Yens Pederson, Regina and District Bee Club

The early warm weather, like the record-breaking temperatures parts of the province saw this past weekend, can potentially confuse bees, whether they're wild or domesticated honeybees, he said.

Specifically, they can start raising their brood, or larvae, early.

"If we were to get a cold snap right now, they could gothroughtheir food supplies a lotquickerif they're raising brood," he said.

As for feeding bees now, Pedersen said it depends. "It's a little bit of a judgment call. I didend up feeding mine because they werea little low on feed and they have started raising brood."

"There's not much you can do without the snow. You just hope your bees are goingtomake it and take advantage of a warm day like yesterday," he said.

Honey bees and wild bees are really important for pollination, he said. The issue now is that there's approximately100 different species ofof wild bees in the province, and they're potentially under threat from a shrinking habitat.

"The more we can help them out with what we'replanting in our yards, that helps them with their habitats," he said.

Tonight at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, renowned bee expert and researcher Laurence Packer will be giving a talk and bee diversity and their importance to the environment. It starts at 7 p.m. CST.