Course Content
A Colony of Honeybees
The student will be:
aware of the need for care when handling a colony of honeybees
aware of the reactions of honeybees to smoke
aware of the personal equipment needed to open a colony of honeybees
able to open a colony of honeybees and keep the colony under control
able to demonstrate the use of smoke
able to demonstrate the use of the hive tool
able to remove combs from the hive and identify worker, drone and queen cells or cups if present and to comment on the state of the combs
able to identify members of the three castes, identify brood at all stages
able to demonstrate the difference between drone, worker, and honey cappings
able to identify stored nectar, honey and pollen
able to catch a few worker bees and put them in a matchbox or carrying cage for disease diagnosis
Beekeeping Equipment
The student will be:
able to name the parts of a modem beehive
aware of the concept of the bee space and its significance in the modern hive
able to assemble a frame and fit it with wax foundation
aware of the reasons for the use of wax foundation
aware of the various spacings of combs in the brood chamber and super for both foundation and drawn comb
Natural History of the Honeybee
The student will be:
able to give an elementary account of production of queens, workers and drones in the honeybee colony
aware of the existence of laying workers and drone laying queens
able to specify the periods spent by each caste in the four stages of its life cycle (egg, larva, pupa, adult)
able to give an elementary description of the function of the members of each caste if the life of the colony
able to give a simple description of wax production and comb building by the honeybee
able to give a simple definition of nectar and describe how it is collected and brought back to the hive
able to name the main local flora from which honeybees gather pollen and nectar
able to give a simple description how nectar is converted into honey
aware of the use of nectar and honey in the life of the colony
aware of the collection of water and its uses in the colony
able to give a simple description of the collection of pollen and its importance in the life of the colony
able to describe the origins, collection, and use of propolis in the honeybee colony
able to give an elementary description of swarming in a honeybee colony
able to give an elementary description of the way in which the honeybee colony passes the winter period
Beekeeping
The student will be:
able to give an elementary description of the siting of colonies
able to give an elementary description of the year’s work in the apiary and the management of a colony throughout a season
able to describe how and when to feed bees and the preparation of syrup
aware of the need to add supers and the timing of the operations
aware of the use of the queen excluder
able to give an elementary account of one method of swarm control
able to describe how to take a honeybee swarm and how to hive it
aware of the condition of queenlessness
able to describe the signs of laying workers and a drone laying queen
aware of the dangers of robbing and how robbing can be avoided
Bee Disease and Poisoning
The student will:
be able to describe the Varroa mite, know how to test for its presence in the hive and be aware of the main methods of treatment
be able to describe the signs of American Foul Brood (AFB) and European Foul Brood (EFB)
be able to describe the appearance of healthy brood and how it differs from diseased brood or chilled brood
be aware of acarine, nosema and amoeba and their effect upon the colony
know how to obtain expert assistance if any disease or poisoning by toxic chemicals is suspected
Harvesting Honey and Wax
The student will be:
able to describe the methods used to clear honeybees from supers
able to describe the process of the extraction of honey from supers
aware of the value of bees to farmers and growers and of the hiring of colonies for pollination services
able to describe a way in which comb can be stored to prevent wax moth damage
able to describe a way by which mice can be excluded from the hives in winter.