The Canadian Prairies have always been an important source for biodiversity, and the canola crop contributes significantly to maintaining biodiversity on the Prairie landscape.
Providing habitats for diverse insects
Canola fields provide a habitat for an incredible diversity of beneficial insects such as bees, butterflies, spiders, wasps and beetles.
These diverse insect groups help increase crop yields and provide a natural check on insect pest populations.
Canola farmers use a wide range of tools, such as crop rotations, detailed field scouting and following insect thresholds, to protect these valuable allies.
An ideal home for honey bees
Canola is an ideal food source for honey bees, which can have a positive impact on canola production.
Canola farmers work closely with beekeepers to protect bees and maintain the mutually beneficial relationship between plant and pollinator.
As more acres of Canadian farmland have been seeded with canola over the decades, the number of bees has increased steadily:
Where we’re headed
Protecting biodiversity
How? Canola farms help safeguard more than 2,000 species of beneficial insects that call canola fields and their surrounding habitat home.
- Increasing pest surveillance
- Refining insect thresholds for pesticide application
- Conducting research on integrated pest management
- Quantifying the economic benefit of natural habitat to canola productivity.
