Bee-ginner’s Beekeeping: The Basics of Apiculture

By earning this credential, students learned how to start and care for a honeybee colony. Through readings, video demonstrations, quizzes, and weekly question and answer sessions under the guidance of an expert Rutgers instructor, learners were introduced to these essential skills:  

• Basic biology, behavior, and diversity of honeybees.

• Identify the different types and roles that bees play in the hive.

• Define the basic personal protective equipment, beekeeping tools, and locations needed to keep bees successfully.

• Explain how to start or expand a hive using packages, nucs, and swarms.

• Appraise whether a hive has enough food and determine when to supplement with additional provisions.

• Identify, prepare for, and treat honeybee pests and diseases as they arise.

• Compare the different types of colony management techniques used throughout the year.

• Demonstrate how to harvest honey and create other hive products.

Learners left this course with the knowledge required to start, maintain, and care for a honeybee colony and met the educational requirements of the state of New Jersey to be a registered beekeeper under the New Jersey Department of Agriculture Apiary Inspection Program. https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/pdf/Diseasesofbees.pdf.

Further, learners gained insight into selling honey and other products produced through their colonies, including the bottling and labeling requirements in New Jersey.