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	Ulster Beekeepers' Association Syllabus for Preliminary Beekeeping Course

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, Upgraded... 03 October 2005,