Mod 2

[Dave /Oscroft]

What books to buy or borrow to study for mod 2 any ideas ?

Dave W

 

[itma]

Apart from Yates (2012) on 1,2 & 3?

// Not the old one on 1,2,3 & 4 ...

 

[MuswellMetro]

ADMIN, this might be better in online education resouces rather than media

well I assume you have seen the book list if not it is below, suggest Yates volune 1 2, & 3 ( but not a fan) as it directs you to the right areas

the revised edition of Plants and Bees (£25) IBRA is worth having even if you are not doing module 2 , see photo

also good is

Plants and Honey Bees Their Relationships by David Aston and Sally Bucknall

But a book about extraction and treatment of honey is the problem

so over to others to suggest a honey book


Module 2 Booklist

Beekeeping Study Notes for the BBKA Examinations in 6 volumes J.D. & B.D. Yates BBNO
Beeswax (1984) W.Coggeshall & R.Morse Wicwas Press
Beeswax (1995) R. Brown BBNO
Crop Pollination by Bees Delaplane and Mayer CABI Publishing
Guide for Judges & Exhibitors of Honey & Bee Products Examinations Board BBKA
HMSO leaflets on honey, honey regulations & food safety HMSO -FSA
Medical Aspects of Beekeeping (2000) Dr H Riches NBB
National Honey Show Leaflets (Various) N.H.S.
Oil Seed Rape and Bees Allan Calder NBB
Plants and Honey Bees (2004) An Introduction to their relationships David Aston & Sally Bucknall NBB
Plants for Bees WDJ Kirk & FN Howes IBRA
*A Book of Honey (1980) E. Crane Oxford U.P.
*Plants & Beekeeping (1979) F N Howes Faber
*The Hive and the Honeybee (1992) J. Graham (Ed.) Dadant & Sons

 

[clv101]

Apart from Yates (2012) on 1,2 & 3?

How would you rate the new Yates book? The two reviews on Amazon aren't glowing. I'm thinking to taking a couple of modules next year.

 

[MuswellMetro]

How would you rate the new Yates book? The two reviews on Amazon aren't glowing. I'm thinking to taking a couple of modules next year.

One of the reveiws on amazon is mine

look, you need yates green book , it is the only reference book that covers all the syllabus but sometimes, he misses the subject or argues about the syllabus rather than answer the question but you need it, just dont realy on 100% read around the subject

, if we take for example module 2 syllabus 2.24 a list of floral sources of unpalatable honey, most of his text on this is saying what's wrong with the wording and that unpalatable to one person is no unpalatable to another rather than give information
Module 6 and 3 have their problems as well

Have you looked at the mid buckingahshire BKA downloads pdf files, good as a general check list http://blog.mbbka.org.uk/category/education/bbka-module-2/

certain recent questions set in the module exams have been in areas that yates has got it wrong or very sparce " 2.29 an outline account of the determination of the floral source(s) and geographic origin of honey by analysis of its pollen content and the use of such information in the enforcement of regulations governing the labelling of honey offered for sale and Module 6 6.20 the effects of pathogens, parasites and pests on bee behaviour; His list behavoiur is off the wall compared to the workshop on module 6 at the National Honey Show

Also the recently revised Orange book Volume modules 5-8 in a few places referes you back to his text in Module 4 in Volume 1, and module 4 is ommited from the new revised Volume 1 and the BBKA exams

And lets not talk about the purple Book, as i might have a seizure

 

[Black Comb]

Ted Hooper has some good info. on honey processing.
It's on the general list so applies to all modules.

I agree with MM about Yates.

 

[clv101]

Have you looked at the mid buckingahshire BKA downloads pdf files, good as a general check list http://blog.mbbka.org.uk/category/education/bbka-module-2/

Their notes look excellent - and great value for money! ~£30 is a lot more than free, hard splash out on Yates when so much good info is available for free (I already have Hooper and Dade).

But as you say, being tailored to the syllabus is important even if it's not perfect.

 

[MuswellMetro]

Their notes look excellent - and great value for money! ~£30 is a lot more than free, hard splash out on Yates when so much good info is available for free (I already have Hooper and Dade).

But as you say, being tailored to the syllabus is important even if it's not perfect.

If you knew all in the mid bucks , you would pass, but don't expect to get a Distinction you would need to read around and get stuff of the internet

 

[itma]

The Yates's do have a certain style - which some find a hurdle.

