New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture (Queen Bee Rearing) (Level 4)
Farming
A course by
NMIT
Gain the skills and knowledge needed to rear queen bees for your own business or as part of a commercial operation in New Zealand's growing apiculture industry.
Blended study
This is a mix of online learning & face-to-face sessions
Available in 2 locations
It will take a total of 33 weeks
This course requires 15 hours per week
Core skills this course teaches
Master queen and drone bee biology
Describe the life cycle, anatomy, and reproduction processes of queen and drone bees.
Apply bee genetics and breeding concepts
Understand bee genetics in relation to bee breeding and explain the importance of breeding programmes for stock improvement.
Identify and select breeder queen bees
Identify and assess characteristics of breeder queen bees for selection.
What You're Signing Up For
Designed at Level 4, this certificate prepares students to independently rear queen bees for commercial sale or to operate their own queen-rearing businesses. Students gain skills in bee biology, queen rearing and breeding, beehive management, disease control, and the business aspects of a queen bee rearing operation. The part-time programme features both online evening classes and monthly in-person workshops, combining theory with extensive practical experience.
Course Content
- Queen Bee Biology, Rearing and Breeding
- Life cycle and anatomy of queen and drone bees
- Genetics and breeding programmes
- Assessment of breeder queens
- Beehive management for queen bee rearing
- Queen bee rearing management plans
- Grafting and hive manipulations
- Nutritional requirements
- Marking and caging queen bees
- Bee breeding programme operation
- Disease and pest management in beehives
- Setting up nucleus hives
- Developing business strategy for queen bee rearing
- Industry compliance (disease recognition and destruction, American Foulbrood course required)
What you need to know first
New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture (Level 3) or equivalent industry skills and knowledge
What sort of industry will this job lead to
Apiculture
Agriculture
Animal Science
Future employment opportunities might be
Queen bee rearer for commercial operations
Owner/operator of a queen-rearing business
Apiculture industry supervisor