Course Syllabus

Below is a syllabus template that includes WSU's required syllabus elements. Please complete all items highlighted in yellow. 

 

Title of Course: Practical Beekeeping

Prefix and Number ENTOM 362

Semester and Year Spring 2026

Number of Credit Hours: 1 lab

Prerequisites ENTOM 361

Instructor Contact Information

Instructor Name: Rae Olsson, Ph.D.

Instructor Contact Information: FSHN 302F, rae.olsson@wsu.edu, 509-335-4526

Instructor Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:30 – 4pm, and by appointment

 

TA Name: [tbd]

TA Contact Information: [office location, phone, email]: [tbd]

TA Office Hours: [click here for best practices] [tbd]

 

Course Description

Learn the practical skills of beekeeping alongside state-of-the-art research and new and emerging technologies in apiculture. In this course, you will learn how to manage honey bee colonies through the season, how to diagnose and treat parasites and pathogens, and the basics of the business of beekeeping.

 

Course Materials 

Books: [N/A]

Other Materials: You will need to purchase a personal hive tool and beekeeping jacket or suit- estimated cost for both: $150.

Fees: [N/A]

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) [add more lines if necessary]
Course Learning Outcomes (students will be able to:)	Activities Supporting the Learning Outcomes	Assessment of the Learning Outcomes
Scientific communication: Effectively communicate the challenges facing honey bees through a variety of channels	Attend and present a short presentation via Zoom to a WA, ID, or OR beekeeping association meeting.	Presentation will be evaluated for scientific accuracy and appropriate language and topic for audience
Understand the complex relationships between honey bees and the threats to pollinators globally	Lectures, reading scientific papers, in-class activities	Reading assignments, in-class group activities, quizzes, exams
Draw inferences from peer-reviewed scientific papers on how new and emerging technologies are changing the landscape of modern beekeeping	Scientific paper discussions, governmental policy reviews and discussions, in-class activities	Reading assignments, in-class group activities, quizzes, exams
Describe a variety of honey bee pathogens and parasites, how to identify, and how to treat them	Lectures, diagnostic labs, in-hive diagnostics	Lab activities, lab quizzes, field-based quizzes and activities
Design experiments to answer questions about honey bee nutrition, or honey bee health	Lab-based feeding experiments, field-based assessments	Group experimental design and implementation
Understand the basic business of beekeeping	Guest lectures, tour of WSU honey bee research facility	Beekeeping business plan
Understand the care and management of bee colonies	Assigned honey bee colony, assessment of feeding, disease, treatment	Quizzes, colony management project

 

Course Schedule [Please note that a WSU semester is 15 weeks + Thanksgiving/Spring Break. The schedule below does not include the break.]
Dates	Lesson Topic	Assignment	Assessment
Week 1	Overview of beekeeping; introduction to beekeeping equipment and tools, safety in beekeeping	Hands on practice with hive manipulation	Create safety checklists, equipment maintenance quiz
Week 2	Review of honey bee life cycles, subspecies, overview of annual beekeeping season	Beekeeping calendar	Quiz
Week 3	Honey bee diseases: Nosema and malnutrition	Diagnostic microscopy	Nosema diagnosis
Week 4	Honey bee diseases: Varroa and other mites	Varroa, tracheal, and tropilaelaps mite diagnostics	Mite diagnosis
Week 5	Honey bee diseases: Bacterial & Fungal pathogens	American and European foulbrood, chalkbrood, and misdiagnosis	In hive diagnosis
Week 6	Honey bee predator and pest management	Begin site proposal, pest management plan, Varroa management decisions	Part 1: site proposal, part 1: beekeeping business management plan Using the Varroa decision tool
Week 7	Preparing for the beekeeping season, pesticides	Activities: creating beekeeping calendar, assembling hive components, pest management plan	Beekeeping calendar, pesticide management plan
Week 8	Selecting locations for hive placement	Phenology modeling and floral availability, legal requirements for hive placement	Site proposal
Week 9	Nucleus colonies and migratory beekeeping	Introducing nucleus colonies, compare and contract package bees and nucs	In-field nucleus colony introduction
Week 10	Queen rearing	Guest lecture, staged grafting practice	Quiz on queen rearing techniques and applications
Week 11	Brood cycles and honey bee development	Creative depiction of honey bee brood cycles or physiological development	Quiz, lab quiz with various stages of bee development
Week 12	The hive inspection	Full hive inspection	Practical quiz
Week 13	Honey bee nutrition and feeding	Basics of honey bee nutrition, Assess bee food stores, types of supplemental feeding, experiment acceptance of artificial diets	Experiment summary
Week 14	Honey extraction and grading	Honey grading following WSDA requirement	Honey tasting with grading quiz
Week 15	The business of beekeeping	Review seasonal expenses and assets of beekeeping at hobby, sideline, and commercial scales	Beekeeping business annual budget
Week 16 (finals week)	Final project presentation		Final project: Beekeeping business management plan

