ZBees liquid gold... fresh from the colonies!

Lifetime member of the North Carolina Beekeepers Association

HCC - Beekeeping 2024 Courses

ZBees Apiary and Haywood Community College have partnered together to offer courses on Backyard Beekeeping


Backyard Beekeeping is a fun and intensive 15-week course designed for those individuals who are seriously interested in becoming beekeepers and maintaining a honey bee apiary. Prior knowledge about honeybees not required! Subjects covered will include the science of apiculture, types of honey bees, purchasing bees, equipment, protective clothing, and the importance of honey bees to the environment. In addition, students will receive practical experience with building and setting up beehives, managing an apiary, controlling hive pests or diseases, and preparing for the NC State Beekeepers certification test. Finally, students will also document hive inspections, analyze honey, estimate hive populations, and how to prepare colonies for winter.

During this course of the class will study topics from apiculture to beekeepers in the community as they learn about various honey bee varieties and characteristics. Colony inspections will bee conducted within the apiary, giving students hands-on experience in managing and inspecting honey bee colonies. The course is designed to help new beekeepers develop an Apiary Management Plan (AMP), so there colonies can survive the first winter.

BE AWARE, if you have any “bee allergies” then, this course IS NOT RECOMMENDED for you. Exposure to live honey bees is part of being a beekeeper and you will most likely get stung during the colony inspections.

Left to Right: Allen, Denise, Kristina, Shelley, Tina, Barbara, Erika, Emily

(missing) Ricky

Back row: Zach, Continuing Arts Bee Instructor

Allen Blanton (left) is the Haywood County Beekeepers Chapter, Education Coordinator

HCC Backyard Beekeeping - SPRING 2023 Class

Brunch Celebration

Honey bees exercising their wings.


Haywood Community College

Backyard Beekeeping

SPRING 2024

(CSP 4000-24841)

15 weeks of intensive study about honey bees.

Friday Mornings 9 AM - 12 PM March 1 to June 14 Classes

Sign up for this course