Patent Application
20140134920
This application claims the benefit of Czech Republic Patent Application No. CZ2012-775, entitled THE METHOD OF A THERMAL TREATMENT OF BEE COLONIES AND A DEVICE FOR PURSUANCE OF THIS METHOD, filed Nov. 12, 2012, which application is incorporated in its entirety by reference.
The invention is within the area of beekeeping, thus especially keeping of an Apis family and regards to the way of a thermal treatment of a bee colony in a bee hive, when is, by the help of device for a thermal regime control in the bee hive, positively influenced wellbeing of bee colony in its interior. Thereby is enabled an early spring development of bee colony and a decrease of undesired kinds of organisms as is mite Varroa destructor.
The bee Apis mellifica otherwise honey bee, is being damaged by a highly invasive parasite Varroa destructor. It is a parasitic mite which comes from Asia region. Local east bee Apis cerana is due to long term co-evolution with this mite genetically equipped with a regulation mechanism, by the help of which it decreases mite population in the colony on the level which will not perish the colony. The honey bee does not have any natural striking power against this new coming mite. At present the mite Varroa presents a significant and with difficulties soluble problem at rearing of honey bee. Varroatosis endangers colonies worldwide, only it has not spread in Australia yet. Varroatosis is therefore considered as a globally spread and the most severe disease of bee brood and adult bees. All development stages of Varroa prey on haemolymph, thus on blood of bees and brood. Herewith they do not only deplete body of the host of nutrients but also cause losses of haemolymph through numeral injuries of the skin. Varroa moreover also transmits causative organisms of many serious viral infections of the bees and without a treatment from human side causes death of invaded colonies in two to three years from their colonization. Weakening of the colonies causes their winter perishes and enables more malign course of many other bee diseases. The development cycle of Varroa destructor takes place in honey bee on a sealed brood of worker bees and drones. Just before the sealing a fertilized female passes from adult bees to bee brood. After sealing she lays on an erect larva and prepupa most often 2-5 eggs. From the egg emerges hexapod larva, next stages are protonymph and deuteronymph. In seven days are developed sexually mature males and in 9 days females. Males still in cell perish after mating and fertilized females take hold of young bee, finishing the development. Together with it they leave the cell. On worker bee or drone they live several days (2-60), before they, replete, move back to cells and start to lay eggs. For drones is characteristic drifting into other hives and thus they become main transmitters of this parasite. Similarly worker bees transmit attached mite into surrounding colonies during drifting or robbery.
For reduction of multitude of Varroa mite population in bee colonies are currently used several different ways and procedures. The first of them is a method of chemical treatment with substances of an artificial origin. Thus these are substances which are not naturally in the nature and are produced by chemical industry. These are for example fumigation or contact acaricids. A disadvantage of this treatment, by these substances, is the fact that in bee products as is honey and wax comes to accumulation of, for human, toxic substances. Because of these toxic residua comes to decrease of market value of these commodities in comparison with same products from ecological production. The mites have already developed an undesired resistance for effective substances of some remedies.
The second way of treatment of Varroatosis is based on base of an application of so called “natural chemistry”. This means a treatment with chemical substances, which are ordinarily common in nature. These are for example substances which contain formic acid, essential oils, lactic acid, alcohol or the traps with aromatic substances, so called pheromones. A disadvantage of use of these substances are possible residua, thus remains of, with difficulty decomposable, more or less poisonous matters. Another disadvantage of this way is the fact that the preparations based on organic acids may harm development of the brood and shorten length of life of adult bees. When they are applied there are problems with their low or short time efficiency. These substances moreover do not, in sufficient amount, affect development stages of mite, covered under wax caps of the cells. Very common is also supplementary application of synthetic matters in form of fumigation, aerosol treatment, insertion of acaricid strips with long term efficiency, spring painting of the brood and so on. These methods of chemical fight compensate insufficient efficiency of the substances based on natural chemistry.
The next way how to decrease amount of mites are biotechnical methods when chemical substances are not used at all. As an example of this biotechnical procedure it is possible to mention a method of drone brood comb use as an allurement for mite females. This method however can be purposeful only at certain period of the year, generally from April till July when the drone comb is present. In this method is problematic relatively high work demand factor and a necessity of accurate keeping of terms of cut out and removal of parasitized drone brood. Moreover according to some studies cut out of the drone brood decreases honey yield up to 30% and likewise supports swarming of bees.
