25899 version 1
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Describe honey bees, beehives, bee stings, bee diseases, and honey
harvesting and processing
Level
2
Credits
2
Purpose
People credited with this unit standard are able to describe: honey bees and
their life cycle; the functions and life expectancy of honey bees, the ways in
which they identify flowers, and the consequences of honey bees drifting to
other hives; the signs of a person stung by a bee, precautions to avoid bee
stings, and procedures for bee sting removal; the major components, and the
location of the bee space, in a beehive; American foulbrood (AFB) and the
prevalence of varroa mite in New Zealand beehives; and honey harvesting
and processing.
Subfield
Agriculture
Domain
Apiculture
Status
Registered
Status date
21 August 2009
Date version published
21 August 2009
Planned review date
31 December 2014
Entry information
Open.
Accreditation
Evaluation of documentation by NZQA and industry.
Standard setting body (SSB)
Primary Industry Training Organisation
Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP) reference
0052
This AMAP can be accessed at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/search/index.do.
Special notes
References
Matheson, Andrew Practical Beekeeping in New Zealand (Wellington, NZ: Government
Printer, 1997), p145.
Blackiston, Howland Beekeeping for Dummies (United States: John Wiley and Sons Ltd,
2002).
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
25899 version 1
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Elements and performance criteria
Element 1
Describe honey bees and their life cycle.
Performance criteria
1.1
Honey bees are described in terms of the Latin or scientific names of common
subspecies present in New Zealand.
Range
evidence is required for at least three subspecies.
1.2
Honey bees are described in terms of their anatomical features and the purpose
of each anatomical feature.
1.3
Honey bees are described in terms of their life cycle.
Element 2
Describe the functions and life expectancy of honey bees, the ways in which they identify
flowers, and the consequences of honey bees drifting to other hives.
Performance criteria
2.1
Honey bees are described in terms of the functions and life expectancy of each
of the castes or classes found in a beehive.
Range
queen bee, drone, worker bee.
2.2
The floral characteristics that bees use to identify flowers are identified.
2.3
The drifting of honey bees to other hives is described in terms of the
consequences for disease spread and beehive strength.
Element 3
Describe the signs of a person stung by a bee, precautions to avoid bee stings, and
procedures for bee sting removal.
Performance criteria
3.1
Bee stings are described in terms of the signs of a person suffering
anaphylactic shock, and the precautions to take when checking bees in the field
to avoid bee stings.
Range
3.2
includes but is not limited to – wearing protective clothing, use of a
smoker, hive manipulation to prevent squashing bees, stance
when opening beehives.
Bee stings are described in terms of the procedures for their effective removal.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
25899 version 1
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Element 4
Describe the major components, and the location of bee space, in a beehive.
Performance criteria
4.1
The beehive is described in terms of the make up of its major components.
Range
4.2
includes but is not limited to – frame, lid, inner cover, honey super,
queen excluder, brood box, bottom board or base.
The beehive is described in terms of the location of the bee space.
Element 5
Describe AFB and the prevalence of varroa mite in New Zealand beehives.
Performance criteria
5.1
AFB is described in terms of the causative agent, tests to determine its
presence, and symptoms in the brood of a frame.
5.2
Varroa mite is described in terms of its prevalence in New Zealand beehives.
Element 6
Describe honey harvesting and processing.
Performance criteria
6.1
Honey harvesting is described in terms of the methods of removing honey.
Range
6.2
evidence is required for at least three methods.
Honey processing is described in terms of the stages in the honey house.
Please note
Providers must be accredited by NZQA, or an inter-institutional body with delegated
authority for quality assurance, before they can report credits from assessment against
unit standards or deliver courses of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be accredited by NZQA before they can register
credits from assessment against unit standards.
Accredited providers and Industry Training Organisations assessing against unit standards
must engage with the moderation system that applies to those standards.
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25899 version 1
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Accreditation requirements and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this
standard are outlined in the Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP). The
AMAP also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations
wishing to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for
tutors and assessors, and special resource requirements.
Comments on this unit standard
Please contact the Primary Industry Training Organisation standards@primaryito.ac.nz if
you wish to suggest changes to the content of this unit standard.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016