Hands-On In-Hive Courses

While our online virtual classes allow beekeepers like you to learn about bees from the comfort of your own home, what's missing from those classes is a chance to get up-close and personal with honey bees under the supervision of an experienced instructor. Betterbee's in-hive workshops, tailored for early-stage beekeepers as well as "wanna-bees" who don't own bees yet, are a great way to get into a hive in-person to build experience!

These outdoor courses are weather-dependent. Should it be a washout, we will contact you to reschedule. Nobody (especially the bees) likes working a hive in the rain!

We are offering the following in-hive courses:

• In-Hive Basic Inspection Workshop: In this 2-hour workshop (with additional time at the end for Q&A), we will start by reviewing protective gear and lighting your smoker, then we'll move to Betterbee's on-site teaching apiary to inspect the colonies there. We'll cover what to look for during an inspection, varroa mite monitoring techniques (weighing the pros and cons of some options), and we'll end with a Q&A session outside the bee yard. Our instructor will be there to answer questions and offer advice throughout the workshop. This can be thought of as the "hands-on lab portion" of our beginner-oriented Core Bee and Core Bee Plus courses. You don't have to have taken one of those courses to take this workshop, though we think both are helpful!

Plan to bring:

• Your own protective clothing (jacket, suit, or veil)
• Water and a snack

For the sake of safety, we cannot allow anyone to work with the bees unless you are wearing a suitable beekeeping veil.

For use during the class, we will provide:

• Nitrile gloves for hand protection
• Hive tools
• Smokers and fuel
• On-site portable toilet for your use