For reduction or liquidation of mites in colony are likewise used biophysical ways. Part of this category is also a method of thermal treatment of colonies. It is matter of common knowledge that even a relatively small increase of the temperature above normal brood temperature, which ranges in interval from 33-36° C., harms mites or even causes their perish. Also Indian bee, as an original host species of Varroa mite, purposely warms its worker brood more than drone brood. Thus in this Asian species the mites attach only to development stages of drones. Because they do not parasitize on worker bees they do not disturb viability of society as whole.
The method of colonies thermal treatment against Varroa destructor has not been yet, even around the world, developed to the point to be usable to the larger extend in ordinary bee operations. The thermal treatment of the colonies is, by part of professional public, perceived and classified as an alternative method of treatment, which is completely inefficient or in practice unusable for whole colonies.
In publication Varroatosis (Dr. Friedrich Pohl, Víkend publisher 2008, pg. 55) is mentioned a way of thermal treatment of combs without bees. In research, not in operational, conditions the brood combs are deprived of bees and in a warm up case are heated for certain time for mites to die but for bee brood not to be damaged. This technology is suitable only for scientific experiments, since thermal differences are very low and consequences for bees are to be yet explored.
From a thermal effect application on whole colonies point of view it is possible to distinguish two techniques. The first technique is based on several hours lasting heating of hive environment for lower temperature 40-42° C., which demanding on time and technical equipment. The bees are for the whole period of mite extermination closed in the hive and its entrance is closed, or dramatically narrowed. During a several hours lasting heating it is necessary to ensure oxygen for imprisoned bees in the way not to cool down the hive. Likewise it is necessary to divert produced carbon dioxide without thermal losses. It is necessary to regulate temperature not to exceed dangerous limit and kill the imprisoned bees. Adult bees, that is to say, endure lower temperatures than treated brood. This requires installment of accurate regulation mechanisms controlled by thermostats. The beekeeper has to be present and check or control activities of all mechanisms supporting the life of closed colonies. To allow hot air to spread from a heat source along all space of the hive is sometimes necessary to increase gap between combs and apply system of hot air forced circulation in the hive, for example by the help of ventilator. This requires not only further technical devices but also a necessity of colonies dismount. Therefore any method, based on particular colonies dismount and longtime heating of each hive by the source of an artificial heat, is expensive, technically demanding and in larger extend nonutilizable.
Second technique of a research application of thermal treatment is based on very strong but short lasting heating of hive interior up to more than 50° C., for period of several minutes. Longer time interval of this strong heating would kill the bees. A disadvantage of this technique is a fact that a thermal effect will not strike mites on brood, because in a few minutes does not come to necessary heating of the core of the combs. There then mite, with its development stages, survives and stricken are only mites which are on bees in given moment. On the brood however it is hidden, under protection of a wax cap, app. 80% of all mites in the colony. Therefore this method is not and cannot be sufficiently efficient in practice as it does not liquidate majority of parasites. This method is also risky. If the colony is exposed to high temperature several minutes longer than it is optimal it may come to bee larvae fall out from the cells of the combs, to bee brood development disturbance or even to perish of older bees. This can have for colony in final result worse consequences than damage caused by mite itself.
There are known different devices for a thermal treatment of bees against Varroatosis. For instance in file CZ 235489 is described a solution where on the bottom of the box is placed a heat exchanger an in an upper part are situated controllable openings for hot air off take from the box. Further is known a solution mentioned in file WO2012108857 A1 where in an interior of a hive above a brood area is placed a ridge body connected via a cable to a source of electric current, which in combination with a heat radiator, electronic control unit, thermal sensor and an optional diagnostic system enables reduction and control of Varroatosis in colonies. In file GR1005196 B2 is introduced way and a device designed for a thermal treatment of a colony. This method essence is in the fact that a bee population in a hive is for a period of 12 minutes exposed to temperature 40° centigrade, when by the help of a turbine is formed a hot air flow which is by the help of a pipeline led to a bottom of the hive. The hot air is repeatedly sucked in by the turbine whereby comes to a formation of a hot air closed circuit in the hive.
The problem of majority of so far published solutions is in a limited possibility of their practical use. A thermal treatment is usually not applied on a whole colony, but many devices are based on a bee thermal treatment without combs, combs without bees and so on, which is very labored and in principle nonutilizable in a commercial practice where the beekeeper has to take care of hundreds or thousands of colonies. To reach an effect of thermal killing of mites there are used structurally complicated and thus also expensive devices, dependent on external sources of electric energy. These have movable and therefore faulty parts which wear out when used. This alone complicates their use in a beekeeping profession.
