Assessor Resource

AHCBEK303
Re-queen a honey bee colony

Assessment tool

Version 1.0
Issue Date: April 2024


This unit of competency describes the skills and knowledge required to re-queen a honey bee colony with a replacement queen.

This unit applies to beekeepers who take responsibility for their own work and for the quality of the work of others. They use discretion and judgement in the selection, allocation and use of available resources.

No occupational licensing, legislative or certification requirements are known to apply to this unit at the time of publication.

You may want to include more information here about the target group and the purpose of the assessments (eg formative, summative, recognition)


Evidence Required

List the assessment methods to be used and the context and resources required for assessment. Copy and paste the relevant sections from the evidence guide below and then re-write these in plain English.

Element

Performance criteria

Elements describe the essential outcomes.

Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element.

1. Identify requirement to re-queen a colony

1.1 Assess the vigour of the current queen

1.2 Monitor colony for signs that indicate queen replacement is necessary

2. Prepare to re-queen a colony

2.1 Check personal protective equipment (PPE) for serviceability and use and wear correctly

2.2 Identify work health and safety hazards associated with task and take action to deal with them effectively

2.3 Obtain replacement queen that meet enterprise criteria from a commercial supplier or from own breeding stock

2.4 Store replacement queen and any escort worker bees in appropriate conditions and monitor until re-queening is undertaken

2.5 Monitor hive to ensure re-queening occurs under optimum conditions

2.6 Confirm replacement queen as being healthy and free from pests and diseases

3. Introduce replacement queen bee

3.1 Find old queen bee in the hive and remove

3.2 If replacing queen bee with a nucleus colony, place nucleus colony on top of colony to be re-queened with the two colonies separated by a single layer of paper

3.3 If replacing the queen bee with a caged queen bee, remove cork from candy end (if in place) and introduce into the hive using a suitable, proven introduction method

3.4 Leave hive undisturbed for a period of ten days

4. Monitor progress of a replacement queen bee

4.1 After ten days, monitor the hive for acceptance of replacement queen bee by colony

4.2 Monitor replacement queen bee for evidence of egg laying and adequate levels of hatching

The candidate must be assessed on their ability to integrate and apply the performance requirements of this unit in a workplace setting. Performance must be demonstrated consistently over time and in a suitable range of contexts.

The candidate must provide evidence that they can:

wear suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) correctly

identify hazards and implement safe work practices

identify the need to re-queen

assess suitability of conditions for re-queening

identify disease status of parent colonies

install replacement queen bee

monitor activity of new queen bee and the threat of competition.

The candidate must demonstrate knowledge of:

principles and practices of re-queening

conditions required for re-queening

factors that may affect brood production

factors to consider when identifying and removing old queen and introducing new queen

queen bee behaviour and brood pattern

selection criteria for new queen bee

storage requirements of queen bees before being introduced into the colony.

Assessors must satisfy current standards for RTOs.

Submission Requirements

List each assessment task's title, type (eg project, observation/demonstration, essay, assingnment, checklist) and due date here

Assessment task 1: [title]      Due date:

(add new lines for each of the assessment tasks)

Assessment Tasks

Copy and paste from the following data to produce each assessment task. Write these in plain English and spell out how, when and where the task is to be carried out, under what conditions, and what resources are needed. Include guidelines about how well the candidate has to perform a task for it to be judged satisfactory.

Element

Performance criteria

Elements describe the essential outcomes.

Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element.

1. Identify requirement to re-queen a colony

1.1 Assess the vigour of the current queen

1.2 Monitor colony for signs that indicate queen replacement is necessary

2. Prepare to re-queen a colony

2.1 Check personal protective equipment (PPE) for serviceability and use and wear correctly

2.2 Identify work health and safety hazards associated with task and take action to deal with them effectively

2.3 Obtain replacement queen that meet enterprise criteria from a commercial supplier or from own breeding stock

2.4 Store replacement queen and any escort worker bees in appropriate conditions and monitor until re-queening is undertaken

2.5 Monitor hive to ensure re-queening occurs under optimum conditions

2.6 Confirm replacement queen as being healthy and free from pests and diseases

3. Introduce replacement queen bee

3.1 Find old queen bee in the hive and remove

3.2 If replacing queen bee with a nucleus colony, place nucleus colony on top of colony to be re-queened with the two colonies separated by a single layer of paper

3.3 If replacing the queen bee with a caged queen bee, remove cork from candy end (if in place) and introduce into the hive using a suitable, proven introduction method

3.4 Leave hive undisturbed for a period of ten days

4. Monitor progress of a replacement queen bee

4.1 After ten days, monitor the hive for acceptance of replacement queen bee by colony

4.2 Monitor replacement queen bee for evidence of egg laying and adequate levels of hatching

The candidate must be assessed on their ability to integrate and apply the performance requirements of this unit in a workplace setting. Performance must be demonstrated consistently over time and in a suitable range of contexts.

The candidate must provide evidence that they can:

wear suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) correctly

identify hazards and implement safe work practices

identify the need to re-queen

assess suitability of conditions for re-queening

identify disease status of parent colonies

install replacement queen bee

monitor activity of new queen bee and the threat of competition.

The candidate must demonstrate knowledge of:

principles and practices of re-queening

conditions required for re-queening

factors that may affect brood production

factors to consider when identifying and removing old queen and introducing new queen

queen bee behaviour and brood pattern

selection criteria for new queen bee

storage requirements of queen bees before being introduced into the colony.

Assessors must satisfy current standards for RTOs.
Copy and paste from the following performance criteria to create an observation checklist for each task. When you have finished writing your assessment tool every one of these must have been addressed, preferably several times in a variety of contexts. To ensure this occurs download the assessment matrix for the unit; enter each assessment task as a column header and place check marks against each performance criteria that task addresses.

Observation Checklist

Tasks to be observed according to workplace/college/TAFE policy and procedures, relevant legislation and Codes of Practice Yes No Comments/feedback
Assess the vigour of the current queen 
Monitor colony for signs that indicate queen replacement is necessary 
Check personal protective equipment (PPE) for serviceability and use and wear correctly 
Identify work health and safety hazards associated with task and take action to deal with them effectively 
Obtain replacement queen that meet enterprise criteria from a commercial supplier or from own breeding stock 
Store replacement queen and any escort worker bees in appropriate conditions and monitor until re-queening is undertaken 
Monitor hive to ensure re-queening occurs under optimum conditions 
Confirm replacement queen as being healthy and free from pests and diseases 
Find old queen bee in the hive and remove 
If replacing queen bee with a nucleus colony, place nucleus colony on top of colony to be re-queened with the two colonies separated by a single layer of paper 
If replacing the queen bee with a caged queen bee, remove cork from candy end (if in place) and introduce into the hive using a suitable, proven introduction method 
Leave hive undisturbed for a period of ten days 
After ten days, monitor the hive for acceptance of replacement queen bee by colony 
Monitor replacement queen bee for evidence of egg laying and adequate levels of hatching 

Forms

Assessment Cover Sheet

AHCBEK303 - Re-queen a honey bee colony
Assessment task 1: [title]

Student name:

Student ID:

I declare that the assessment tasks submitted for this unit are my own work.

Student signature:

Result: Competent Not yet competent

Feedback to student

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:

Assessment Record Sheet

AHCBEK303 - Re-queen a honey bee colony

Student name:

Student ID:

Assessment task 1: [title] Result: Competent Not yet competent

(add lines for each task)

Feedback to student:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall assessment result: Competent Not yet competent

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:

Student signature:

Date: