Published on Jun. 23, 2026, 10:28 PM
Breeding more queens in Canada could offer solution to bees dying in winter
It might come as no surprise that Canada’s cold climate can pose a problem for beekeepers, with a 2025 report from the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists’ finding that over 41 per cent of Alberta honeybee colonies failed that winter.
It’s an issue Calgary-area company Beekeeping Innovations Ltd. has devised an innovative solution for: the Bee Cube, an apiary with a fully climate-controlled environment capable of housing multiple honeybee colonies, designed in Okotoks.
“The goal is to get bees through the winter in a comfortable environment,” said Herman Van Reekum, the company’s founder and CEO.
But beyond helping bees survive the winter, the Bee Cube presents an opportunity the group says could shake up Canada’s beekeeping industry.
Beekeeper Herman Van Reekum in the Bee Cube, an apiary with a fully climate-controlled environment, in Okotoks. (Radja Mahamba/Radio-Canada)
“The real goal that we’ve figured out is how to make queens, how to reproduce queens in a very safe, in a very economical way, and this this is an ideal system for that,” Van Reekum said.