Beekeeper

Job description

Primary Purpose:
Support Hawaiian Queen in the production of premium-quality queen bees and honey.
Essential Duties:
Work as a beekeeper, harvesting queen bees using prescribed techniques, stocking nucleus hives, and counting and storing queens harvested daily. Other duties include relocating beehives, harvesting honey and feeding and medicating bees.
Other Duties:
Assist in basic vehicle maintenance tasks.
Working Conditions:
All weather conditions inside and outside, sun or rain, heat and humidity. Employee will be exposed to bee stings.
Work Hours:
6:00-3:00pm Monday through Friday, some Saturdays.
Equipment Use:
Basic beekeeping equipment, including hive tools and smokers. Advanced beekeeping equipment used in grafting for queen bees.
Mental and Physical Demands:
Heavy lifting of 75 pounds unassisted
Communication Demands:
Strong verbal communication required between management and other employees. Good written communication is a plus.
Minimum Qualification Requirements for Hiring:
• Light and appropriately operate a smoker
• Identify different casts in the colony
• Open and examine a colony
• Properly manage the colony throughout the year
• Identify and take care of any issues that the colony encounters
• Make hive splits
• Re-queen colonies
• Identify and monitor pathogens that affect beehives
• Identify and build/assemble standard hive equipment
• Properly feed colonies if needed
• Prevent colony robbing
• Monitor for pathogens and pests
• Participate in honey extraction in honey house
• Valid driver license, clear driving record. Must be 18 years of age.
Skills/Knowledge:
• Identify and repair standard hive equipment
• Be able to drive a pick-up truck, stick shift and automatic
Experience:
• Must own/manage a minimum of one colony for at least one year prior to applying
• Must have at least 6 months verifiable work experience in beekeeping
• Must have read and understood The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture
Wages:
• All beekeepers will be paid not less than $16.54 per hour.
• Beekeepers may be eligible to receive up to $18 per hour if they:
o Have at least 2 years of verifiable work experience in beekeeping, or
o Demonstrate an ability to manage up to two colonies with light supervision and demonstrate strong verbal communication skills with managers and other employees.
• Beekeepers may be eligible to receive up to $20 per hour if they:
o Have at least 4 years of verifiable work experience in beekeeping, or
o Demonstrate an ability to manage up to three colonies with light and demonstrate strong verbal communication skills with managers and other employees.
• Beekeepers may be eligible to receive at least $22 per hour but not more than $25 per hour if they:
o Have at least 5 years of verifiable work experience in beekeeping;
o Have owned/managed a minimum of three colonies for at least two years prior to applying; and
o Can demonstrate the following qualification requirements:
Identify internal and external anatomy of all castes
Understand function of various structures of all castes
Understand in-depth aspects of honey bee queen biology
Understand and perform multiple queen rearing methods
Understand major hive pest biology
Implement various pest management strategy
Understand and apply various chemical treatments for hive pests
Understand and implement non-chemical methods of pest control, adopt
Hawaiian Queen system of controls

PLEASE SEE ADDENDUM C FOR ADDITIONAL JOB DESCRIPTION

Special Requirements

Minimum of (6) months experience required. Must be able to lift 75 lbs.