# More ... > Beekeeper education >  Module 5

## Neils

oooo blimey. I can see why this one has the lowest pass rate.

I'm starting to wonder whether trying to do Module 2 and 5 in March might be biting off more than I can chew.

Having done 1 and 3 so far I'm starting to think I might just have the "easy" ones out of the way.

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## Neils

On a more serious note, I borrowed a "proper" copy Of Snodgrass' 'Anatomy of a honey bee' given that most of the copies that seem to be available on amazon are reviewed as bad quality scanned reprints of the original.  But from 1923 it's a little out of date.

I saw a few people this evening with a bee craft book that looks a little more up to date, but are there any other recommendations of decent books covering Honey Bee anatomy and general biology?

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## Mellifera Crofter

> ... are there any other recommendations of decent books covering Honey Bee anatomy and general biology?


I received my two Celia Davis books yesterday, and I think both of them look really good: The Honey Bee Inside Out, and The Honey Bee Around and About.

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## susbees

N...did you see the forumer elsewhere on our interforal wanderings who has signed up for four in March before he read the syllabuses!?
7 is a slow one for me - doing it with 2.....
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

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## Neils

Blimey, wouldn't want to try 3 in one go let alone 4. 5 is supposed to be the hardest so I'm wondering if I should can trying module 2 in march given it'll be 18 months before I can try 5 again if I fail it.

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## susbees

I'm not sure it will be 18 months. I pointed out to Margaret Thomas at the NHS that it was quite possible with this new system of A, B, then B, A modules to have to wait 18 months just to do 8 at the end as it must be done last (and ignoring the argument of doing the practical exams in the gap)...and she said the system was open to review. So I expect it will be. Aside from marking my OH who sets professional exams as part of wot he duz reckons that setting two sets at one go for two sessions a year really wouldn't be too much more work: and would reduce the need to find extra markers by splitting the load. With so many having done the Basic in 2011 there will likely be a huge uptake of Mod 1 this year, but we'll see on the rest.

And as we're guests here :Embarrassment: ...is the Scottish system that different (I know the Welsh one is and although our honey is Welsh we chose the English system). Is there much uptake on your first practical exam with the surge in beekeepers?

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## EmsE

Hi Susbees, we have the same syllabus, exam papers and time table etc. to that of the BBKA. I think the only difference is that the SBA assess our exams and issue the certificates.

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## Neils

That's my understanding having asked someone in the BBKA. There was a question as to whether the BBKA would accept SBA certificates when it came to issuing the wider awards. i.e. if you had BBKA modules 1,3&5 it's not clear that if you turned up with an SBA module 2 certificate whether they'd award you the intermediate theory certificate.  But in terms of syllabus etc they're identical.

I'll try and dig up some info more pertinent to the SBA board/timetables.

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## susbees

Main thing is we can help each other on this forum to mutual benefit  :Smile:

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## Neils

Absolutely.

As a slight aside, I think that by and large it is a good thing(tm) that the two association's education programmes are aligned. While it may be prudent to empahsise some areas over others in some areas, this is a pretty small island all things considered.

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## Neils

Found this on my travels this evening  http://honeybee.drawwing.org

Contains lots of illustrations and a few photos of honey bee anatomy (and a few other things besides).

Lots of stuff along this sort of line:



Mouthparts:


Funnily enough it's gone straight in my bookmarks.

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## gavin

Very nice.  The site has changed a lot since I was last there.

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## Rosie

I'm familiar with Tofilski's other site http://www.drawwing.org  which has almost the same address.  I wonder if you are getting the 2 sites mixed up Gavin.  Thanks Nellie for pointing out the new one.

Steve

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## Neils

I did wonder when I saw the address whether it was related to drawwing but it was getting late so I didn't dig any further.

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## Jon

It's getting near to that morphometry time of year.
I can hear the gentle murmuring of all the nerds and trainspotters.

I have the progeny of about 30 new queens to check.

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## gavin

Mars Inc best ramp up production for the coming season.

Yup, I was mixing the two sites.  Befuddled again.

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## Easy beesy

Our study group is run by a retired RBI and one of his favourite sayings is mod 3 & 5 really should be studied together so that it all ties in.  He reckons they're easier to grasp if you know which bits which diseases affect. 

Cx

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## Black Comb

I passed mod 5 in March and it is hard, esp. if like me you have no scientific background.
I find Snodgrass of little use. All the drawings are on a different page then you have to refer to a third page for the legend.
I used Dade, Yates (latest edition) Davis (very good) and Mark Winston's "The Biology of the Honeybee" which I also think is good. If you really want to push the boat out Lesley Goodman's "Form and Function in the Honeybee" is nice.
I also picked up a new book at the honey show called "Understanding Bee Anatomy" by Ian Stell. Some very good coloured illustrations.
With the chance to take exams twice per year I only take one per session. I find the higher the number the harder they are.
I thought the Mod 5 paper in March was particularly difficult.
I thought the Bucks notes were a bit weak for Mod 5.

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## EmsE

Thanks for the book references BC. I've been looking online for info on the Digestive system & besides diagrams, there's not much that tells you what each part does unless I'm missing them. This could be more a book based module?

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## Neils

Had a look through Understanding Bee Anatomy the other night (deliberately linking to IBRA rather than amazon, it costs the same but the proceeds got to bee research rather than tax avoidance  :Wink: ). Looks ideal for module 5 revision and fascinating even if not.

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## Black Comb

I've done a Microscopy dissection course recently. I wish I had done this along with Mod 5 as it really helps to understand those 2D drawings of 3D objects.

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## Mellifera Crofter

> ... I also picked up a new book at the honey show called "Understanding Bee Anatomy" by Ian Stell. Some very good coloured illustrations. ...


Ian Stell also has an interesting website (here).  (I mentioned it some time ago in 'Favourite links'.)
Kitta

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## Mellifera Crofter

I also recently bought 'Bee' by Rose-Lynn Fisher with beautiful photographs of the outside of the bee magnified massively.
Kitta

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## Black Comb

Great site. Thanks MC.

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## Neils

The book's arrived. IBRA get a thumbs up from me on that front and I have a warm feeling for not giving my cash to amazon.

I've only had a quick flick through but it looks an excellent book, the illustrations are amazing and on that front the website is a good indicator of the structure and content of the book. Also, unusually, it's first published in 2012 so about as up to date as you can get.

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