A Canadian conservation club with only four elderly members is preparing to transfer nearly 100 acres of forested land on Thorah Island to the University of Guelph, preserving a site that has supported honeybee breeding research for more than three decades. According to a report by GuelphToday published on October 22, the undeveloped property on Lake Simcoe is valued at approximately C$400,000 and is expected to change hands within 60 to 90 days.
The Beaverton District Conservation Club (BDCC), which owns the property, wants the land to remain dedicated to conservation and research rather than being developed. The proposed donation would also give the university long-term control of an isolated apiary used to breed honeybee queens under controlled mating conditions.
How an island became a honeybee breeding site
The land was originally donated to the conservation club by the Davidson family before 1990, with the intention of preserving it for conservation purposes. The club has never actively used the property, according to GuelphToday. With its membership having declined to just four elderly members, the organisation has expressed interest in transferring ownership to the university so the land can continue serving its original purpose.
The property lies on the southwestern portion of Thorah Island in Lake Simcoe, Ontario, and can be reached only by boat or water taxi. It is largely forested and undeveloped, with two small off-grid cabins used by volunteers and students conducting field research.
The university's Honey Bee Research Centre (HBRC) has operated an isolated breeding apiary on the site since 1990. The facility accommodates around 12 to 15 full-sized beehives and up to 150 smaller mating colonies, known as nucleus colonies, used in queen breeding and research.
The island's location is central to the work. In its explanation of the Buckfast breeding programme, the HBRC says Thorah and Georgina islands are sufficiently separated from the mainland to allow its queens to mate with selected drone lines. This helps researchers maintain breeding lines and select bees with desirable characteristics.
Why isolated breeding matters
Honeybee breeding involves more than increasing the number of colonies. Researchers also select for traits that can help colonies survive disease, produce honey and remain manageable for beekeepers.
The HBRC follows a breeding programme developed by Brother Adam, a monk at Buckfast Abbey in England who developed the Buckfast strain. The bees are known for traits including calm behaviour, a lower tendency to swarm and good honey production. The original breeding programme also selected for resistance to the tracheal mite, a parasite that can damage bees' respiratory systems.
Geographic isolation helps breeders control which drones mate with queen bees. Without sufficient separation, queens may mate with drones from unmanaged colonies, making it harder to maintain the characteristics selected by a breeding programme.
The university says approximately 100 mating nucleus colonies are brought to its island mating stations each year. Queen cells are placed in these colonies, and the resulting queens are collected on a roughly two-week cycle. The queens can then be used to re-queen the university's colonies or sold to beekeepers.
The island also supports research into resistance to Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite considered one of the most serious threats to honeybee colonies. The HBRC's research programme includes breeding bees for resistance to the mite, alongside work on alternative treatments and other aspects of honeybee health.
A long-term asset for pollinator research
The transfer could help protect the university's access to a specialised research location while ensuring that the conservation club's original objective is maintained. According to the GuelphToday report, the university's board of governors approved acceptance of the donation on October 21, with the transfer anticipated within the following 60 to 90 days.
The university may also improve the site's facilities. Potential plans include expanded infrastructure and a drive shed for storing equipment, with funding expected to come from the Honey Bee Research Centre's donor-funded research and operations account.
The HBRC has previously described the island as an important location for its breeding work. In a 2023 update, the centre reported that one round of queen mating on Thorah Island achieved a 94% success rate, which it described as its best at the time. That figure refers to one specific round of mating and should not be interpreted as a consistent success rate across all breeding seasons.
The centre has also highlighted the role of volunteers in maintaining the island's hives and transporting equipment across Lake Simcoe. Access and maintenance require logistical planning, making the site's continued availability important to its ongoing operations.
The proposed donation comes as researchers and beekeepers continue working to improve honeybee health and manage threats to pollinators. Honeybees contribute to the pollination of numerous crops, while their colonies can be affected by parasites, pesticides, disease and other environmental pressures.
For the Beaverton District Conservation Club, transferring the property offers a way to preserve its conservation purpose despite its shrinking membership. For the University of Guelph, the nearly 100-acre site would secure a long-standing breeding location and provide a base for future research into honeybee genetics and health.
The donation has been approved by the university's board, but ownership has not yet transferred. The expected handover over the coming weeks would formalise the university's stewardship of the forested property and its research facilities.