Research Projects

List of Club Data Collection Initiatives:

• Yukon Bloom Calendar Data Collection - Field Report Link
• Share your hive inspection reports - Inspection Report Link
• Annual Winter Survival Survey - Survey Link

YBC - Yukon Beekeeping Club Research Focus Areas:

Encourage Yukon College/University to start offering a couple of entomology courses. It would be nice to have a grad or two focused on pollinators.

Here are some projects that we would like to initiate over the next few years (by YBC members or in collaboration with other researchers/institutions):

Here is Randy Oliver's guide to conducting Citizen Science research - Scientific Beekeeping

Yukon Disease and Pest Management Program

• Basic disease testing, monitoring and tracking
• Native pollinator and honey bee interactions
• Education program (high school biology projects, grad student pollinator health)
• AFB/EFB test kits
• Propolis envelop inserts for polystyrene hives

Yukon Forage enhancement Program

• Northern Bee Nutrition (Northern pollen nutritional values, probiotics)
• Analyze, predict and measure various Yukon landscape honey potentials
• Develop native seed bank
• Roadside forage improvement program
• Land owner forage enhancement initiatives
• Recognize bee/pollinator forage as a commercial crop for Ag land transfer agreements
• Measure landscape limitations
• Yukon Honeydew Honey (Spruce/deciduous tree aphid population dynamics)

Hive Management enhancement program

• Wintering standards / improve participation on Wintering Survey
• Increase honey yields
• Northern queen rearing strategy (shared drone/mating yards) (traits: Pollen, honey, Varroa resistance, hygienic behaviour, docile and wintering)
• Single hive management

Technology

• Honey bees as sentinel insects - monitor, measure residual and current environmental impacts of industrial activities (Mining, Quarries, Urban) - metals and pollutants - https://science.sciencemag.org/content/227/4687/632
• Improve hive monitoring approach for data capture and hive management improvements

Citizen Science

• Native Pollinator Surveys/Counts (similar to current bird surveys)
• Develop Citizen Science Education Program

Scoring System Used to Rank Proposals example:

(https://www.projectapism.org/request-funding.html)

Funding Options:

• Self funded
• Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Open to all Yukon Residents - need to be a "producer")
• Canadian Bee Research Fund

Contact us at yukonbeeclub@gmail.com