ApiSave, Burnaby biotech company, uses hop extract to fight honeybee diseases

A Burnaby biotech company has developed a new weapon in the fight to reverse honeybee population decline across Canada: a pollen supplement infused with hop-derived compounds.

ApiSave, co-founded by Mingyang Sun, combines a hop-based extract into pollen patties that help honeybees fight varroa mites—parasites that attach and feed on developing and adult bees—and bacterial diseases like American and European foulbrood.

Sun and his co-founders, Guan Lim, Leonard Sarna, and Russ Crawford, all formerly worked in the cannabis sector and were intrigued by hops' antimicrobial properties. After testing revealed a hop-derived extract was effective against biofilm (a protective layer bacteria use to resist antibiotics), they began exploring which industries might benefit.

The timing aligned with growing awareness of bee decline. The U.S. recently reported its largest honeybee die-off on record, with beekeepers losing over 60 per cent of their colonies on average. In B.C., roughly a third of bee colonies died over a winter four years ago, following a voluntary survey that year.

Daryl Wright, a retired beekeeper in Manitoba, described the dual threat bees face: varroa mites can infect colonies as early as the larva stage and often travel between apiaries, while bacterial diseases spread more easily in winter when bees are confined without access to flowers for nutrition.

Scott Gordon, a commercial beekeeper in Pitt Meadows who trialled the supplement at apiaries in B.C. and Mexico, reported promising early results. Even colonies with high varroa infestation continued to be productive and maintain strength when treated with the extract.

Countrywide, the annual winter bee death rate hovers between 32 and 45 per cent. ApiSave's extract offers beekeepers a non-chemical option to improve colony health during vulnerable months.