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Elements and Performance Criteria

1. Establish conditions and obtain requirements for queen bee rearing
   • Select breeding stock from productive healthy stock or purchase breeder queen bee
   • Obtain all tools and equipment needed to rear queen bees
   • Select and use personal protective equipment
   • Identify work health and safety hazards and take action to minimise them
   • Observe site quarantine or other biosecurity protocols in force
   • Confirm all hives and colonies used for queen bee and drone production are in a clean and healthy condition
   • Select day-old larvae from the breeder queen bee for grafting and transfer from worker cells into queen cell cups
   • Confirm an adequate number of nurse bees are present in cell raising colonies
   • Use a suitable method for cell production
2. Establish and monitor the queen mating process
   • Transfer ripe queen cells into the nucleus 10 to 11 days after grafting
   • Provide an adequate number of mature, well-nourished and genetically suitable drones during mating period
   • Record details of grafting and subsequent placement of cells into nucleus colonies
   • Record the age of the queen removed from mating colony

Range Statement

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Performance Evidence

The candidate must be assessed on their ability to integrate and apply the performance requirements of this unit in a workplace setting.

The candidate must provide evidence that they can:

select breeding stock or purchase breeder queen bee according to established breeding program criteria

graft larvae of a suitable age

assess and maintain nutrition and health of larvae and drones

manage the hive

handle bees

appropriately monitor the queen mating process

recognise diseases, pests and disorders and take appropriate action.

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Knowledge Evidence

The candidate must demonstrate knowledge of:

principles and practices of rearing queen bees

signs of brood and adult bee ill health sufficient to recognise diseases, pests and disorders and take appropriate action

storage requirements of queen bees

techniques and timing for queen cell production

optimum conditions are for re-queening

bee biology.

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