Apiguru inc. Apiary Application

Application Date:

City: Montreal, QC

Please briefly tell us why you are applying to have your apiary be part of the Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) program.
At apiguru we keep the bees as naturally as possible. We go as far as modifying the hives themselves to have a volume resembling bees in a tree cavity. We aim to reduce the need for artificial wax/plastic foundations and let the bees build from scratch. Our goal is to gradually get the bees to the point of minimal human interference including feeding and disease treatments. in terms of varroa mite treatment we currently use a half dose of formic acid pads in the fall, which is much lower than the normal average beekeeper uses. in 2021,we kept 140 colonies of which only 70 colonies produce honey( the others are for a bee reservoir as nucs, queens and other resources). In 2023, We foresee hive numbers at 300+ with 150 colonies involved in honey production. We sell our honey to the local community, stores etc. We are looking to get certification that we can put on our label (english/french version).

Is the land on which your apiary sits currently certified (by CNG or another organization)? Yes

Is the land on which your apiary sits currently certified (by CNG or another organization)?

Which agency is the certifier (for example CCOF, PCO, NOFA, Demeter)? What type of certification (Organic, Biodynamic, etc.) does the land have?

Has the land on which your apiary sits ever been certified in the past? Yes

Who was the certifying agency (CCOF, PCO, NOFA, Demeter, etc.) and what type of certification did they provide (Organic, Biodynamic)?

When was the land certified, and why is it no longer certified?

You may use this space to specify where customers can purchase your honey (this will be displayed on your profile to help customers find you). apiguru.ca and by delivery in montreal.

How many hives are in your apiary (or apiaries)? 140

For how long have you been keeping bees? How long have you been marketing your products? What has prepared you to do this successfully according to CNG standards? i have been keeping bees since 2011 for the purpose of figuring out methods of keeping bees healthier without pesticides and chemical treatments. Since then we began selling hives that are suited for treatment free beekeeping such as warre, voirnot, 8-frame langstroth etc. We have since then closed our store but run those hives ourself. Apiguru inc. we originally owned and operated by my mentor branislav babic who was a leader in treatment free management methods. since 2021 i have taken over the farm and intend to grow the operation in natural treatment free way.

Can you name one or two potential inspectors who you could ask to conduct your inspection?

Apiary Location Full Address 259 chemin senneville, Senneville, QC H9X 3X5 ( 73 hives) Kahnawake Qc (no adresses in native reserve) - 3 locations (50 hives) Cote st luc (14 hives) Rentals in montreal (3 hives) Gallant maple syrup - 1171 Chem. Saint-Henri, Sainte-Marthe, QC J0P 1W0 ( future site)

Briefly describe the landscape where this apiary is located. What surrounds the apiary? What are the nectar sources? The senneville location sit in the protected Arboretum forest which contains many different trees which provide early season nectar and pollen. Such as maple, sumac, dandelion,clover, coltsfoot, basswood and goldenrod. The kahanwake locations sit in the native reserve territory. An area managed with our pesticide use and a respect for the land. the area is rich in pollen and nectar for the bees primarily clover, basswood and goldenrod. The J0P 1W0 site is in Rigaud Quebec and is situated on land used for Maple syrup production. the area also has horses and some small scale farming within a few km radius. The area is presumably rich in pollen due to the presence of trees, but may be lacking nectar. at some periods of the season. possibly with open areas giving growth to berries and wildflowers the honey flow can be assured. This area will be tested in 2023 for capacity.

2nd Apiary Full Address

Other additional locations?

3rd Apiary Full Address

Any other locations?

How many total apiary locations do you have?

Do you own or manage the land on which your apiary is located?

Do you agree not to use on this land any synthetic materials that are not allowed under the CNG produce or honey programs?

Use this space to describe any land management practices you use to support the honey bee population.

Within each apiary for which you seek certification, do you manage any hives "conventionally" (using practices or substances that are not allowed under the CNG apiary standards)? No

Do your hives have any paint or chemical treatment on the interior surface of the hive? No

Do you have, or will you develop, a labeling system and schedule to ensure removal of at least 20% of brood frame per year, such that there is never brood comb present that is more than 5 years old? Yes

Describe your brood comb labeling and removal practices to date, and your plans for the coming seasons. Since taking over apiguru operations in 2021 There were many old brood combs that were in need of replacement. i have since culled 60% of the combs in the apiaries. The practice for brood comb removal is to add 4-5 foundations per season and to remove combs that are older than 5 years. In 2021 most colonies received a box of new foundation to build out. in the future combs will be color coded(color of queen year) for the purpose of tracking and cycling out old frames.

Does your apiary contain brood comb that A) is from another beekeeper (including from purchased nuc), or B) has been exposed to Tylan, or C) has been exposed to three or more treatments of fluvalinate (Apistan, Mavrik) or amitraz (Miticur, Taktic, or Mitak)? No

Will you ensure that, through brood comb replacement or operation expansion, no more than 40% of the exposed comb will be present in the apiaries to be certified, AND that the exposed comb that remains will be marked and removed from your apiary within two years? Your apiary will have transitional status until all exposed comb is replaced.

Please indicate the month and year when you expect you will have replaced all marked brood comb (the comb that was purchased from another beekeeper, treated with Tylan, and/or exposed to three or more more treatments of fluvalinate or amitraz)?

Has any wax or comb in your apiary ever been exposed to coumaphos (CheckMite+) or fenpyroximate (Hivastan), or more than six indirect exposures of coumaphos (CheckMite+), hydramethylnon or fipronil (Max Force Gel roach bait) as closed trapping for SHBs? No

Describe how you maintain your bee population from one season to the next. Do you rely on survivor colonies, incorporate feral colonies, purchase new bees every year, or some combination of these and/or other practices? The goal for these last few seasons are for rapid growth in order to get the operation to numbers where we can have sufficient production to pay the bills. Currently we divide the colonies into 3 new colonies to recover from winter losses and for growth. We also purchase queens in early may and then begin raising our own from our survivor colonies and then replace the imported queens in order to have local genetics. When we do purchase bees we use packages so as not to get the combs and risk brining diseases.

