Welcome to our classroom
To the best of our abilities, as beekeepers, not teachers, we want to share our knowledge with others. It’s in everyone’s best interest to make sure honeybees are being cared for correctly and given the best possibility of survival. This is why we have 3 ways of learning available: Online Lessons, E-Book, and Practical Experience.
Our new E-Book
Please welcome our new E-Book, The Practical Beekeeper. It will be launched in December 2023.
A little bit about the book
This book is for the people who haven’t found the right beekeeping book for them that isn’t filled with a biology lesson. The information I’ve included in this book is based on the worries and questions I’ve received as a breeder from beginners. I know what you need to know! You will read about swarm control, honey production, ordering from breeders, how to set up an apiary, selling honey, overwintering your colonies etc. Here is a little extract from the prologue to give you an idea of what to expect from my writing style:
Nonetheless, being a commercial beekeeper is a fast way to learn the ins and outs of a colony as you spend hours at one hive trying to solve a problem you’ve never heard of. These problems that arise often create a learning experience that is priceless and its shaped my knowledge along the way. Getting to my point, the last 10 years of my life have been spent witnessing every possible problem arise within a colony. It has helped me see how bees work and how they respond to different stimulants.
Sign up for more updates on the E-Book launch TODAY.
Online theory and video demonstrations
If you can’t take time out of your busy summer to do the practical experience with us, you can learn through video demonstrations coupled with a basic-level theory about honey bees. You can access this course by becoming a member. Once that’s done, you can come back and sign into the website at your leisure and learn about honey bees at your speed and at a time that suits you.
Here’s what you will learn:
Back to basics:
Life of a bee
Castes of bees
Hive vs nuc
Parts of the hive & nuc
Being a beekeeper
Basic bee-handling practices:
Tools & equipment & parts of the hive
How to use them
How to approach a hive
How to open & close a hive
What are we looking for?
Apiary management:
Locating an apiary
Ordering a colony
Moving a nuc into a hive
Splitting your colony into two
Foraging
Diseases:
The varroa mite
AFB & EFB
Wax moth
Chalkbrood
Honey Production:
Equipment
Harvesting
Extracting
Processing
How to join this course
To join this course, you first need to become a member. This way you can access the course when it suits you to take some time to learn. You will pay for the course and create an account so remember to write down your login details.
This is the member's area for beginners at beekeeping.
The Practical Experience
We often change the format of this experience over the years as we find better ways to teach people. However, what you learn is always the same. You will learn what’s involved with keeping your own bees such as…
Using tools
Approaching and opening a hive
Moving a nuc into a hive
How to inspect your colony
Preparation for the winter
Honey production
The price of the practical experience is €80. Our goal is to prepare you for your own bees, give you some confidence and expose you to the feeling of having bees land on you (an idea people are quite foreign to). We don't always have the time during the bee season to carry out this course but if you want to be updated on this experience, please fill out the form below so we can contact you when the course dates come out.