Niagara residents who come across a wayward swarm of bees on their property are being asked to put down the pesticide and instead pick up the phone.

Representatives on the Niagara Beeway, a local honey bee conservancy group aimed at promoting beekeeping and protecting bee populations in the particularly fertile bee habitat along the Welland Canal, fanned out to Niagara Home Hardwares and Canadian Tires last week posting signs next to pesticide canisters urging residents not to kill swarms of bees on their property. Instead, should the swarm be identified as bees and not wasps or hornets, property owners should call the Beeway to have an apiarist come capture the swarm, saving a swarm of the crucial pollinators amid a trend of declining populations.

“In the last four to five days we’ve been getting disastrous reports,” said apiarist and Beeway founder George Scott. He said this year numbers have again spiked in overwinter mortality, with surviving hives now apparently dying off as they send out workers to find water.

“We’re looking at possibly our worst year ever,” said Scott, explaining the Beeway’s hopes of providing 1,000 hives to local beekeepers to offset losses have been dashed thanks to the die off. Scott said he is positive what is killing the bees, insecticides known as chlorinated nicotine, or neonicotinoids, finding their way into the bees’ water supply.

“We’re looking at an 85 per cent loss,” said Scott, adding, “I know several yards that have no bees at all … we are in survival mode.”

Such pesticides have already been banned in European farming, and Scott has spent years pushing for such a ban here.

“I’m done playing around,” he said, noting the continued decline in beekeepers’ hives makes the Beeway swarm recovery program all the more important.

With five teams of apiarists ready to respond he said the process is simple. If a homeowner or resident finds a swarm of bees they simply call the Beeway and a team comes out to scoop up the bees, in turn using the bees for training programs for budding beekeepers.

For more information call 905-834-5228 or visit www.niagarabeeway.com.