Would you like to become a beekeeper or just know more about honeybees?
We offer a number of different training sessions from a half day insight into honeybees to a full beekeeping course, see further details below:
Prices listed are for the 2017 season
Part-day “Understanding Honeybees”
You will see working hives opened and explained (3 hours)
Cost £25
Dates by mutual agreed
1-day “Introduction to Beekeeping”
A much more detailed insight about honeybees, covering most aspects (6 hours)
Cost £35
Dates by mutual agreed
4-day “Beekeeping Course”.
This is the full-course with theoretical and hands-on training in every aspect of beekeeping leading to the participant being competent enough to have their own bees.
Cost £60 (£100 per couple)
Dates for 2018 April 21st, 28th and May 5th, 19th (all 10 till 2)
Contact Ron for fuller details
A Queen-Rearing Day (No course planned for 2018)
This is for existing beekeepers to increase their knowledge of queen breeding techniques.
Cost £25 lOam till approx. 4pm.
All courses to be held at SWINDON HONEYBEE CONSERVATION GROUP Apiary
(Coffee will be provided. Please bring a packed lunch)
Dates to be agreed
IMPORTANT: If you normally wear gloves when working with bees, PLEASE ensure you have NEW Marigold type, not leather.
This course is directed toward existing beekeepers who wish to produce queens from selected stocks rather than ‘trusting to luck’.
The mainly ‘hands-on’ course will demonstrate a few of the techniques used in queen making, Grafting, Jenter Kit, Cupkit, Miller, etc. Methods of making up a colony for queen rearing, including the “Cloake Board Method”, Queen-right and Queen-less colonies.
Show and explain various queen producing tools, instrumental insemination equipment, hives, methods of queen mating and introduction.
You will be able to:-
(a) Graft newly hatched larvae for queen producing.
(b) Understand the make-up and function of a queen rearing colony.
(c) Install your grafts into (b)
And from the “Ones I Made Earlier”
(d) Handle and collect ripe cells and prepare for the incubator. (started the previous Sunday)
(e) Collect young workers for mini-mating-hive.
(f) Having made-up the mating hive, introduce virgin queen. (started 2 Sundays previous)
(g) Check a mated and laying queen in mating hive. (started 3 Sundays previous)
(h) Make up a 4-frame nucleus using mated queen from (g) .
(i) How to obtain Brood Frames and Store Frames from a donor hive.
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Contact Ron Hoskins on 01793 525364 or 07737400515 or email swindonbeeman@gmail.com for forthcoming courses