Application
This unit of competency describes the skills and knowledge required to manipulate a honey bee hive to encourage the production, collection and storage of royal jelly.
The unit applies to beekeepers who work under broad direction to analyse information and complete a range of specialised beekeeping activities and who demonstrate a thorough understanding of the development of queens in hives and the production of royal jelly. They use discretion and judgement in the selection, allocation and use of available resources and to solve problems.
State and territory legislation, regulations and local government by-laws apply in some jurisdictions to beehive ownership and compliance with biosecurity codes of practice.
State and Territory food safety legislation, regulations and standards apply to royal jelly that is used in food for human consumption.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Elements | Performance Criteria |
Elements describe the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. |
1. Prepare to produce and harvest royal jelly | 1.1 Assess health and safety in the workplace hazards and risks associated with working with bees and apply appropriate control measures 1.2 Select, ensure serviceability, fit and use personal protective equipment 1.3 Assess hive for suitability for production of royal jelly 1.4 Prepare hive and introduce artificial queen bee cells 1.5 Graft bee larvae according to workplace procedures 1.6 Stimulate the colony into producing royal jelly 1.7 Ensure production equipment is clean and sanitised according to hygiene procedures |
2. Collect and store royal jelly | 2.1 Adhere to hygiene requirements according to food safety and workplace procedures 2.2 Ensure royal jelly collection and storage equipment is clean and sanitised according to hygiene procedures 2.3 Remove and discard larvae from queen cells ensuring no contamination of jelly 2.4 Harvest royal jelly from each cell according to workplace procedures 2.5 Prepare the royal jelly for storage according to workplace procedures 2.6 Place royal jelly into hygienic containers ensuring minimum exposure to contamination and refrigerate according to food safety procedures |
3. Finalise tasks | 3.1 Check, clean and store equipment according to workplace procedures and hygiene procedures 3.2 Update and maintain records according to workplace procedures and quality assurance procedures |
Foundation Skills
This section describes those language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills that are essential for performance in this unit of competency but are not explicit in the performance criteria.
Skill | Description |
Writing | Complete workplace documentation using appropriate terminology and in required format |
Navigate the world of work | Takes full responsibility for following policies, procedures and legislative requirements for safety, hygiene and storage requirements |
Get the work done | Accepts responsibility for planning and sequencing royal jelly production and harvesting, scheduling tasks and workload |
Sectors
Beekeeping (BEK)