Winter is the perfect time to learn about our bees, and the perfect time to set goals for ourselves and our beekeeping. The CSBA Master Beekeeper Certification Program is gearing up for a busy and educational summer. I am meeting this week with our web guy (have you seen our new web page?) about getting the MB program back up there.  First to appear will be our new Apprentice Level written exam which is based on “The Beekeepers Handbook” by Diana Sammataro.  It would be so fun to form a study group in your bee club and prepare for not only the exam, but also to be a better beekeeper. Topics include winter cluster behavior, indications of swarm preparation, robbing, flower fidelity, bee biology, and all those things about our bees that fascinate us. If you have been a beekeeper for two years, you qualify to take the exam, and after also passing the field exam, you graduate to the Journeyperson level. I have to admit, I thought it was pretty interesting just to see if I could pass the exams.

Beekeeping Merit Badges

For those of you who have already qualified to move on to the Journey Level, we’ll have Guided Studies on all kinds of topics like Feeding, Development of the Honey Bee, Pesticide Poisoning, Mites (of course!), Over-wintering, Queen Rearing. These studies are for you to work through on your own.  They will help you learn to research effectively, and help prepare you for the written and lab exams.   CSBA will sponsor and schedule classes this spring on these and other topics such as swarm prevention and increased honey production. We are still working on the budget, and we are looking for funding to help keep your involvement in the Master Beekeeper Certification Program much more affordable. Imagine if you really knew how to keep your bees healthy and happy, and the beekeepers around you all did, too.

Let’s get started!   Get your copy of “The Beekeepers Handbook”, start studying, and keep your eye on www.coloradobeekepers.org for more info coming soon.