Elements and Performance Criteria
- Establish breeding stock and obtain requirements for queen bee rearing
- Select and obtain queen bee breeding stock according to breeding program
- Identify health and safety hazards, risks and implement controls according to workplace requirements
- Select, fit and use personal protective equipment
- Select and safely use tools and equipment required to rear queen bees
- Confirm site quarantine and other biosecurity protocols and ensure that they are followed
- Assess condition of colonies and nurse bees and prepare queen cups with larvae
- Ensure hives and colonies used for queen bee and drone production are in a clean and healthy condition
- Select larvae from the breeder queen bee cells for grafting according to specification
- Select and prepare queen cups according to workplace procedures and production method
- Transfer larvae from worker cells into queen cell cups according to workplace procedures
- Ensure an adequate number of nurse bees are present in cell raising colonies
- Establish and monitor the queen mating process
- Transfer ripe queen cells into the nucleus after grafting according to workplace procedures
- Provide drones during mating period according to workplace standards and specifications
- Monitor and maintain hives in a healthy pest and disease free condition
- Maintain records of grafting and queen rearing activities according to workplace procedures
- Package queen bees for transport
- Select type of queen cage suitable for transport according to workplace procedures and method of production
- Capture mated queen bee and transfer to queen cage supported by young escort bees according to cage type and workplace procedures
- Ensure queen cage is stocked with food and secured for transport
- Prepare package with queen bee cage and contents according to transport method and according to workplace and transport company procedures