Overview
The association provides training on an informal basis. These are lecture based during the Winter with practical training combined with the Apiary meetings during Spring/Summer. It can also support those members wishing to take BBKA examinations and assessments.
Contact Jo Bennett on PDBKAtraining@gmail.com
Apiary Training dates 2024
Sundays – 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th April and 5th May (all dates weather dependant)
Wednesdays – 17th, 24th Apr and 8th May
Throughout the ‘Season’ training will include:
Frame making – methods of making up frames and make frames for the Apiary
Location and spacing of hives. Examination of hive entrance for signs of activity and progress prior opening the hive for inspection. Use of smoke.
Early disease inspections and health of hive. Signs of disease and recognition of chalkbrood, chilled brood, sacbrood, nosema and EFB/AFB.
Reading the combs, identify signs of swarming. State of the hive, quantity of eggs in proportion to sealed brood and congestion. Early methods of swarm avoidance/reduction.
Double brood hives to increase colony size to form into nuclei and for simple queen rearing using one hive to form splits.
Shook Swarm
Bailey Comb Change
Integrated Pest Management
Preserving Bee Space. Reduce defensiveness caused by excessive disturbance of the colony. Method on how to treat defensive colonies.
Honey management, arrange hive to maximise honey yields.
Wasp control. Methods from reducing entrances to sealing hives
Clearing bees various methods to clear bees for honey harvest.
Varroa Treatments – different VMD treatments available and their use.
When and how to feed. Autumn feeding thick syrup and winter-feeding fondant or plain sugar.
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
PDBKA holds winter and early Spring training groups for members interested in improving their beekeeping skills.
The sessions follow the BBKA training programme and could lead to acquiring the following BBKA qualifications:
Bee Basic – Practical assessment to promote new beekeepers’ training and knowledge and good practice of basic husbandry.
Refresher training based on the Bee Basics framework
This year we will be offering refresher training based on the Bee Basics learning framework. Suitable for beekeepers who have a year or so of experience, this can lead to Bee Basics certification (if you choose to take the assessment) and will be delivered as a guided self-learning programme (small groups of learners working together on modules with an experienced beekeeper there to advise and help.)
We already have 8 learners signed up and have room for a few more so if you are interested in attending, please let us know as soon as possible.
Dates are still to be finalised, but the plan is for 5 theory modules between 8 February and 5 April (once a fortnight) followed by 3 practicals at the apiary on either Wednesday or Sunday.
Bee Health – to promote practical and theoretical knowledge of bee diseases increasingly prevalent due to climate change.
Module 2 – theoretical assessment of products of the hive from nectar collection by bees to honey processing by beekeeper.
General Husbandry – Practical assessment to promote intermediate beekeepers’ training and knowledge of bee husbandry, products of the hive, bee diseases and queen rearing.
To cover the theory, sessions will start on zoom unless the group wishes otherwise.
Bee Basic and Bee health are practical assessments and hands on so once the apiary opens, there will be a couple of practical sessions.
The modules are written papers. Module 2 is offered at this time, other modules are available.
Members can join any of these groups and don’t have to do the assessments or paper at the end.
If interested please contact PDBKAtraining@gmail.com
Beginner Training – 2.15pm Sundays in February & March
Session 1:(free) 18 February 2024, Petersfield Community Centre : Brief Introduction to Beekeeping.
- What is a honey bee?
- How does it live.
- Brief history of beekeeping
- Where & how do we keep them.
- Amount of work & equipment involved in their care and management
- Basic beekeeping year
- Why they swarm.
- Hazards to keeper (stings and allergies) to bees.
- Rewards.
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The course consists of five sessions on Sunday afternoons, starting at 2.15pm and finishing at about 3.30pm with breaks for questions and answers. The first session is free and is an overview of beekeeping to give people a chance to decide if beekeeping is really for them. On the second session, a fee of £50 is payable. This includes Associate membership as well as the theoretical course. It also includes the hands-on practical part of the course which takes place once every two weeks at the Association Apiary for 5 weeks. These sessions will be held on 2, 16, 30 April and 14 May 2023. 2 April 2023 will be the first Apiary Meeting of the Season. Traditionally a 'clean up and equipment preparation' meeting, it is the opportunity for all Association Members to gather at the Apiary.
