We had an incredible fall, but those weeks of heat allowed the varroa to reproduce. The population of varroa in a hive doubled or tripled every two or three weeks. If there is only one varroa in the hive, there are only two after a while, but when there are 1,000, near the end of the season, it's explosive.
In addition, there were a few weeks the following spring. It was 20 degrees Celsius in April. That had never been seen in Quebec. So there was an extra month or month and a half during which the varroa multiplied. That doesn't jibe with the calendar normally followed in Quebec and Canada for treating against varroa.
That is why we are asking to have access to products and tech transfer teams in beekeeping that would make it possible to adapt treatments against the varroa. We need funding in Quebec and Canada to discuss techniques.
The provinces all have different techniques, but they are not necessarily known from one province to another. So we have to engage in dialogue and research.