A colony move can evidence planning, securing and ventilating the colony, safe handling, siting and biosecurity.

Potential competency links
C2 · BiosecurityC10 · Establishing, increasing, uniting and moving coloniesC13 · Apiary management and safe workingC15 · Reflective, responsible and evidence-led practice

Potential is important: completing an activity does not automatically prove every linked KSB. The assessor credits only what the submitted evidence genuinely demonstrates.

What good evidence might look like

The strongest evidence usually shows a sequence: observe → interpret → decide → act → record → review. Depending on the activity, useful evidence could include:

  • reason and plan for the move
  • route and timing
  • securing and ventilation
  • safe lifting and transport
  • new-site setup
  • post-move check

Before you start

The learner and mentor should agree the purpose of the activity, what the learner is expected to do independently, which competency areas may naturally arise and what evidence is practical to capture without compromising safe bee handling.

During the activity

Evidence should capture real practice. The mentor can ask developmental questions such as: What are you seeing? What does that tell you? What do you think we should do, and why? The mentor should support the learner rather than supply the answers or perform the task on their behalf.

After the activity

The learner should record what happened, reflect on what they learned, identify what they would do differently and plan any follow-up evidence. The mentor can add a short comment about independence, prompting and areas to practise next.

Common gaps to avoid

  • no ventilation or heat-risk planning
  • unsafe lifting
  • no consideration of bees returning to the old site
  • no post-move check
Evidence guidance is not a recipe. Beekeeping decisions depend on colony condition, season, weather, local forage, disease risk and current official guidance. The purpose of the guide is to help learners recognise evidence opportunities, not to force a particular manipulation.