2019 Bee School Syllabus

SessionModuleClass TimeInstructor
One
Jan 14, 2019
Introductions & Overview
Partnerships
Scope
Ownership, mentorship, continuing education
10 minPat Roe, President HCBA
Henderson County CED, Henderson County Extension5 minDr. Terry Kelley
An Introduction to Beekeeping-The Basics, How to get the most out of Bee School60 minKim Bailey
The History of Beekeeping
Beehives & Beekeeping
Langstroth and His Hive
Beekeeping Today
25 minGary German
Two
Jan 21, 2019
Bee Biology - The individual bee
Biology/Life Cycle of Honey Bees
Brood Developmental Cycle
Adult Life Progression
Anatomy
Immune System
Different Bees for Different Seasons
Bee Biology - The colony
Annual Cycle of the Colony – The Superorganism
The Honorary Mammal
Behavioral Plasticity
Communication
Let’s Dance / The Three Dances
Frequencies / Vibrations
Pheromones
100 min
Three
Jan 28, 2019
Terminology and Parts of the Hive
Beekeeping Tools and Equipment
Types of Hives
Parts of the Hive
Beekeeper’s Vocabulary
30 MinLee Wicker
Getting Started
Packages and Nucs
Where to obtain
Cost
Pros and Cons of each
Hive Inspections
Frequency
Things beekeepers should be looking for
Queen Issues
Record keeping - set a recommended ‘format’ of data elements a new beekeeper should record for each hive. (ed note) Map to mentor session.
70 minChris Aamodt
Four
Feb 4, 2019
Seasonal Management
Spring (March-April-May)
Inspections
Confirm expanding brood & room for expansion
Adequate stores
Evaluate dead outs (Starvation, disease, etc.)
Feeding options
Sugar water, stored honey, dry sugar,pollen, etc
* Observing the entrance
Foragers?
Orientation flights?
Guard bees?
What’s coming out of hive?
*Recordkeeping
*Swarm Control
When? How? (Splits, nucs, etc.)
*Supering (Tulip poplar flow)
Summer (June-July-August)
Inspections
Laying queen?
Eggs? Larva? Capped Brood?
Hive beetles? Varroa?
Adequate room for brood, honey, pollen
Feeding if needed
Supering (Sourwood flow)
Honey
Removing, replacing supers

*Recordkeeping

Fall (September-October-November)
Robbing
Feeding/Nutritional Issues
Honey stores
Adding and removing supers
Mite control
Recordkeeping
Winter
Stores
Mite treatment
90 minScott Davis
Five
Feb 11, 2019
Swarm Management Swarms
Natural and induced swarms
Recognizing and Preventing Swarms
Spring
Fall
Managing Swarms
Swarm Traps
NCBA Update
60 minBurton Beasley
Bear Fences20Ricky Manning
Six
Feb 18, 2019
Diseases and Parasites of the hive
Invaders: Mites, SHB, Wax Months, etc
Bacteria and Fungus: EFB, AFB, etc
IPM
Treatments: Treatment Free, Hard and Soft Chemicals
DriftWatch and BeeCheck
90 minLewis Cauble,
Apiary Inspector at NC Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Seven
Feb 25, 2019

Most Frequent Problems for a New Beekeeper
Review of some key points covered in class.
Lessons from their beginner beekeeper experiences.
Q&A
60 minPanel
Review of Apiary Syllabus10 minPat Roe
Closing Comments10 minPat Roe