Anticipated Start Date: June 1, 2026

Estimated Pay: $15.00 per hour

Number of Jobs Available: 1

Schedule: Day. Day - Evening

Location: Newark Farm

About the department:

The UD apiary consists of 4 beeyards, both on and off campus, with a total of 60-100 honey bee colonies. These colonies are used for research, teaching, and outreach programs. The UD apiary provides grounds for graduate and undergraduate level field research, and serves as an outdoor lab space for several courses. We host outreach events for various groups both within and outside the UD community, teaching about both honey bees and native pollinators. We also market our hive products (honey, beeswax products, as well as queens & nucs) to promote awareness of our program, and to support local beekeepers.

The UD Bee Team consists of Dr. Deborah Delaney (our faculty PI), Dan Borkoski (our apiary manager), and several other student and staff members. Joining our team provides the opportunity to learn real world hands-on skills, and to become a competent beekeeper. Most of our work happens at the Teaching Apiary on the south-campus farm, but we sometimes work offsite. Beekeeping work is highly seasonal, and the workload can vary greatly from week to week. We ask that members of our team are flexible in their hours, but also respect that coursework is a priority for students, and try to schedule accordingly.

Primary Responsibilities:

● Assisting with colony management

○ Learning how to recognize the features of a honey bee colony, inspect hives, and manipulate hives to maintain healthy colonies

○ Feeding colonies

○ Harvesting honey

● Apiary grounds maintenance

○ Cutting grass with riding mower and string trimmer

○ Trimming and removing branches

○ Maintaining structures and equipment (repairing, building, painting, etc.)

○ Helping with pollinator garden maintenance

● Summer honey harvest

 ○ Removing heavy honey boxes from hives

○ Extracting honey

○ Bottling and labeling jars

Qualifications:  

● Be able to lift 50lbs without assistance

● Tolerate occasional honey bee stings

● Be self motivated, able to problem-solve, and work independently

● Tolerate working in hot, humid Mid-Atlantic weather

● Beekeeping experience is not necessary, but must have interest in learning honey bee biology and behavior

Hiring Timeline:

As soon as possible.

Please note that dates are subject to change depending on the needs of the department.

Applicants must be undergraduate students at the University of Delaware. Work study eligibility can be found here. Applicants who are not enrolled as undergraduate students at the University will not be considered for this position. Employment Limitations and Exceptions