Requirements

Apprentice Beekeeper Requirements

  1. must be a Texas registered beekeeper or a registered beekeeper in home state, registered either individually or as a member of a family.  Click here to register as a Texas beekeeper.
  2. must own at least one colony of honey bees for at least one full year.
  3. must score a 70% or higher on a written examination. The written test can include, but is not limited to: materials covered during previous Texas Beekeepers Association Conference lectures; information on the Texas Apiary Inspection Service website (http://txbeeinspection.tamu.edu/); information found on the African Bee Extension and Education Program website (https://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/honey-bee/extension/beekeeper-resources/african-bees/); and materials from books/other literature on the Apprentice Beekeeper reading list.
  4. must score 70% or higher on a practical examination. The practical examination can include but is not limited to describing the physical parts of a beehive (common terms, not regional nomenclature); lighting and properly using a smoker; recognizing the various stages of brood, different castes of bees, and finding or at least describing the queen; differentiating between brood, pollen, and capped honey; recognizing propolis and describing its functions; describing the layout of a brood nest (placement of honey, pollen, and brood), etc.

Reading List

Apprentice Level Study Guide

Books:

  1. The Beekeeper’s Handbook, Edition 4 or 5 – Diana Sammataro and Alphonse Avitabile (2011)
  2. First Lessons in Beekeeping – Keith Delaplane (2007)
  3. The Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition – Kim Flottum (2018)
  4. Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping, 2nd Edition – Dewey Caron (2013)

Periodicals:

  1. American Bee Journal
  2. Bee Culture

Websites:

  1. All “honey bee” entries (search for “honey bee”) at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/
  2. Texas Apiary Inspection Service: http://txbeeinspection.tamu.edu/
  3. The University of Florida AFBEE: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/honey-bee/beekeeper-resources/african-bees/
  4. Bee Informed Partnership: https://beeinformed.org/
  5. eXtension: America’s Research-based Learning Network: https://bee-health.extension.org/
  6. Honey Bee Health Coalition: http://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/Varroa/

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