Infertile and Nosema-Infected Honeybees Shipped to Western Canada

Summary

Counts of sperm and tests for nosema disease were done in queen honeybees (Apis mellifera) over a 6-year period on their arrival in western Canada from the United States. During that period, Nosema was found in 0·5–18% of the queens (mean 7·5%); 11% of the queens had fewer than 3 million sperm. In each year a high percentage (i.e., 45–64%) of the queens had over 5 million sperms. Sperm counts and nosema disease in queens were also examined in relation to the State of origin in USA and their date of arrival in Canada.