Do you sometimes feed the bees when honey supers are on the hive, or within two weeks before honey super addition? No

If and when your bees require supplemental feeding, what do you feed them? Please be specific and include all ingredients. We feed our bees 2:1 syrup(white refined sugar and water) which we buy by the tote in between september and october We may at times feed 1:1 sugar syrup to get the packages to develop.

Describe what measures you take to suppress the Varroa mite population in your hives. We use modified square colonies that have smaller volumes to 1) even temperatures throughout hive reduces cold edges where varroa likes to reproduce. 2) reduce drone brood therefore less reproduction environment for varroa. 3) keep them in development rather than reproduction mode = less drone and varroa 4) use a half dose of formic acid pads in September. 5) brood breaks when raising queens 6) splitting hives agresssively. 7) oxcalic acid in november.

How do you monitor mite population levels? When and how often? We monitor mites levels using alchohol washes and keeping an eye for deformed wing virus. Once we monitor sample mite populations we take action on the apiary as a whole. by using modified hives, heavy division and brood breaks, allow swarming, i know that the mites are under control. My winter losses are lower than the Canadian average using the above methods. We measure mites using sugar rolls, if there are 10+ mites per 100 bees we consider treating or not treating. If we decide to treat, we use half dose of formic acid pads( Formic Pro) throughout the apiary at very small doses. Used in order to relieve mite pressure before the winter. and then we test again using sugar rolls if mites are still 10+/100 bees we will apply Oxcalic acid dribble method in November. For the past few years (2021 and 2022) we've been treatment free. We also keep detailed records throughout the season of all maneuvering we do with the hives.

Before treating any hive for Varroa mites, will you monitor the Varroa mite infestation level to determine whether it exceeds the treatment threshold set by your local network? (If you run a survivor colony, and you never treat, please answer Yes). Yes

If you choose to treat colonies infested with Varroa mites, will you keep records of treatment methods, along with pre- and post-treatment monitoring results?

How do you prevent and treat American Foulbrood (AFB) and European Foulbrood (EFB)? (Even if you have not encountered these diseases before, you must have a prevention plan). I have never had to treat for foulbrood, but I would do the following in the case of a serious infestation. American foulbrood infestation would mean burning of the hives infected with the bees in them. EFB we would remove infected comb, replace the queen and strengthen the colony. selecting and raising for Queens immune to EFB,.

How do you prevent and treat Nosema? (Even if you have not encountered this disease before, you must have a prevention plan). Queen selection, reduce stress in the colony, improve ventilation. if we see nosema we may feed with hive alive supplement which contains seaweed and other beneficial components for the bees' gut health.

What has been your experience with other diseases (such as chalkbrood, viral diseases, etc.)? How have you dealt with them? How will you deal with them if they recur? Most of the issues can be solved by changing the queen. carniolan bees which is what i use are more susceptible to chalkbrood. wax moths are only an issue for combs not occupied by bees and kept in an unventilated area. Small hive beetles havent been a problem for me yet. but i dont think will be a problem since i use bore holes instead of wide horizontal entrance which are hard for the bees to defend and manage.

What has been your experience with pests such as wax moths and small hive beetle? How have you dealt with them? How will you deal with them if they recur? I have issues with racoons taking the roofs off so i have to ratchet the hives together. Mice i staple screens on the entrances. skunks go after the weak colonies i dont have a method of control as of yet.

What measures do you take, if any, to protect the hives against pests such as mice, skunks, possums, raccoons, and bears?

Please describe any other practices you follow to help strengthen the bee population under your care. I use the methods outlined by Dr. Tom Seeley describing bees in the wild and the new discoveries made in the last 30 years regarding bees preferences. I have completely moved away from standard beekeeping practices. I only place colonies in areas with clean forage and has no pesticides and intensive agriculture.

Are your colonies engaged in pollination by contract? No

Are any crops on the land contracted for pollination managed with the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides during time of pollination or for the three months prior?

Do you agree to obtain a signed contract with the crop producer specifying that for the entire time the land is occupied by the bee colonies and for the three months prior, no prohibited pesticides herbicides or fungicides will be used?

Are any of your colonies moved more than three times per calendar year for purposes of pollination?

Are you a part of a local network of beekeepers using natural methods? This could be a formal network like a county beekeepers association, or it could be an informal network of beekeepers in your area with a commitment to using natural methods. Yes

If this is a formal network please indicate the name of the network below.

If this is an informal network, please indicate below the names of at least two other beekeepers who participate.

Please provide the name and contact information for at least one person in your local network who will vouch for your participation in that network.

I will only use the Certified Naturally Grown name and label on apiary products (honey, pollen, propolis) that are in fact from the CNG apiaries described in this application. Yoav Sasportas

I understand that CNG Apiary Certification applies to honey and sometimes pollen, but it does not apply CNG status to beeswax. Yes

I understand that I have to complete at least one Certification Inspection of another apiary in my area each year and will abide by the trading and repeat rules within the CNG Inspection Guidelines. Yoav Sasportas

I have reviewed the Certified Naturally Grown Apiary Standards, understand them, and will abide by them. I understand that if I have any questions I may contact CNG for clarification. Yoav Sasportas

You may use this space to tell us anything else you think we should know about your apiary: We are a small scale honey farm using natural techniques and we would like to be able to sell our honey at a premium and we believe having the added certification will add to the credibility.