What's on

Please note if you are planning a beekeeping event and you want details to appear in this column it is important that you send information to the Editor of the Newsletter well in advance of the planned date.

ARGENTINA

Curso internacional de technologia de la produccion y procesamiento de la miel de abeja.

3-15 April 1989, La Plata.

An international course on the technology of honey production and processing organised by Instituto Privado de Tecnologia y Ensenanza Apicola (IPTEA) for post- graduate level students, oriented towards agronomists and allied workers. Much emphasis will be given to product analysis and marketing. Accommodation will be available at Gandara, Buenos Aires.

Further information from: Secretaria del Instituto, Argentina.

BRAZIL

XXXII International Beekeeping Congress, Apimondia.

22-28 October 1989, Rio de Janeiro.

Further details to be announced.

BURKINA FASO

Agricultural Alternatives and Nutritional Self-Sufficiency.

2-5 January 1989, Ouagadougou.

This seventh International IFOAM Conference will deal with specific problems of agricultural developmental work related to theoretical and practical approaches of agroforestry.

Further details from: IFOAM Conference, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Burkina Faso.

USA

International Beekeeping Seminar IX.

17-28 July 1989.

Further details from: International Programs, Agricultural Technical Institute, Ohio, USA.

Beekeeping Courses

FRANCE

University diploma in tropical beekeeping. A six month course, in the French language.

Further information from: Directrice de la Station Biologique des Eyzies, Université Paris, France.

ISRAEL

International course on beekeeping and extension.

April - June 1988.

This two month course involved lectures, laboratory work and field trips. The course was designed to enable participants to make improvements in beekeeping in their home countries and to be skilled in extending knowledge to beekeepers.

For details: Centre for International Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Israel.

TANZANIA

The Tabora Beekeeping Training Institute offers the following two courses:

Certificate Course

Admission requirements for this course are: a general certificate of education at ordinary level or its equivalent with credit in biology and passes in any other two science subjects.

Diploma course

Admission requirements are either a certificate in beekeeping plus field experience or a general certificate of education at advanced level or its equivalent with a principal pass in biology and two subsidiaries in any other science subjects.

Both courses run from July of every applications for certificates and diploma courses from outstanding candidates all over the world. Applicants must have qualifications equivalent to those mentioned above.

Further details from: The Principal Secretary, Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Tourism, Tanzania or The Principal, Beekeeping Training Institute, Tanzania.

UK

Diploma in Apicuiture Course at University of Wales College in Cardiff

by Evert Jan Robberts, Diploma student from the Netherlands

The beekeeping diploma course started this year with 10 students from all parts of the world. From Africa there are students from Tanzania, Malawi and Sudan. Other students come from Turkey (2), Pakistan, Indonesia, Mexico, Portugal and the Netherlands. This international gathering of students is typical of the course. Being a diploma student requires a lot of time following lectures from (mostly) two of the main tutors of the course, namely Dr Robert Paxton, who is in charge of the overall co-ordination and Professor Robert Pickard, who is Head of the Bee Research Unit of which the course is a part.

The first term, which just ended prior to the appearance of this Newsletter, is mainly occupied by lectures related to bee biology such as evolution, ecology, pathology, anatomy, as well as behaviour and physiology. Furthermore, all students have required to give a short talk on beekeeping in their own country which at the end gives a clear insight of how beekeeping is carried out in different parts of the world.

Interesting also have the additional lectures and seminars by guest speakers coming from different institutions within Britain to give a talk on their field of research such as bee venom, pheromones, chalkboard disease, annual management of bees in temperate climates or the preservation and pinning of insects. At first such a large variety of topics might seem confusing and disordered but this certainly will be levelled off as the time passes by. And time does pass by rather fast in such a course which is actually only focused on one insect but with so many ways in which each topic can be approached it is never boring.

After all, Cardiff is one of the few places in the world where nearly all information on beekeeping is gathered, stored and disseminated. This gives an extra dimension to being a student of this international course. For instance, before and after the Cairo Conference some of the delegates were passing through Cardiff and on such occasions these people are invited to give a talk on their field of work which ranged from beekeeping in Nepal, Apis cerana beekeeping in India and the migrating behaviour of Africanized bees in Mexico.

It is the presence of IGRA that makes this course a unique opportunity to study bees and beekeeping. The facilities at the IBRA office are excellent. Alt aspects on beekeeping are expertly kept in order and it only takes a short notice to come up with any article that has the word bee in it!

With the Christmas vacation starting, we can now relay and refresh the mind before the second term starts at the beginning of January. This wilt begin with seminars on all bee products and then move to management. To top off the period of lectures, a short European tour will take us to different institutions and enterprises in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and either Denmark or France to obtain an overview of what is being done outside Britain in the field of beekeeping. By that time, we will have visited British honey shows, breeding stations (the world famous Brother Adam at Buckfast Abbey), research stations and commercial enterprises.

The last term will be spent on fieldwork and writing a thesis on the research project that we are each required to undertake. These projects range from pollen identification of tropical plants to sWarming behaviour in temperate climates, depending on the interest of the student.

If you have interested in joining the Diploma course contact Professor R S Pickard, Bee Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Wales College Cardiff.