Qualification details
Title
New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture (Level 4) (Queen Bee Rearing)
Version
1
Qualification type
Certificate
Level
4
Credits
45
NZSCED
050104
Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies > Agriculture >
Beekeeping
Qualification developer
Primary ITO
Next review
January 2018
Approval date
21 November 2013
Strategic purpose
statement
The purpose of this qualification is to provide the apiculture industry with
individuals who have the knowledge and skills to rear queen bees.
Learners will benefit by having a qualification within a training pathway that
recognises progression in the industry as well as increased skills and
knowledge to enable improved job performance.
The industry will benefit from having a supply of quality queen bees to ensure
genetic diversification to establish and restock existing and new hives. The
wider community (including parks and gardens) and New Zealand as a whole
will benefit from having a supply of queens bees to enable new or restocked
hives to operate effectively, and contribute to the supply of bees for pollination
which ensures the on-going supply of food sources.
Outcome Statement
Graduate
profile
Graduates of the qualification will be able to:

prepare a seasonal queen rearing management plan

implement a seasonal queen rearing management plan

manage compliance, and pest and disease risk throughout the queen
rearing process

maintain records of queen breeding, queen bee production, and
distribution to clients

analyse and formally recommend a business strategy to respond to client
and/or market needs for queen bees.
Education
pathway
This qualification can build on the New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture
(Level 4) [Ref: 2224].
Employment
pathway
Graduates of this certificate can work as queen bee rearers.
Qualification Reference 2225
© New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2013
Page 1 of 4
Qualification specifications
Qualification award
This qualification may be awarded by the Primary Industry Training
Organisation (Primary ITO) as the qualification developer and the
industry training organisation arranging training leading to the
qualification under section 5 of the Industry Training Act 1992.
This qualification may also be awarded by an education organisation
accredited under section 250 of the Education Act 1989 to deliver an
approved programme leading to this qualification.
The formal document certifying the award of this qualification will
display the NZQF logo and may also include the name and/or logo of
the awarding education organisation.
Evidence requirements for
managing consistency
All education organisations offering programmes leading to the
qualification must engage with arrangements for managing
consistency, including covering actual and reasonable related costs.
Each education organisation is responsible for deciding what specific
evidence it will provide to demonstrate how well its graduates meet
the graduate profile outcomes of the qualification.
Evidence of the following must be provided:
• Student feedback on course delivery and qualification achievement,
their perception of the value of the training, and suggestions for
improvements
• Feedback from employers on the level of skills, knowledge and
behaviour demonstrated by graduates of the qualification
• Evidence of effective internal quality assurance systems
• Portfolios of work and/or assessment samplesdemonstrating the
range of student performance within a programme
TEOs can also provide any other relevant evidence that supports the
consistency review.
Credit transfer and
recognition of prior learning
arrangements
Education organisations must have policies and procedures in place
for managing credit transfer, and assessing recognition of prior
learning and recognition of current competency. These policies and
procedures, and information about associated fees, must be available
to the candidate prior to enrolment.
To facilitate credit transfer, education organisations must clearly
demonstrate the equivalency or comparability between each of the
outcomes in the graduate profile, and the assessment components of
their programmes.
Minimum standard of
achievement and standards
for grade endorsements
The minimum standard of achievement required for award of the
qualification will be the achievement of all graduate outcomes in the
graduate profile through successful completion of an NZQA approved
programme.
Qualification Reference 2225
© New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2013
Page 2 of 4
Entry requirements
(including prerequisites to
meet regulatory body or
legislative requirements)
There are no mandatory prerequisites to meet regulatory body, or
legislative requirements for this qualification.
Qualification conditions
Overarching conditions relating to the qualification
Conditions for programme
structure
None.
Conditions for programme
context
It is expected that learners will work in a practical beekeeping
operation and be assessed throughout a beekeeping season to
achieve this qualification.
Other conditions
All programmes must be consistent with relevant compliance
requirements:

declarations – for example; registered beekeeper sign off

operation records – for example: hive locations

Biosecurity National American Foulbrood Pest Management Plan
Order 1998.
Graduates are expected to have completed an industry approved
American Foulbrood recognition and destruction course.
Specific conditions relating to the Graduate profile
Qualification
outcomes
Conditions
1
Programmes may include the following topics:
Prepare a
seasonal queen
rearing
management plan
Level
4

Queen and drone hive and mating behaviour

Hive location for queen rearing

Queen and drone life cycles and caste determination

Queen and drone anatomy and reproductive systems

Queen rearing impulses and pheromones.
Mandatory
or Optional
Credits 10
2
Implement a
seasonal queen
rearing
management plan
Level
4
Programmes may include the following topics:

Queen rearing equipment and techniques

Queen performance and selection

Methods for producing mated queens

Genetics

Stock selection and improvement
Qualification Reference 2225
© New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2013
Page 3 of 4
Credits 20
3
Manage
compliance, and
pest and disease
risk throughout
the queen rearing
process
Level

Bee breeding programmes

Instrumental (artificial) insemination

Swarming

Dividing and uniting hives

Nutrition and feeding for queen bees

Marking and caging queens.
Programmes may include the following topics:

Endemic pests and diseases and control methods

Queen and drone abnormalities and diseases

Nutritional requirements for queen bees as they relate
to pests and diseases.
4
Credits 5
4
Maintain records
of queen
breeding, queen
bee production,
and distribution to
clients
Level
4
Credits 5
5
Analyse and
formally
recommend a
business strategy
to respond to
client and/or
market needs for
queen bees
Level
Programmes may include topics covering the unique
requirements for queen bee rearing for a specific client or
market, including but not limited to:

logistics and administration of a QBR service

exporting live bees and queen bees

production and marketing of royal jelly.
4
Credits 5
Republication information
Version 1 of this qualification was republished In February 2015 to update the Evidence requirements for
managing consistency
Qualification Reference 2225
© New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2013
Page 4 of 4