I think their study notes are definitely useful, but they don't supply all the answers.
Usually* they do a pretty good job of indicating (for each and every section of the syllabus) what the section is about, so you can try to find other ideas about that topic.
However, there are various 2014 syllabus updates that (naturally enough) aren't mentioned.
I have the impression that Mod 2 is the weakest section of the "Green Book" - and it is worth remembering that they certainly aren't infallible. I note that the 2012 edition still insists that honey must only be sold in specific quantities - which was abolished in 2009.


// * As MM notes, they do occasionally go off on a rant - but the important thing is that the organisation of the book is strictly according to the numbered sections of the syllabus (as it was at the time of writing).

 

[itma]

The Mid-Bucks notes are a great starting point, but they are a couple of revisions behind the syllabus changes, and to nitpick, they could do to have someone check the editing ...
But nevertheless, a fantastic free resource.

 

[MuswellMetro]

2;10 is very sparce,

:2009 question

Describe the procedure to determine the overall moisture content of liquid honey using one of the instruments (refractomer) 5 points

almost nothing in Yates as to how you use a refractometer just that you use it to test water content

 

[clv101]

Sounds like what we really need is a publicly generated errata, additional content for Yates!

 

[susbees]

It is quite possible to do just fine in the Modules avoiding Yates altogether. Just saying

 

[DanBee]

2;10 is very sparce,

:2009 question

Describe the procedure to determine the overall moisture content of liquid honey using one of the instruments (refractomer) 5 points

almost nothing in Yates as to how you use a refractometer just that you use it to test water content

What happened to actually doing some of this stuff? Has nobody in your association got a refractometer you could borrow?

 

[MuswellMetro]

What happened to actually doing some of this stuff? Has nobody in your association got a refractometer you could borrow?

Yes, we show all our beginners and refresh that for module 2 on how to use a refractometer,

i was just pointing out you can,t just follow Yates which is in a different way of saying the same thing you are saying

there is nothing like practical experiences over a book, Nothing like trying to melt a 30lb bucket of OSR set like rock to make soft set rather thanmemorise a list of temperatures in a book

 

[DanBee]

Yes, we show all our beginners and refresh that for module 2 on how to use a refractometer,

i was just pointing out you can,t just follow Yates which is in a different way of saying the same thing you are saying

there is nothing like practical experiences over a book, Nothing like trying to melt a 30lb bucket of OSR set like rock to make soft set rather thanmemorise a list of temperatures in a book

Misunderstood your earlier point, but totally agree with your clarification.

 

[itma]

...
look, you need yates green book , it is the only reference book that covers all the syllabus but sometimes, he misses the subject or argues about the syllabus rather than answer the question but you need it, just dont realy on 100% read around the subject

, if we take for example module 2 syllabus 2.24 ...

Now, if only you'd mentioned his rant about 2.19 (what do flowers communicate to bees?), then you might even have had a small hand in the fact that that section of the syllabus has been rewritten for 2014 ... though I'm sure that the examiners would deny that Yates criticism had anything to do with it.

However, the important thing to note is that for 2014, section 2.19 has been re-written.

 

[masterBK]

The exam board gets feedback coming in from tutors (especially correspondence course tutors) and from beekeepers studying for the modules as well as from those who have taken them. Analysis of the answers on candidates papers also reveals any common misunderstandings. A few people did request clarification about 2.19 so it was re-written for 2014. The exam board is unaware that JY had expressed any opinion about it. Using one text book for each module no matter how well written (and some on this forum would argue the one in question isn't) is not the best way forward to beekeeping enlightenment (in my humble opinion).

 

[itma]

... The exam board is unaware that JY had expressed any opinion about it. ...

Now that IS strange.

At the bottom of page 152 of the 2012 edition, the Yates's write (re 2.19)

Important note. We have queried the wording of this item in the syllabus with the Examination Board, suggesting that it should be reworded on the basis that flowers, being inanimate objects, cannot communicate in the true sense of the word. ... They have replied that they consider the wording to be acceptable and gave the clearest indication of what is required ...

I would agree that it would be a mistake to think that any one book would "have all the answers". However, the merit of "study notes" (whether Yates or Mid Bucks) is that they have something (however brief and in Yates' case sometimes tangential) to say about every section of the syllabus, and if their notes are teaching rather than reminding you about an area, then you've got a target for some directed research.