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BBKA Module 2 Honey Bee Products and Forage

• This is a brief summary of what is included in the exam.
• You could just use the syllabus to show you waht you could learn.
• The exam is written only - there is no practical component.
• The exams are held as written exams or online assessments.
• There is no need to take the exam. Exams are not for all of us.
• The complete exam syllabus is available here.
• The exam syllabus you will be using has "Applicable from January 2023" at the top.
• There are past papers so you can see what you are missing!
• Be aware that the syllbus changed very recently.

The exam covers the following subject areas:

• Current Honey Regulations
• Managing colonies for honey production.
• Extracting honey:
  • Uncapping honey comb and separate cappings from honey.
  • Types of extractor and their use
  • Special consideration of Ling/Heather honey.
  • Straining and settling honey
  • Storage of honey.
  • Preparation and packaging of:
    • Cut Comb Honey
    • Chunk Honey
• The honey itself:
  • Knowledge of naturally granulated, soft set and seeded honeys
  • Factors affecting granulation - including work of E.Dyce.
  • Major constituents of honey and their proportions.
  • Spoilage of honey.
  • How bees make honey from nectar.
  • How to determine the moisture content.
  • Physical properties of honey including:
    • Relative Density
    • Viscosity
    • Hygroscopicity
    • Electrical Conductivity
    • Effect of heat on storage
    • Effect of age on storage
• Preparing honey in its various forms for the show bench
• Knowledge of the use of honey in wound care
• What are the judges looking for at the show bench?
• The history of the National Honey Show including its purpose and benefits.

Other apiary products:

• Beeswax, pollen, Royal Jelly, venom and propolis
  • The main constituents of wax
  • Range of uses and preparation
  • What are the judges looking for at the show bench?

Ten major pollen or nectar producing plants in the UK

• Their location.
• Their flowering period

Knowledge of pollination:

• Structure of the flower.
• Process of pollination and fertilisation
• Importance of nectar guides
• How bees know not to revisit a fertilised flower.
• Importance of cross pollination
• Extra-floral nectaries
• Identifying pollen
• Composition of nectar and its constituents
• Factors affecting nectar secretion

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