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Office of the Provincial Apiculturist

Alberta’s Provincial Apiculturist and the Bee Health Assurance Team provide services that support honey bee health.

Mandate

The Bee Act – in conjunction with its regulation – forms the framework for regulating the health of Alberta’s beekeeping industry through registration, inspections, and movement of bees and used bee equipment. The Office of the Provincial Apiculturist administers the Act and regulation to respond quickly to threats of disease outbreaks and other emergencies that could affect honey bee health in Alberta.

Responsibilities

In administering the Bee Act and its regulation, our responsibilities include:

  • beekeeper registration
  • inspection services that include:
    • permits for interprovincial movement of bees, queens and used equipment
    • bee health diagnosis
    • honey bee colony and equipment inspections
    • abandoned equipment or colony inspections

Provincial Apiculturist

Close-up of Renata Labuschagne

Renata Labuschagne, Provincial Apiculturist

Renata joined the Government of Alberta’s Bee Health Assurance Team (BHAT) in July 2025 as the Provincial Apiculturist. Before taking on this role, she served as the Manager of the Alberta Beekeepers Commission’s Tech Transfer Program (ABC-TTP) from 2019 to 2025, where she worked closely with Alberta’s beekeeping industry to support research, extension, and technology transfer initiatives.

Prior to her work with the Commission, Renata was a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Steve Pernal’s apiculture research lab at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Beaverlodge Research Farm, studying how pathogens and colony traits interact to affect honey bee health and productivity.

Renata earned her Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Minnesota in 2015 under the supervision of Dr. Marla Spivak, following a B.Sc. in Animal Science from the Universidade Federal do Ceará in Brazil. Her doctoral research focused on the role of propolis in honey bee health, including its effects on brood diseases such as chalkbrood and American foulbrood, and its function as a natural antimicrobial barrier within the hive.

Resources

See our Honey Bee Pests and Diseases guide for information on honey bee health in Alberta.

View all apiculture resources.

Contact

Connect with the Office of the Provincial Apiculturist:

Hours: 8 am to 4 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-644-8746
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Fax: 780-422-6096
Email: [email protected]

Mailing address:
Bee Health Assurance Team
Crop Diversification Centre North
17507 Fort Road NW
Edmonton, Alberta  T5Y 6H3

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