Spring course details - starts Saturday 3 March 2012
| Week 1 - 'Introduction to beekeeping' |
Format of the course
Who are we and what do we do?
Why an interest in beekeeping?
A brief history - Egyptians, Greeks, Romans......Langstroth
Types of bee - bumble, miner, honeybee
Basic equipment and protective clothing
Different types of hive
The 'National' hive
British Beekeeking Association
Questions
A look at the hives at Sacrewell Farm
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| Week 2 - 'Morphology and life cycle of the honeybee' |
Life cycle of the honey bee
Bee morphology
Swarming
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| Week 3 - 'The beehive' |
Hives and hive assembly
Hive maintenance
Assembling frames
Different types of hives
The 'National' hive in detail
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| Week 4 - 'More about bees' |
The mood of the hive
The queen - how important is she?
Bee communications - chemical and physical
Beekeeping skills
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| Week 5 - 'Hive products' |
Extracting honey
Feeding bees
Showing and display
Marketing and selling hive products
Types of honey
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| Week 6 - 'Bee problems' |
Pests and parasites
Neighbours
Diseases
Animals
Handling bees - practical
Questions and queries |