Diploma In Apiculture at Cardiff University

DIPLOMA COURSE OUTLINE

Term One ( October to December) Honey bee biology

Bee diversity and anatomy

Physiology

Ecology and foraging

Behaviour and pheromones

Pathology

Basic beekeeping

Term Two (January to April) Honey bee management

Honey production and analysis

Pollen production and identification

Wax production and use

Royal jelly production

Queen propagation

Honey bee breeding

Crop pollination

Financial planning

THE DIPLOMA IN APICULTURE Is one a-year postgraduate course run by the Biology Department at Cardiff University. During the past seven years many people involved in beekeeping in tropical and subtropical countries have taken the course and returned home to continue their careers, now avid readers of Beekeeping and Development! However, there may be more readers who are interested in what the course has to offer and in this article I hope to outline just that.

What is the Diploma in Apiculture? It is a course of teaching designed to give participants knowledge, skills and training in beekeeping and bee biology. Through lectures, laboratory practicals, seminars and tutorials, wide range of relevant subjects is covered during the first two term

With access to the University’s science library and the excellent library at IBRA just 400 metres from the University, course participants gather really up-to-date information.

As well as studying bee biology and beekeeping, all participants are postgraduate students of the Biology Department, and so are taught to use computers for report writing, to analyse data statistically and to present research results. Such skills will be useful subsequently when course participants organise extension projects or develop research and support facilities for national or regional beekeeping activities.

From May to September course participants undertake practical work following usual beekeeping management practices to ensure colony development, swarm control and surplus honey production and harvest.

During the summer every participant undertakes a research project on some aspect of bee biology or beekeeping. The project is designed to address specific problem relating to beekeeping in the participant's home country. A good example of this was Ghanaian Kwame Aidoo’s project on the use of cheap unembossed wax sheet in bee hives, published in issue 21 of Beekeeping and Development. Course participants also undertake study visits around the UK and Europe, visiting major honey bee research establishments and conferences to discover recent findings and new techniques. They visit honey packers, practising beekeepers and beekeeping fairs where tips on techniques and new equipment are available.

The Diploma in Apiculture is primarily for those in beekeeping industries, research and support establishments, and beekeeping extensionists in tropical and subtropical countries. The entry requirements are a relevant degree or practical experience of beekeeping.

Some continue their studies beyond the Diploma in Apiculture and take Master's and Doctorate degrees. These are purely research degrees for which students undertake original research for further one or three years respectively.

It is fair to ask why a course aimed at those working in tropical and subtropical countries should be run in Cardiff It is true that beekeeping in Cardiff uses European honey bees only, that frame hive beekeeping is used throughout, and that active honey bee management can only be practised for six months. However, all aspects of tropical and subtropical beekeeping are discussed and illustrated. In an ideal world, course participants would have access to honey bees from Africa, Asia and Latin America in variety of types of hives and in a variety of climates. However we could not encourage the international movement of honey bees, nor could they survive long in Cardiff's temperate climate! Despite these limitations, there are great benefits to the course at Cardiff access to modern facilities and up-to-date information combined with careful teaching and discussion of appropriate beekeeping .

For more information on the Diploma in Apiculture at Cardiff contact: The School of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Wales College of Cardiff, Cardiff.

Dr Robert Paxton, Course Co-ordinator