- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Bee scientists at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, are offering a total of four short courses from Feb. 13 to March 20. All will be at the Laidlaw facility, located on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus. They will be comprised of lectures in the conference room and hands-on exercises in the apiary.
Instructors are Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño; staff research associate Bernardo Niño; facility manager/staff research associate Charley Nye; and graduate student Tricia Bohls.
The first short course, "Planning Ahead for Your First Hives," is set Saturday, Feb. 13. "This is perfect for those who have little or no beekeeping experience and would like to obtain more knowledge and practical skills to move on to the next step of owning and caring for bees," says Elina Niño. You'll learn about honey bee biology, beekeeping equipment, how to start your colony, and maladies of the hive. You'll be shown how to install a package, how to inspect your hive and how to monitor for those dreaded varroa mites. The $95 registration fee covers the cost of course materials (including a hive tool), lunch, and refreshments
Next will be the "Queen Rearing Techniques" short course. Due to popular demand, there will be two sessions and you can select the one on Saturday and Sunday, March 12-13 or the one the following weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, March 19-20. You'll learn about honey bee queen biology, basics of selective honey bee breeding programs, various queen-rearing techniques, testing hygienic behavior, and assessing varroa mite levels. You'll have the opportunity to learn about and practice multiple methods for queen rearing.
“We will go through a step-by-step process for queen rearing via grafting, including setting up cell builders and mating nucs,” Elina Niño said. At the end of the course, you'll be able to check your grafting success. If you live in the area, you can take home queen cells from the workshop. You'll also learn techniques to assess varroa mite loads and to evaluate hygienic behavior. Each session also will include a guided tour of the adjacent Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden that attracts many pollinators and is filled with art from the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program and entomology/art classes taught by Diane Ullman and Donna Billick.
The $350 registration fee for each queen-rearing session covers the cost of course materials (including a set of grafting equipment: grafting frame with bars, plastic queen cups and a grafting tool), breakfast, lunch and refreshments on the days of the short course.
Interested? For more information, contact Bernardo Niño at elninobeelab@gmail.com or call (530) 380-BUZZ (2899). The Niño lab website is at http://elninobeelab.ucdavis.edu/, and the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/elninolab/. The bi-monthly apiculture newsletter, written by Elina Niño, is online.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
So you want to be a beekeeper...but you don't know where to begin.
You're in luck.
Bee experts at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis, are planning two short courses or sessions in September--the first on Sept. 13 and the second on Sept. 20.
This will be their inaugural "Planning Ahead for Your First Hives," taught by Extension apiculturist Elina Niño and staff research associate Bernardo Niño at the Laidlaw facility, located on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus. Each course will be limited to 24 participants and registration is now underway.
"The short course will include lectures and hands-on exercises," they announced. "This course is perfect for those who have little or no beekeeping experience and would like to obtain more knowledge and practical skills to move on to the next step of owning and caring for their own honey bee colonies."
Lecture modules will cover honey bee biology, beekeeping equipment, how to start your colony and maladies of the hive. The practical modules will cover how to build a hive, how to install a package, how to inspect your hive and how to monitor for varroa mites.
"Participants will have the opportunity to learn about and practice many aspects of what is necessary to get the colony started and keep it healthy and thriving," they said. "At the end of the course, participants will be knowledgeable about installing honey bee packages, monitoring their own colonies and possible challenges with maintaining a healthy colony."
This is a BYOV (that's Bring Your Own Veil--if you own one. If you don't, they have some on hand.) The $95 registration fee covers the cost of the course materials (including a hive tool), lunch and refreshments. For more information, contact Bernardo Niño at elninobeelab@gmail.com or call the lab at 530-380-2899.
Be sure to check on Elina Niño's monthly newsletter, from the UC Apiaries and the Niño lab's Facebook page.