Description
Hive Inspection 2-Part Class
Part 1: Sunday, April 13th, 6:30pm-8pm
Part 2: Sunday, April 27th, 6:30pm-8pm
Learn how to do a thorough inspection of your beehive and keep the bees calm!
This class builds a foundation of what to do and look for when inspecting your hive, including:
- 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
- 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 have the option of coming to an in-person hive inspection, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 3rd, 2pm-4pm. This will be an additional $30 & located in Berkeley/Oakland. 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 20+ years, and has developed the beekeeping education program at the Urban Farm 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.
