Typical tasks and duties

Apiarist may perform the following tasks:

• build or put together parts of ready-made beehives
• treat and paint beehive parts to prevent wood rot
• negotiate with property owners and government agencies for sites on which to keep their bees
• transport hives to sites that have been assessed for honey or pollen production potential
• insert sheets of wax stamped with a honeycomb imprint into frames to be placed into hives
• remove honeycomb from the hive and extract honey
• look after and repair beehives and honey-extracting equipment
• control bee diseases, pests and parasites in working hives
• re-queen colonies and raise queen bees for their own use or sale
• negotiate with farmers to provide pollination services in the growing of nut, fruit, seed and vegetable crops
• process and clean beeswax
• package and sell honey, pollen, propolis and beeswax.
• Qualification(s) assessed at AQF Bachelor degree or higher degree with a highly relevant field of study and at least one year of post-qualification highly relevant employment in the last five years; Or