Most of those who attended Apimondia 36 believe it to be the best organized convention of its nature ever. That’s saying something, given the history of the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations meetings, which stretches all the way back to 1897. Clearly, many of those attending the 1999 event in Vancouver have no way of knowing what went on during all the preceding events. But going as far back as my first Apimondia in Acapulo in 1981, I concur with this conclusion. So, the Canadian organizing committee for Apimondia 46 in Montréal has its work cut out for itself. I for one believe they will pull it off with aplomb.
I fondly remember Acapulco and readers will be no doubt be interested to know that one can still read about it in some depth (along with several others noted in this article) linked to The Apis Information Resource Center. Here’s a taste of what I wrote at that time:
“The theme for the 1981 Apimondia Congress, beekeeping development in tropical areas, could not have been more appropriate than in the Acapulco setting. Mexico’s beekeeping expertise has enabled the country to become a major world honey exporter, and its success may well be a model for many countries to look to while developing their honey industry. Mexico, therefore, richly deserved to be the meeting place for the 1981 Congress, the first ever held in a country with a tropical climate. Perhaps no part of the earth faces the beekeeping challenges this geographic area does at the moment.
“The seemingly inexorable advance not only of the controversial Africanized honey bee, but also its associated parasitic mites casts an uncertain cloud on the very future of apiculture in the New World.”
Some of the figures featured at the convention included Roy Weaver Jr. who chaired the Beekeeping Economy Standing Commission, the eminent Dr. Espina Perez of Costa Rica, best known for co-authoring the book Apicultura en los Tropicos, with the Cuban apiculturist, Gonzalo S. Ordetex, and Charles Mraz, pioneer in apitherapy technique.
“Dr. P. Wix from England discussed the present beekeeping development of Tanzania. He said he emphasis is now being placed on he role of extension programs, that have been lacking in the past. The extension advisers are intensively trained in Swahili, he said, and one of their prime missions is to upgrade the local honey crop to compete in the world market, which in the end will be the key to Tanzania’s apicultural development.
“In the following presentation, beekeeping development was discussed at length by a Venezuelan scientist who painted a rosy picture and claimed that small and large operators are able to recoup their full investment in beekeeping after five years. Unfortunately, the impact of the Africanized honey bees on the Venezulean beekeeping industry was not addressed. The presentation provoked a comment by Dr. Espina Perez, who said that development efforts are better invested in training full time professional apiculturists rather than small operators. A rejoinder by the Venezuelan indicated this was not relevant to the study because only the business side of the operations were studied. There followed closing remarks by Dr. H. Borneck, vice president of Apimondia from France. He supported the expression of differences by members present and emphasized the role of Apimondia as a forum for alleviating controversy, while helping the beekeepers of the world solve their problems.”
Perhaps the most relevant and urgent subject of the Acapulco Congress was the focus on worldwide threats to beekeeping, especially the acarine and Varroa mites. The former critter had just been detected in the Americas a year earlier in the port of Veracruz.
“The Acapulco congress was attended by 1,519 beekeepers from 54 countries. Apimondia continued to grow with 83 Member Associations from 71 countries represented, the largest number so far. The new Regulations for Congress Organization were applied for the first time. Again 7 contests were held; ApiExpo ‘81 consisted of 31 stands. At the 8 plenary sessions 214 reports were presented. The suggestion to establish an Apimondia Working Group on Beekeeping in Developing Countries and the recommendation to have the Working Group on Apitherapy changed into an Apimondia Standing Commission were presented to the General Assembly.”
Following the Acapulco meeting, I was privileged to attend and report on Apimondias in Budapest, Hungary (1983) and Rio de Janeiro (1989) . An abbreviated history of the congresses from 1897 to 1997 can be found on the Apimondia website.
I also reported on subsequent conventions in Vancouver (1999) as noted above, Durban, South Africa (2001) , Melbourne, Australia (2007) , Montpellier, France (2009), and Kiev, Ukraine (2013). In spite of the glitches that inexorably happen when events of this magnitude are planned, most Apimondias have exceeded my expectations.
So what can we anticipate with reference to Apimondia 46? Plenty it appears, starting with keynote addresses by Dr. Gene Robinson on honey bee social behavior, Dr. Rufus Isaacs on integrated pollination, Dr. Peter Rosenkranz on honey bee health, and Dr. Tom Seeley on Darwinian beekeeping.
The Scientific Program will cover a wide range of themes, grouped within the seven Apimondia Standing Commissions: apitherapy, bee health, bee biology, beekeeping economy, pollination and bee flora, rural development, and technology/equality. New to the Montréal Congress is the addition of ”Cross-Cutting” symposia which will encompass topics spanning the purview of two or more of the standing commissions.
“Highlights among the many symposia at the Montréal Congress will include: Advances in Honey Bee Genomics, the Impact of Pesticides on Bees, Breeding for Mite and Disease Resistance, the Detection and Prevention of Honey Fraud, Technical Innovations in Beekeeping, Honey Bee Nutrition, the Status and Conservation of Pollinators, Treatment-Free Beekeeping as well as Citizen Science and Bees. The Montréal Congress will also host two symposia sponsored by the OIE, the World Organization for Animal Health, on topics related to bee diseases, pests and the world-wide movement of bee stock.
