Description

Join instructors from the Bee Squad in our teaching apiary on the University of MN St. Paul campus for in-person workshops that will take you from spring to fall. Each class will focus on a specific seasonal management skill, with time for participants to try inspection techniques and ask questions about their own colonies. We welcome experienced beekeepers as well as first year beekeepers and those who have taken the Beekeeping in Northern Climates course and want to try hive management before purchasing their own bees!

Course contact

Jessica Helgen
ma-bees@umn.edu

Registration help

Extension Learning Technologies (ELT)
ext-reg@umn.edu

Please note Mentoring Apiary guidelines:

• Participants must be 18 years or older
• Participants will bring their own bee veil OR bee jacket OR bee suit to wear in the apiary
• Participants are willing to work without gloves in the apiary
• We recommend that participants have taken the "Beekeeping in Northern Climates" course OR another basic beekeeping course -OR- have kept bees for at least one year

Gloveless beekeeping

One of the core tenets of the Bee Squad’s beekeeping philosophy is to enter colonies without wearing gloves. This allows the beekeeper to have the dexterity and sensory feedback to handle frames and bee boxes in a way that minimizes harm and disruption to the bees. For the safety of all students and instructors, we require that all participants do not wear gloves in our teaching apiaries. We believe that the ability to manage a hive of honey bees calmly and confidently under a wide range of conditions is one of the most important skills gained from our program. However, we cannot guarantee that participants will not be stung during our classes. If you experience adverse reactions to bee stings, please consult with your doctor before attending a workshop. Feel free to contact us with questions prior to registration or attending class!

Course fees

$30 per class/workshop. Pre-register online by 8am on the morning of class.
Refunds will be issued for cancellation requests received up to one week before each class is held.

Class location, logistics, schedule, and workshop descriptions

All Mentoring Apiary classes will be held at our Teaching Apiary on the UMN St. Paul campus from 2:00-3:30 PM on Sunday afternoons. 

Parking is available in the parking lot of the UMN Turf Management building (2096 Roselawn Ave W, St Paul, MN 55113) and along Roselawn Avenue. Bee Squad instructors will meet the class in the parking lot for a brief discussion before walking a short distance to the apiary. The walk to the apiary covers uneven ground - please contact us (ma-bees@umn.edu) with any questions or concerns about mobility and we will make every effort to make accommodations. 

If classes are cancelled due to weather, we will send an announcement via email by 8am on the morning of class and refund class fees.

Sunday, March 23: Colony Necropsy and Equipment Evaluation
Instructors will look through colonies that died over the winter and discuss probable causes of death. We will evaluate equipment from dead-out colonies and decide what is usable and what should be discarded. We will cover equipment storage and how to set up a box with used equipment for a package and nuc.

Sunday, April 13: Hiving Packages and Overwintered Hive Inspection
Participants will separate into two groups based on level of experience. Group 1 will practice lighting a smoker and discuss setting up an apiary. We will demonstrate hiving a package and discuss the steps to take in the first week after package installation. Group 2 will inspect overwintered hives and discuss reversals, spring feeding, and spring mite management.

May 4: Checking New Packages and Dividing Overwintered Colonies
Participants will separate into two groups based on level of experience. Group 1 will inspect new packages for signs of a healthy laying queen, comb build-up, and abundant food resources. Group 2 will inspect overwintered hives and set them up for divides. We will demonstrate all steps needed to successfully divide a colony, including finding the queen, splitting the hive, feeding, and introducing a new mated queen to the split.

May 18: Hive Inspection Overview
Learn to inspect hives of all sizes and identify pollen, nectar, all stages of healthy brood, evidence of the queen, and evaluate overall colony health. We will check the packages and divides from the previous workshops to assess their health and development. Participants will learn tips and tricks for doing an effective and gentle full hive inspection.

June 22: Managing Growing Colonies for Health, Honey Production and Swarm Prevention
June is a time of fast growth for many honey bee hives in Minnesota. Learn to prevent swarms and set your hive up to catch the nectar flow by doing reversals and adding space. Participants will learn strategies to monitor hives for Varroa mites and discuss mite management plans for packages, nucs, parent, and divide colonies.

August 3: Varroa Mite Management
Early August is a critical time to manage varroa mites to prevent colony loss. Participants will learn to collect a sample of 300 bees and evaluate mite levels with the alcohol wash method. We will discuss mite thresholds and treatment options and considerations such as temperature and presence of honey supers.

August 10: Pulling Honey Supers and Applying Mite Treatments
Get tips on removing honey supers with methods that minimize robbing and defensive behavior. We will also review mite management techniques and considerations for applying summer mite treatments.

September 14: Feeding, Combining, and Treatment to Ensure Healthy Hives
For hives to successfully overwinter, they must have sufficient honey stores, a healthy and sizable population of bees, and be relatively free of mites and disease. We will evaluate hives of different sizes and decide on the appropriate interventions. We will review options for monitoring mites and fall mite treatments.

October 12: Preparing for Winter
Give your hives their best chance of winter survival with an oxalic acid treatment and proper winter wrapping. We will also discuss options for winter feeding and what to expect from your bees as the hive prepares for winter.

To register by phone, Extension registration professionals can assist you.

• Use this link to request phone registration: z.umn.edu/registrationhelp (preferred)
• or leave a voicemail at (612) 626-5174. Someone will respond within three business days.
• Credit card payments only. No checks or cash accepted.
• Please contact us at least two weeks prior to your workshop. Phone registration requests do not guarantee your registration spot.
• When you leave a message to request phone registration you will be asked for the course number and name. Please reference the Mentoring Apiary and use the sections listed in the right margin to find your event location and/or number (example: "EXT XAF.0157, May 4th workshop").