TTP Advanced Beekeeping Workshops

The Tech-Transfer Program has been working on developing more advanced beekeeping workshops for beekeepers wishing to expand their knowledge and beekeeping practices:

Queen Breeding, and Advanced IPM Workshops

These workshops will extrapolate on the knowledge and experience beekeepers who have taken previous courses will already possess, while also introducing them to additional methods of keeping their bees and enriching their business operation. 

Advanced Workshops will take place in the off-season (November to March). Dates and locations will be posted as they are scheduled. Want one in your area? Contact TTP.

Advanced Integrated Pest Management

The Advanced IPM course is the next step for beekeepers who have taken our Integrated Pest Management workshop and want to dive deeper into colony health. This workshop will provide an in-depth look at the biology and life cycles of honey bee pests and diseases, such as Varroa mites and Nosema, in order to inform colony health management decisions. The workshop will also cover monitoring and diagnosing pests and diseases, biosecurity best practices, the impacts of pesticide exposure and nutrition, and creating an IPM plan. A lab component will demonstrate testing for Nosema and tracheal mites using a microscope. 

Having completed the original IPM for Beekeeping workshop is a prerequisite for this workshop. Having equivalent experience and familiarity with the current pests and diseases that affect honey bees in Ontario will be considered.

Advanced Queen Breeding Workshop

The Queen Breeding workshop will guide beekeepers through the theoretical and practical application of developing a program for breeding and the selection of favourable genetics to improve their honey bee stock. Instruction through this workshop will provide interested beekeepers and existing breeders with formal training to adopt breeding components and skills practiced in the Ontario Resistant Honey Bee Selection Program (ORHBS).  Workshop attendees will learn about assessing and selecting for characteristics including: overwintering ability, spring build-up, low defensive behaviour, honey production, comb stability, hygienic behaviour, tracheal mite resistance, and queen longevity. In addition, the assessment of observational hive characteristics and application of selection spreadsheets will be applied to bee breeding. This workshop will provide training for new breeders and expansion of existing breeding programs to ensure high quality honey bee stock is available for Ontario’s beekeeping industry.

Having completed the original Queen Rearing workshop is a prerequisite for this workshop. Having equivalent experience and familiarity with queen rearing processes will be considered.

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