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The course consists of five sessions on Sunday afternoons, starting at 2.15pm and finishing at about 3.30pm with breaks for questions and answers. The first session is free and is an overview of beekeeping to give people a chance to decide if beekeeping is really for them. On the second session, a fee of £50 is payable. This includes Associate membership as well as the theoretical course. It also includes the hands-on practical part of the course which takes place once every two weeks at the Association Apiary for 5 weeks. These sessions will be held on 2, 16, 30 April and 14 May 2023. 2 April 2023 will be the first Apiary Meeting of the Season. Traditionally a 'clean up and equipment preparation' meeting, it is the opportunity for all Association Members to gather at the Apiary.
,
The course consists of five sessions on Sunday afternoons, starting at 2.15pm and finishing at about 3.30pm with breaks for questions and answers. The first session is free and is an overview of beekeeping to give people a chance to decide if beekeeping is really for them. On the second session, a fee of £50 is payable. This includes Associate membership as well as the theoretical course. It also includes the hands-on practical part of the course which takes place once every two weeks at the Association Apiary for 5 weeks. These sessions will be held on 2, 16, 30 April and 14 May 2023. 2 April 2023 will be the first Apiary Meeting of the Season. Traditionally a 'clean up and equipment preparation' meeting, it is the opportunity for all Association Members to gather at the Apiary.
,
The course consists of five sessions on Sunday afternoons, starting at 2.15pm and finishing at about 3.30pm with breaks for questions and answers. The first session is free and is an overview of beekeeping to give people a chance to decide if beekeeping is really for them. On the second session, a fee of £50 is payable. This includes Associate membership as well as the theoretical course. It also includes the hands-on practical part of the course which takes place once every two weeks at the Association Apiary for 5 weeks. These sessions will be held on 2, 16, 30 April and 14 May 2023. 2 April 2023 will be the first Apiary Meeting of the Season. Traditionally a 'clean up and equipment preparation' meeting, it is the opportunity for all Association Members to gather at the Apiary.
,
The course consists of five sessions on Sunday afternoons, starting at 2.15pm and finishing at about 3.30pm with breaks for questions and answers. The first session is free and is an overview of beekeeping to give people a chance to decide if beekeeping is really for them. On the second session, a fee of £50 is payable. This includes Associate membership as well as the theoretical course. It also includes the hands-on practical part of the course which takes place once every two weeks at the Association Apiary for 5 weeks. These sessions will be held on 2, 16, 30 April and 14 May 2023. 2 April 2023 will be the first Apiary Meeting of the Season. Traditionally a 'clean up and equipment preparation' meeting, it is the opportunity for all Association Members to gather at the Apiary.
,
The course consists of five sessions on Sunday afternoons, starting at 2.15pm and finishing at about 3.30pm with breaks for questions and answers. The first session is free and is an overview of beekeeping to give people a chance to decide if beekeeping is really for them. On the second session, a fee of £50 is payable. This includes Associate membership as well as the theoretical course. It also includes the hands-on practical part of the course which takes place once every two weeks at the Association Apiary for 5 weeks. These sessions will be held on 2, 16, 30 April and 14 May 2023. 2 April 2023 will be the first Apiary Meeting of the Season. Traditionally a 'clean up and equipment preparation' meeting, it is the opportunity for all Association Members to gather at the Apiary.
,
The course consists of five sessions on Sunday afternoons, starting at 2.15pm and finishing at about 3.30pm with breaks for questions and answers. The first session is free and is an overview of beekeeping to give people a chance to decide if beekeeping is really for them. On the second session, a fee of £50 is payable. This includes Associate membership as well as the theoretical course. It also includes the hands-on practical part of the course which takes place once every two weeks at the Association Apiary for 5 weeks. These sessions will be held on 2, 16, 30 April and 14 May 2023. 2 April 2023 will be the first Apiary Meeting of the Season. Traditionally a 'clean up and equipment preparation' meeting, it is the opportunity for all Association Members to gather at the Apiary.
