Ulster Beekeepers' Association, Syllabus for Preliminary Beekeeping Course

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The Ulster Beekeepers' Association

Syllabus, for the Preliminary Course in Beekeeping

Manipulation of a colony of honey bees
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.
The student will be able to:-

open a colony of honeybees and keep the colony under control,

demonstrate the use of smoke,

demonstrate the use of the hive tool,

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,

identify members of the three castes,

identify brood at all stages,

demonstrate the difference between drone, worker, and honey cappings,

identify stored nectar, honey and pollen,

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 modern beehive,

aware of the concept of the bee space and its significance in the modem 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 the 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 in 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 of 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 origin, collection and use of propolis in the honeybee colony,

able to give an elementary description of the way in which the honeybee colony passes the winter period.
Bee-keeping Practice
The student will be:-

able to give an elementary description of the siting of colonies,

able to give an elementary description of the years 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 to hive it,

aware of the condition of queenlessness,

able to describe the signs of laying workers and of a drone laying queen,

aware of the dangers of robbing and how robbing can be avoided.
Diseases, Pests and Poisoning
The student will:

be able to describe the appearance of healthy brood and how it differs from diseased brood or chilled brood,

be able to describe the signs of American Foul Brood (AFB) and European Foul Brood (EFB),

be aware of acarine, nosema, varroa 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
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.

Originated... 24 January 2003,