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Beginning Beekeeper Class 2018 - Day One PowerPoint Slides
Beginning Beekeeper Class 2018 - Day Two PowerPoint Slides
SOUTH CAROLINA MASTER BEEKEEPER PROGRAM
Study Guidelines SC Beekeeper Program Certified Level
At the certified level the individual should be familiar with the basic skills and knowledge necessary for the beginning hobby beekeeper. The individual must pass a written and practical test.
Reference
First Lessons in Beekeeping, Delaplane
Honey Bee Diseases and Pest
American Foulbrood
European Foulbrood
Chalk Brood
Sacbrood
Varroa Mites
Tracheal Mites
Nosema
Symptoms, causative agent, treatments
Small Hive Beetle
Wax Moths
Africanized Honey Bee
Beeswax
Processing
How bees produce
Uses
Honey & How produced
Nectar and Pollen sources
Conversion into honey-sugars
Percent moisture
Processing
Granulation/Re-liquefied
Bottling
Selling
Conversion from nectar to honey
Uses
Types in S.C.
Bees/Races and Subspecies
Origins
Traits
Reproduction
Mating
Swarming
Dances
Basic anatomy; Queen/worker/drone
Parts
Breathing
Organs
Glands
Swarming
Seasonal hive transformation/evolution and management
Africanized bees
Pesticides
Applications
Toxicity
Poisoning signs & symptoms
Bee Equipment
Parts and uses of a beehive
Traits of a good bee yard
Products of the hive
Honey
Beeswax
Propolis
Venom
Wax moth larvae
Package Bee and Queens
Key people in beekeeping; past and present
L.L. Langstroth, Harry Laidlaw, Moses Quinby, Amos I. Root, Stephen Taber III
Hive Manipulation & Honey Bee Management
Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter
Certified Practical Exam for Beginning Beekeepers
Certified Beekeeper Practical Exam
If you have passed your Certified Beekeeper written exam and have kept bees or worked with a beekeeper for at least one year, you are eligible to take your practical exam. Typically this portion of the Certified testing is performed in the spring when all components of the typical working colony are present for identification. Make arrangements for your practical exam with a Journeyman, Master or Master Craftsman beekeeper.
See our Certified Exam study guide and Practical Exam guidelines below.
SCMP Certified Practical Exam
Process and Procedures
The exam should be administered during the months of April, May and June. This requirement should allow the student to have warm enough temperatures to be able to go into the brood nest and identify all stages of brood and types of bees.
The examiner will have a complete hive set up with all pieces of equipment listed on the form, ready for the student to identify. For this portion, bees are not mandatory to be in this hive. Then the student can move to a colony with bees to finish the examination.
Three (3) or more line items with a NO, constitutes a NO PASS of this exam.
Completed signed form should be sent to the South Carolina Master Beekeeper Program.
Items to be included in Practical Testing: Form may be downloaded from the South Carolina Beekeepers Assocation's web site at: www.scstatebeekeepers.org
1. Light a smoker
2. Properly smoke colony
3. Smoker burning at end of exam
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
Identify parts of the beehive
1. Hive Body
2. Shallow Super
3. Medium Super
4. Bottom Board
5. Top Cover
6. Inner Cover
7. Queen Excluder
8. Feeder
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
Locate and Identify
1. Queen
2. Drone
3. Worker
4. Eggs
5. Larva
6. Pollen in comb
7. Nectar in comb
8. Capped Honey
9. Capped Brood
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
Yes _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
No _____
No _____