The Marion County Beekeepers Association is pleased to be holding a comprehensive Queen Rearing course that starting on March 7th, 2024.

This intermediate class is being offered to any beekeeper with at least 3 years apiary experience who is interested in gaining a better understanding of honey bee biology and learning queen rearing methods & techniques.

This course will consist of 3 classroom sessions providing comprehensive instruction. This will then be complemented with 6 apiary sessions of hands-on practical experience. 

Capped queen cells will be available for the students at the conclusion of the course.

Dates for the classes will be:

Classroom days    Apiary Days                                                                       

3/7/2024  6-9 pm 5/23/2024 - Set-up starter colony (1 hour)

3/14/2024 6-9 pm 5/29/2024 - Set-up Timing box for breeder queen (1 hour)

3/21/2024 6-9 pm 6/1/2024 - Prepare Starter Colony to receive grafts (1 hour) 

6/2/2024 - Grafting day (3 hours) 

6/4/2024 - Merge queen to finisher colony (1 hour) 

6/10 or 6/11 - Queen cells can be moved into mating nucs (1 hour)