New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture (Queen Bee Rearing) (Level 4)

• Online learning - one evening class per fortnight (7 - 9 pm) 
• Practical weekend workshops once per month (9 am - 5 pm, Sat and Sun) 
• Followed by a practical 10 days later on a Tues evening (5.30 pm - 7.30 pm)

As a part-time student, you should aim to undertake around 15-hours of study per week throughout the programme. This will include workshops, online learning and discussions, reading textbooks, doing assessments, doing practical work in your own time and completing an apiary diary. 

New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture (Level 3)(external link) or equivalent industry skills and knowledge.

You will be expected to complete an industry-approved American Foulbrood recognition and destruction course before you graduate from this programme.

If English is not your first language, you must provide:

• New Zealand University Entrance OR
• Overall Academic IELTS 5.5 with no individual band score lower than 5.0 (achieved in one test completed in the last two years), OR
• Acceptable alternative evidence of the required IELTS (see here for NZQA proficiency table(external link) and here for list of recognised proficiency tests(external link)).

• You will need to purchase your own Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which includes a beekeeping suit (overalls and veil), gloves, smoker and hive tool (approximately $250).
• It is preferable that you wear steel-capped boots or gumboots.
• You will need to have access to a computer and the internet. Course material will be made available online (through Moodle, our online education platform). Meetings, theory classes and assignments may be carried out online (via Microsoft Teams).  

1. Queen Bee Biology, Rearing and Breeding
(15 credits)

This course will enable you to describe the biology, rearing and breeding of queen bees. 

Indicative content 

• Life cycle and reproductive anatomy of the queen and drone
• Role of a drone congregation area, and the role of pheromones in mating
• Describe the three queen rearing impulses in terms of the way in which they are created in a beehive
• Describe how genetic characteristics can be measured from the characteristics of bees and within the hive
• Describe how a bee breeding programme operates to improve breeding stock
• Describe the role of instrumental insemination in bee breeding
• Assess beehives from an apiary for breeder queens with desirable characteristics

Learning outcomes

At the successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the life cycle, anatomy and reproduction processes of the queen and drone bees.
2. Describe bee genetics in relation to bee breeding.
3. Explain the importance of bee breeding programmes for stock improvement.
4. Identify and assess characteristics of breeder queen bees for selection.

2. Beehive Management for Queen Bee Rearing
(15 credits) 

Learn how to prepare for and to rear queen bees. 

Indicative content 

• Plan the timing and timeframes for completion of queen bee rearing activities to meet objectives, client needs, and size of operation
• Manipulate cell builder beehive to receive grafted larvae
• Graft larvae and assess the success rate of the grafting exercise, and monitor feed as required
• Introduce queen bee cells into queen-less beehives or nucleus beehives
• Describe the nutritional requirements of the queen bee and the hive
• Carry out the marking and caging process for a queen bee

Learning outcomes 

At the successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:

1. Prepare a queen bee rearing management plan to meet seasonal requirements
2. Prepare queen bee rearing equipment to enable the grafting of queen bees
3. Graft queen bees
4. Describe beehive manipulations and the nutritional requirements of queen bees
5. Carry out beehive manipulations for queen bee rearing

3. Disease, Hive and Business Management
(15 credits)

Learn how to implement a disease management plan for queen rearing, set up nucleus hives for mating queen bees and to develop a business strategy for queen reading operation. 

Indicative content 

• Transfer frames of capped brood, honey, pollen and bees into an empty nucleus box with a feeder
• Introduce queen cell and monitor beehive until the queen is mated
• Conduct treatment of hives for varroa mite, including applying integrated pest management techniques
• Assess beehives for ongoing disease presence and feed hives to maintain and improve hive health
• Maintain disease compliance requirements
• Research the current operation of the business
• Develop an action plan for implementing a business strategy

Learning outcomes

At the successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:

1. Select and prepare equipment to produce a nucleus beehive.
2. Produce a nucleus beehive and introduce a queen bee for mating.
3. Implement a pest and disease management plan for queen bee rearing.
4. Develop a business strategy for a queen bee rearing business.