 

 

 

 

 

Expectations for Student Effort 

Students should expect to spend three (3) hours in class, and an additional 3-4 hours per week working on assignments and the final project. 

 

Grading 

Assignment Breakdown
Type of Assignment (tests, papers, etc)	Points	Percent of Overall Grade
Cumulative project	330	30
Assignments and in-class participation	550	50
Quizzes and exams	220	20

 

Grading Schema
Grade	Overall points earned	Grade	Overall points earned
A	930-1,000	C	730-760
A-	900-920	C-	700-720
B+	870-890	D+	670-690
B	830-860	D	630-660
B-	800-820	F	below 630
C+	770-790

Scores will be rounded to the nearest whole number. Lowest grade in each category (project, participation, exams and quizzes) will be dropped.

 

Attendance and Make-Up Policy 

Students should make all reasonable efforts to attend all class meetings. However, in the event a student is unable to attend a class, it is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor as soon as possible, explain the reason for the absence (and provide documentation, if appropriate), and make up class work missed within a reasonable amount of time. There will be a heavy emphasis on graded in-class activities, so missing class meetings may result in reducing the overall grade in the class.

 

 

Academic Integrity Statement

I encourage you to work with classmates on assignments. However, each student must turn in original work. No copying will be accepted. Students who violate WSU's Standards of Conduct for Students will receive an F as a final grade in this course. You are responsible for reading WSU's Academic Integrity Policy, which is based on Washington State law. If you cheat in your work in this class you will:

-Be asked to meet with me to discuss your work. Failure to attend this meeting will result in a report to the Center for Community Standards.

-Be reported to the Center for Community Standards

-Have the right to appeal my decision

-Not be able to drop the course or withdraw from the course until the appeals process is finished

If you have any questions about what you can and cannot do in this course, ask me.

If you want to ask for a change in my decision about academic integrity, use the form at the Center for Community Standards website. You must submit this request within 21 calendar days of the decision.

Use of AI Text Generators and Academic Integrity I recognize that AI generator tools are becoming more available and part of life. We want to address their use as tools, and how they may be used to complete your coursework. There will be instances where AI generators will be allowed, and I will clearly identify those instances during lectures and assignment descriptions. Use of AI Text Generators outside of those explicitly identified instances will be viewed as a violation of academic integrity. If you are unsure whether your use is allowed, please chat with me

AI Detection Policy

• If I suspect that you’ve used AI-generated text without sufficient revision and disclosure of its use, I will request a meeting with you to discuss your work
• If I identify a false reference or in-text citation, I will request that you submit a PDF of the original source
• Failure to meet with me will result in a report to the Center for Community Standards and initiation of the Academic Integrity Process

 

University Wide Policies for Protecting Student Rights and Providing Human Resource Services

“Students are responsible for reading and understanding all university-wide policies and resources pertaining to all courses (for instance: accommodations, care resources, policies on discrimination or harassment), which can be found in the university syllabus https://syllabus.wsu.edu/university-syllabus/).”  At the link, students will find information about…

• Disability Services and Reasonable Accommodations
• Accommodation of Religious Observances
• Discrimination and Harassment Policy (Lauren’s Promise)
• Severe Weather Policy
• Campus Safety and Emergency Notifications
• Student Support Services