Browse "Nature & Geography"

Early land plants have long been known from Eastern Canada, thanks to pioneering work by Sir J. William Dawson, father of Devonian palaeobotany and principal of McGill University from 1855 to 1893. But this record poorly represented the earliest phase of land colonization.

Bears (of the family Ursidae) are stocky, bob-tailed mammals with 5 clawed toes on each paw. Three species inhabit Canada.

Infrequent attacks on humans have been made by grizzly (or brown), black or polar bears. Bears can run at speeds exceeding 50 km/h, are significantly stronger than people and can inflict serious injury.

Bearberry, or kinnickinnick, trailing, evergreen shrub of heather family. Flexible, rooting branches grow up to 2 m long, are covered with reddish, shreddy bark and bear alternate, dark green, oval leaves.

The Beaufort Sea coast is low lying and subject to considerable scouring by ice and erosion by storm surges. The Canadian shelf and the Yukon/Alaskan shelf form the southern boundary of the Beaufort Sea, but they have significantly different widths and alignments.

The beaver (Castor canadensis) is a herbivorous mammal. It is Canada’s largest rodent and the second-largest rodent in the world (after the capybara). It is primarily nocturnal and lives a semi-aquatic life. The beaver is one of the only mammals, other than humans, that can manufacture its own environment. It is known for building dams, canals and lodges. Its colonies are created by one or more beaver-built dams, which provide still and deep water for protection against predators. An emblem of Canada older than the maple leaf, the beaver has had a greater impact on Canadian history and exploration than any other animal or plant species. (See also Fur Trade in Canada.)

Bees are members of the insect order Hymenoptera (including sawflies, wasps, bees and ants) whose habits of feeding on plant pollen and nectar have made them important pollinators of flowering plants and crops. There are more than 20,000 species worldwide, and nearly 800 can be found in Canada. Bees’ nesting habits range from solitary to highly eusocial. Most bees are solitary, wild species, but some are kept or managed for pollination of crops or to produce honey, including the non-native western honey bee (Apis mellifera). Other familiar bees include bumble bees (genus Bombus), mason bees (genus Osmia) and leafcutter bees (genus Megachile). More than a third of all bee species found in Canada are either mining bees in the genus Andrena, or sweat bees in the genus Lasioglossum.

Beech (Fagus), genus of trees of beech family (Fagaceae). Ten species occur worldwide; one, American beech (F. grandifolia), is native to North America.

Beef cattle farming is a key component of Canadian agriculture. The four Western provinces account for about 85 per cent of beef cattle on Canadian cattle farms, with nearly one-half in Alberta alone. Beef farms make up about one-quarter of all farms in Canada, second only to field crops, while the dollar value of live cattle exports ranks just behind spring wheat, canola and durum exports. Canada ranks among the world’s top 10 per capita consumers and exporters of beef.

The complex social organization, the biology and the industrious nature of honeybees (genus Apis) have long fascinated people.

Beet (Beta vulgaris), biennial herbaceous plant of the Chenopodiaceae family. There are 4 cultivated varieties: red or vegetable beet, fodder beet (mangel-wurzel), chard and sugar beet.

Beetles are an extremely diverse group of insects, which together make up the order Coleoptera (from Greek koleos, meaning, “sheath,” and ptera, “wings”). So named for their hardened forewings, which conceal a second pair of flight wings, beetles have the greatest number of known species of any comparable group of living things. There are an estimated 380,000 described beetle species worldwide, representing about 40 per cent of the world’s known insects. Beetles occupy nearly every available terrestrial and freshwater habitat, having evolved to fulfill more ecological roles than probably any other group of organisms. As such, beetles are found all over the world. In Canada, over 8,150 species are known, representing 121 of the world’s 176 families of beetles. Familiar beetles include lady beetles, fireflies, scarabs, weevils, tiger, ground, blister and leaf beetles.

The beluga, or white whale, is a type of toothed whale found in Canada’s Arctic, Hudson Bay and St. Lawrence estuary.

Most insects are beneficial, playing many ecological roles. Less than 1% are pests. They are the principal food of many birds and reptiles, and the survival of insect-pollinated plants depends on them.

Betula Lake, Manitoba, is a freshwater lake and resort area in Whiteshell Provincial Park, 145 km by road northeast of Winnipeg. Opened to cottage development in the 1950s, Betula is a popular swimming, waterskiing and fishing area.