“In addition to symposia, the convention have formally-organized round tables which address emerging matters of interest. Round tables permit the interchange of ideas between audience members and selected panelists. Examples include: the Social Impact of Bets, Beekeeping with Stingless Bees and Honey Adulteration.”
Eight specialized workshops are tentatively scheduled. Two of interest to most that are free include integrating beehives in the city and how to create a successful beekeeping development project. Both have an enrollment limit of 100 people sign up during the registration process. Several others with more limited participation will provide certificates of completion for a fee.
Two special registration options exist, both ending 30 March 2019, the early registration deadline. The Ambassador Program provides a ten percent discount on full registration. Those reading this can use the following password (APIAMBPROG2019) and code (0031) to take advantage of this. A Company Area Group Registration is also possible for groups of at least 10 individuals.
Three post congress technical tours have been organized:
MIELS D’ANICET, (departure: Friday, 13th September – return: Saturday, 14th September) features a wide ranging of products and services related to beekeeping.
MONTREAL HONEY (13th and 14th September – Tours in AM or PM): The city of Montréal has two major actors in urban beekeeping, Montréal Honey being among these, with more than 2000 hives on the island.
- INTERMIEL known internationally for its honey and mead products (13th September – Tours in AM or PM); I visited this outfit in 1998
The report linked to Intermiel above provides insight into Canadian beekeeping prior to Apimondia 36 in Vancouver. Two areas of historical interest were the view of mite research at the time, along with the status of the Canadian Bee Research Fund, both reported by Mark Winston (now employed at Simon Frazier University). In addition, read about the controversial situation regarding border closure with the U.S. at the time, prohibiting all imports of honey bees into Canada. The closure continues to this date.
Two Canadian apicultural institutions will be highlighted in Montréal. They are the envy of most beekeeping organizations worldwide. One reason for this is the Canadian government’s generalized support for beekeeping-related activities.
“The Canadian Honey Council, according to its website, was formed first as the Canadian Beekeepers Council in 1940 to assist in negotiating fair practices for labeling, grading, and marketing honey at the national level. The fledgling organization was underfunded and slow to communicate. It was difficult to respond to issues or develop the international markets that the members wanted. It was clear that there was a need for a higher profile and increased international recognition. In 1970 The Canadian Beekeepers Council decided to change its name to Canadian Honey Council (CHC). Currently, the CHC membership consists of representatives of Provincial Associations with the total number of beekeepers at approximately 10,000 managing over 750,000 colonies.”
Among its programs, the CHC is well known for its quarterly magazine, Hivelights. The website contains an archive of past issues dating back to 2013. It also sponsors the Canadian Bee Health Roundtable (BHRT), “committed to producing, through inclusive discussion, an increased understanding of the risks involved where agriculture and apiculture intersect, and undertaking timely activities aimed at reducing or eliminating these risks. The group is made up of a cross-section of stakeholders including those from industry, academia, provincial and federal governments.” This reveals the interconnectedness of Canada’s academic, industrial and regulatory communities.
Many of the activities of the CHC are also carried out in conjunction with the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA). Like the CHC, CAPA has gone through a metamorphosis. Originally founded as Canadian Association of Apiculturists (CAA) in 1959, it decided to federally register and “professionalize” in 1975, renaming itself to fit the new title.
CAPA meets annually in conjunction with the Canadian Honey Council (CHC) to develop educational material and organise professional initiatives. Examples of CAPA professional initiatives include:
dissemination of apiculture information (i.e. extension),
consultation and communication with CHC and professional apiculturists in North America and abroad, co-administering the Canadian Bee research Fund (CBRF) with CHC, awarding an annual Student Merit Award,
development of 5-year research priorities. Compiling and publishing statistics for Canadian honey bee colony losses. Assisting in hosting Apimondia and other meetings of importance in the country.
CAPA consists of members from both the education (extension) and regulatory arms of both the Canadian provincial and federal governments. There is no organization comparable in the United States.
“The Canadian Bee Research Fund (CBRF) is a joint project of the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists and the Canadian Honey Council. The Board of Directors is comprised of four members, two from CAPA and two from CHC. The Canadian Honey Council takes direction from the CBRF board of directors and administers the fund as required.
“The CBRF has been set up as a long-term endowment fund. Interest generated by the CBRF is made available for annual grants. Beekeepers direct the type of research that they want to support. The CBRF is entirely supported by donations from the apiculture industry and is a unique partnership between CAPA and CHC members.”
In an effort to make U.S. stateside communities more flexible and relevant for beekeepers, the American Association of Professional
Apiculturists (AAPA) was created in the 1980s, modeled as much as possible after CAPA. It currently sponsors the American Bee Research Conference each year in conjunction with convention by the American Beekeeping Federation and American Honey Producers Association.
Attendees at Apimondia this year in Canada will be helping to celebrate an extraordinary international event. Those in North America missing this year’s event will rue not taking part in an event that only has taken place three times before on the continent. So far it looks likr Apimondia 46 will rival, if not eclipse, Apimondia 36.
Originally brought to you courtesy of Bee Culture Magazine (April 2019) leader in experimental electronic beekeeping information, including the award-winning Catch The Buzz
