Another northern Ont. beekeeper looking for answers after 1.5M bees suddenly die
A northern Ontario beekeeper has lost half of her bee population – more than1.5 million bees to be exact – due to what she believes is an acute chemical kill.
Northern Ontario beekeeper Dawn Lalonde walking through fields that were once a buzz with bees after losing more than 1 million bees from her colonies in June 2024. (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV News Northern Ontario)
Dawn Lalonde wants to send samples away to find out what happened and to prevent the same thing from happening to others.
CTV News caught up with Lalonde as she walked through the empty fields in the Greater Sudbury community of Lively, which used to be the home to just under 20 colonies of bees. She said everything was textbook perfect from the milkweed starting to come up and wildflowers growing – however, all that changed three weeks ago when she arrived to find complete silence.
“There was dead bees. There was bees with their tongues out,” Lalonde said.
“There was bees crawling in the grass, suffering.”
Northern Ontario beekeeper Dawn Lalonde holding one of more than 1 million bees that suddenly died in June 2024. Lalonde believes the mass deaths were caused by chemical toxicity. (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV News Northern Ontario)
She told CTV News that northern beekeepers expect winter losses but this was not the case since the provincial inspector had just checked on her colonies two weeks prior.
Lalonde said she thinks the mass death was caused by some sort of chemical but she is not sure what chemical.
“I'm not 100 per cent sure (what) they’re is spraying in people's lawns for beautification projects,” she said.
“(What) they're spraying down at local-area golf courses and greens.”
Not the first time
Earlier this year, in the spring, Manitoulin beekeeper Janice Mitchell lost 15 colonies of bees due to high levels of a toxic herbicide glyphosate.
“I had high, high levels, higher than what was acceptable for drinking water for humans and I had that evident in my bees,” said Mitchell.
“Unfortunately, there was no standards. There's no reference range.”
She told CTV News that she is shocked no one has set limits on the use of glyphosate.
“I reached out to our association and our universities, academia and provincial apiaries and unfortunately, it's been a little quiet from those ends,” said Mitchell.
Testing for what happened is costly
The Ontario Beekeeper's Association represents approximately half of all beekeepers in the province – about 1,600 or so.
“(Unfortunately,) we don't have the funding available to go out and test everyone's bees,” said the association’s president, Ian Grant.
“We do always ask our partners whether it's the federal or the provincial governments or other stakeholders to help us, research (or) fund research projects.”
A huge loss
Lalonde said she estimates the loss to her business, True North Honey Company, in honey is about $25,000.
A collection of bee colonies in the Greater Sudbury community of Lively that recently lost more than 1 million bees. (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV News Northern Ontario)
Lalonde has recently set up a GoFundMe to save pollinators in northern Ontario.
Lalonde say the fundraiser will not allow her to recoup her losses but it will cover the cost of testing to determine the cause of the mass bee deaths.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.3960391.1554513210!/httpImage/image.jpeg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpeg)
Woman dies at Rolling Stones concert in Vancouver
A woman attending the Rolling Stones concert at BC Place died Friday night, police confirmed.
Terrorism charges laid against B.C. woman who married ISIS fighter
A B.C. woman who was repatriated from a Syrian prison camp in 2022 has been arrested and charged with terrorism offences, police announced Saturday.
Jon Landau, Oscar-winning 'Titanic' and 'Avatar' producer, dies at 63
Jon Landau, an Oscar-winning producer who worked closely with director James Cameron on three of the biggest blockbusters of all time, 'Titanic' and two 'Avatar' films, has died. He was 63.
ANALYSIS Why are Trudeau and Singh avoiding Stampede this year?
This year, only Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre will be saddling up for the event, while both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will stay away.
Radio host who interviewed Biden says aides provided questions in advance
U.S. President Joe Biden’s team provided a list of questions to a radio host who interviewed the president this week in the aftermath of his debate performance, the host told CNN.
Saskatoon man charged for leaving hate comments on woman’s obituary pleads guilty
The man who left hate comments on a murder victim’s online obituary has been sentenced.
Alleged accomplice of Quebec gang leader Dave 'Pic' Turmel arrested in B.C.
Another alleged accomplice of the leader of the Blood Family Mafia (BFM), Dave 'Pic' Turmel, has been arrested by the RCMP.
Gold from Toronto Pearson heist likely in India or Dubai: police
Police believe that the majority of gold stolen from Toronto Pearson International Airport in 2023 has been smuggled, sold and melted overseas.
Vikings' Khyree Jackson, 2 former high school teammates killed in car crash in Maryland
Minnesota Vikings rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson and two of his former high school teammates were killed in an early morning car crash Saturday in Maryland, police and the team said.