Beekeepers in Ontario will be getting $136,000 in federal money to help them deal with whatever emptied many of their hives over winter.

The government is providing $31,000 to the Ontario Beekeepers Association to study whether the deaths of many Ontario honey bee colonies were due to a common cause, said a news release issued Thursday.

Another $105,000 will be provided to study ways to control infestations of the hive beetle, the release said.

Some beekeepers believe the hive beetle is responsible for the disappearance of bees from hives across the U.S. The pest, which was introduced from South Africa almost a decade ago, damages honey and causes bees to flee the hive, but is not believed to have made its way to Ontario yet.

In April, the Ontario Beekeepers Association reported that its members lost 23,000 of their 76,000 southern Ontario hives this winter.