VIN EXOT101-0120: Honey Bees - Veterinary Medicine

The lectures for this course will be presented in an audio format using a webinar platform.

Enrollment is closed.
Presenter: Meghan Milbrath, PhD, MPH
Course Open: January 9-February 2, 2020
Real Time Sessions (RTS): Thursdays, January 16 and 23, 2020; 8:00-10:00 pm ET (USA)
Course RTS Times in Your Area: World Clock Converter

Level and Prerequisites: This basic course will be open to veterinarians and veterinary support staff interested in the basics of honey bees and working with beekeepers.
VIN CE Course: Open to veterinarians and veterinary support staff. This course is approved by RACE for veterinarians and veterinarian technicians/technologists. (RACE 22-38535)

Course Information:
This course will cover the basics of honey bees and working with beekeepers. Participants will learn honey bee biology, basic bee anatomy, and the function of the colony. Participants will gain an understanding of the beekeeping industry in the United States and will learn the basics about safely inspecting a honey bee hive.

Week 1 (Real Time Session January 16, 2020): Getting to Honey Bees and Beekeepers
Presenter: Meghan Milbrath, PhD, MPH
Format: Audio
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • Learn the truth about common honey bee myths
  • Describe honey bee anatomy
  • Identify key features of an individual honey bee
  • Describe the different types of beekeeping operations
  • Discuss major threats to beekeeping industry
  • Evaluate a VCPR for bees/beekeepers
Week 2 (Real Time Session January 23, 2020): Colony Biology and Hive Handling
Presenter: Meghan Milbrath, PhD, MPH
Format: Audio
Objectives: Upon completion of this session, the participant should be able to
  • Outline the basic life cycle of a honey bee colony
  • Define the caste members and their roles in a hive
  • Describe proper safety precautions for working with honey bees
  • Understand the basic guidelines for working with beekeepers
  • Identify common hive types and beekeeping equipment
  • Discuss the key basics about hive hygiene
  • List the common goals and steps of a hive inspection
Successful completion (scoring 80% or better) on the end-of-course test is required to earn a certificate of completion for the course. To learn more about the requirements for earning a CE certificate, please refer to Receiving Your CE Credit and Course Completion Certificate.

Course Materials: Course materials will be available in the course library prior to each Real Time Session.
Required Textbook(s): There is no required textbook for this course.

About the Presenter:
Meghan Milbrath has been keeping bees for over 20 years. She runs a beekeeping business in Munith, Michigan, where she keeps over 200 colonies and breeds queen bees. Dr. Milbrath works as an academic specialist at Michigan State University where she specializes in pollinator research and extension. Her academic focus is on transmission dynamics of environmentally acquired infectious diseases.

Total CE Credit: 4

Tuition: $92 ($83 early bird special if enrolled by December 26, 2019)
Prices are listed in US dollars.

*Enroll in 2 or more Honey Bee courses on the same day and receive a 15% discount.
  • EXOT101-0120: Honey Bees - Veterinary Medicine
  • EXOT105-0120: Honey Bees - Hive Management in Northern Climates
  • EXOT106-0220: Honey Bees - Splits and Swarms
  • EXOT104-0320: Honey Bees - Queen Biology
  • EXOT107-0420: Honey Bees - Managing Bacterial Disease
  • EXOT108-0720: Honey Bees - Managing Varroa Mites
*To ensure participants are ready and prepared for classes, enrollment will close on January 16, 2020 at 5 pm ET (USA) or when the maximum number of participants is reached.

*For more information on how online CE works, see the Participant Resource Center.

To Enroll:
  1. Enrollment qualifications: VIN CE courses are open to VIN member and non-member veterinarians. Veterinarians enrolling in a VSPN CE course must be a VIN member. Veterinary support staff must be a VSPN member to enroll in a VSPN CE or a VIN CE course open to VSPN member enrollment.
  2. Each enrollee must be able to receive emails from @vspn.org and @vin.com addresses. Email is our major form of communication with participants; personal emails are highly recommended rather than clinic/hospital email addresses.
  3. Each person is individually responsible for his/her own registration. To ensure that all information received is secure and correct, please do not enroll for a course on behalf of another individual.
  4. For further assistance call 800-846-0028 ext. 797 or email . Please include the course title, your full name, and contact information in your correspondence.
Enrollment is closed.

"This program (22-38535) is approved by the AAVSB RACE to offer a total of 4 CE Credits, with a maximum of 4 CE Credits being available to any individual veterinarian or veterinary technician/technologist. This RACE approval is for the subject matter categories of: Medical, using the delivery method of Interactive-Distance: (Web-based, Teleconference or Audio-Conference). This approval is valid in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB RACE; however, participants are responsible for ascertaining each board's CE requirements."

Course withdrawal and refund policy: A complete refund of the paid course price will be issued when your withdrawal request is received prior to the listed start date of the course. If you wish to withdraw after the start date please contact the VIN office 800-846-0028 ext. 797 to discuss eligibility for a pro-rated refund.

*For more information on VIN's upcoming CE courses, check the VIN Course Catalog.

Katherine James, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM)
VIN Education Director

VIN CE Services:
800-846-0028 or 530-756-4881; ext. 797
or direct line to VIN/VSPN from the United Kingdom: 01 45 222 6154
or direct line to VIN/VSPN from Australia: 02 6145 2357