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TO BOOK A PLACE
Session 2: 26 February 2023, Petersfield Community Centre: Keeping Bees
- Bee Space (fundamental building block)
- Establishing an apiary
- Colony Management across the year
- Importance of record-keeping
- Importance of keeping healthy bees
Session 3 : 5 March 2023 Petersfield Community Centre: The life of the Bee Colony
- Bee Life cycle
- Colony Life cycle
- Swarming
Session 4: 12 March 2023: Petersfield Community Centre. Hive Equipment and Manipulation
- Suits, smokers & hive tools
- Basic Hive, components & assembly
- Preparation & manipulation of frames
- Maintenance of Apiary site
Session 5: 26 March 2023, Petersfield Community Centre: Honey and Wax
- Honey
- Composition
- Variations
- Harvesting
- Treatment
- Storage/Selling/Distributing
- Wax
- use in the hive
- Extraction & cleaning
- candles, polishes & balms
Please e-mail: annechantal@btinternet.com to book a place.
Improver Training
The PDBKA Improver Training sessions are based on the BBKA ‘Improvers’ Course-In-A-Case Red Course
Session 1: Hive Design & Equipment
- Hives and frames
- Design of hives, bee space
- Apiary hygiene
- Correct use of equipment
- Personal protective equipment
Session 2: Apiary Location & Management Siting of apiaries
- Layout of hives and equipment
- Temperament and aggression
- Natural food sources for an apiary
- Drifting and problems that may occur
- Annual cycle of management of a hive
- Preparation of hives for the winter
- Spring Management
- Reasons for regular comb changing
- What to do before opening a hive
- Time and reasons for adding supers
- The principles of feeding honeybees
- Robbing and the causes and prevention
Session 3: Natural History and Biology
- Differing races of honeybees
- Other honey bees and problems
- Features of queens, drones and workers
- Life cycle of queens, workers & drones
- Natural mating of queens
- Seasonal variations in hive strength
- Work carried out by worker bees
- Summer and Winter bees
- Basic function of the exocrine glands
- Detection & use of alarm pheromones
- Bee dances
Session 4: Foraging
- Benefit of local forage crops
- The special requirements of some crops
- Undesirable sources of honey
- The composition of nectar
- Source and characteristics of honeydew
- Conversion of nectar to honey
- The use of pollen to identify honey
- Other forage, water, pollen and propolis
Session 5: Pests and Diseases
- How to examine a brood comb
- The visual symptoms of EFB
- The visual symptoms of AFB
- Other notifiable pests
- Action on notifiable pests and diseases
- When a Bee Inspector calls
- Monitoring various levels of varroa
- Recognition of Nosema infection
- Recognition of Acarine infestation
- Recognition of chalk brood
- Recognition of sac brood
- Recognition of virus infections
- Integrated Pest Management
- Other methods of disease management
- Mice, woodpeckers and larger animals
Session 6: Honey Removal, & Processing
- Legal and hygiene requirements
- Extraction and bottling facilities
- Removal of Supers from Hives
- Storage before extraction
- Preparation for extraction
- Types of extractor
- Extraction
- Storage after extraction
- Melting, straining and bottling
- Labelling and the legal requirements
- Selling honey, sections and cut combs
Session 7: Swarm Prevention and Control
- Biology of Swarming
- Preparation for swarming
- Swarm prevention
- Basic elements of swarm control
- Basic Swarm control methods
- Taking and Hiving a swarm
Session 8: Other Products, Nuclei and Packages
- The reclamation of wax
- The preparation of wax for sale
- The collection and uses of pollen
- The collection of venom
- The collection and uses of propolis
- A nucleus and a package
- The method of making nuclei
- The standards of nuclei for sale
- Preparation & standards and packages
- Showing
Session 9: Beekeeping Procedures
- Preparation for moving colonies
- Artificial swarming and equipment
- Queen Introduction
- Queen Marking
- Queen colours
- Queen Clipping
- Bailey comb change
- Shook Swarm
- Uniting Colonies
Session 10: Summary of course and discussion
- Dealing with an aggressive colony
- Normal Reactions to Stings
- Anaphylaxis
- Preparing for further study
- Learning to Teach others
- Getting involved with organisations
- The national beekeeping scene
- BBKA and NBU
Proficient Training
The PDBKA Proficient training course is based on the syllabus for the BBKA Modules 5-8 and the Advanced Husbandry Assessment