NOTE: this class will be in two parts:

Part 1: Sunday, May 21st, 7pm-8:30pm

Part 2: Sunday, June 4th, 7pm-8:30pm

Learn how to do a thorough inspection of your beehive and keep the bees calm!

Part 1 will cover:

• What NOT to do to make the bees defensive (& sting)
• What TO DO to keep the bees calm and mellow
• How to ID what’s in the hive: eggs, larvae, pollen, capped worker/drone brood, and uncapped/capped honey.
• All the tools and how to use them correctly

Part 2 will cover:

• Lighting your smoker so it stays lit
• What to do if you get stung
• Your goals when inspecting (what you are doing/assessing)
• Taking notes on your inspections

Video of inspecting will be shown in class, plus you will get links to additional inspecting video.

IN-PERSON HIVE INSPECTION: For people who take this class, there will be in-person inspection classes scheduled at the end of May and beginning of June for an extra fee. You’ll get to identify what’s in the hive, see how the tools are used, and observe bee behavior (calm vs. defensive).

RECORDINGS: You will get both video and audio recordings after the class, so you can rewatch in months to come.

NEW BEEKEEPER? We recommend you take this class along with the Intro to Backyard Beekeeping (April) and the Year Round Varroa Mite Mgmt (May/June) classes. You will also want to take Preparing Your Hive for Winter (August) and Harvesting Honey (Sept).

Instructor: Jennifer Radtke has been keeping bees in her backyard for 18+ years, and has developed the beekeeping education program at the BioFuel Oasis. She has a yearly bee mentorship program through her business Learn from the Bees. She’s kept bees in Oakland, Berkeley, Orinda, Piedmont, El Sobrante, and Minnesota. She pays close attention to her bees and is constantly learning. When she gets stung or riles up her bees, she adds it to knowledge base of things not to do in the future.