Likewise are known technical designs and techniques which are applicable for whole colonies. For example in magazine “V{hacek over (c)}ela{hacek over (r)}ství” 7/2012, page 231 is described a device for mite liquidation which works with presumption that mite dies at 40° C. temperature, but bee survives for short period 50 to 55° C. A disadvantage of this solution is except of labor and a low efficiency also the fact that a whole colony is by the help of an insertion into thermo boxes equipped with thermostats treated with a same regulated temperature, whereas adult bees endure by far lower temperatures than young bees, larvae and pupae. If we imprison an entire colony in a hive and heat the hive intensively there is a risk of old bees killing. Or also risk of a suffocation of a whole colony if there is not, by technically difficult way, ensured an oxygen entry and carbon dioxide take off and this all without thermal losses which would decrease heating efficiency. Devices which would be able to treat whole colonies safe way via an accurately regulated temperature and without bees' mortality are therefore very expensive.
The colonies themselves have to, in a brood rearing period, keep temperature of at least 33° C., namely at the expense of metabolic burning of glycide reserves, thus honey and sugar. The temperature has a completely essential importance for a spring development of colonies. It is for example known that in urban areas the colonies have by several weeks faster development than the colonies in an open countryside. This is due to fact that an urban climate is of mere 2-3° C. warmer than in an open countryside. Commonly used hives are not equipped with a device which would, for need of an in time spring development, enable to generate a thermal energy and thereby simplify and fasten development of colonies. They also do not have a device which would in early spring supply important water. Therefore bees fly for it out from a hive and chill by watering places. A combination of these unfavorable facts decreases honey yield form early flowering cultures and also decreases fly activity and a pollination performance of colonies.
From the file U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,528 A is known a method of a thermal treatment of colonies which uses a solar energy. A movable solar collector is possible to set in two positions, when in first position is placed above the hive and in second position is inclined in a sun direction. In this position comes to hive heating via solar energy, when the cold air is sucked from an interior of the hive into a piping system, where comes to its heating by the help of a collector and then it is returned back to the hive. A disadvantage of this solution is a fact that for start and finish of solar heating there is a necessary manipulation with solar panel, which is labor and time demanding.
The aim of a featured invention is to introduce a new way of a thermal treatment of colonies which efficiently decreases Varroa destructor populations multitude namely without chemical treatment. The second positive effect is an improvement of thermal wellbeing of colonies and their better development in a spring period. By the help of this invention is significantly reduced an occurrence of parasites Varroa in all development stages, yet it does not have tendency to attempt 100% efficiency after first treatment. The full extermination of the parasite is reached after repeated use of thermal treatment in given year. Because the whole colony is not treated at the same time in one step it is not necessary to imprison adult bees, which are high temperature sensitive, in the hive. There is therefore no risk of their killing by a heat during treatment. Therefore there is no necessity of an expensive thermoregulation mechanisms application. Based on a possibility of a spontaneous departure of adult bees from the area with, for them dangerous temperature, is respected different sensitivity of bee individuals in a different age for increased temperature. Bee brood which is a highly resistant to temperature survives thermal treatment without consequences. However it is completely free of parasitic mites which reproduce on it. The lifecycle of this device for a thermal treatment is at least as long as a lifecycle of the hive, thus several decades.
The set goal is to large extend met with an invention which is a method of a thermal treatment of bee colonies in order to ensure perish of bee parasites in an interior of a hive frame superstructure by the help of a transformation of short wave electromagnetic radiation for long wave thermal radiation, where the essence of the invention is in the fact that an efficient temperature increase for value over 40° C. is done by the help of a secondary thermal energy and/or primary thermal energy, when sunrays or generated radiation permeate thermosolar lid on an active surface of a photo-absorbent component and/or go through a transparent screen into an interior of the hive frame superstructure where they land on an active photo-absorbent layer of a thermo solar frame.
It is advantageous when the primary thermal energy flows in the interior of the hive frame superstructure at first upwardly along the thermo solar frame up to level of a hive frame superstructure ceiling or to the level of the ceiling thermosolar lid or a hive cover and then forwards in a horizontal direction further into the hive frame superstructure where it heats brood nest.
It is advantageous when the thermo solar frame reflects, by the help of a thermo insulation layer, the metabolic heat, which is radiated from the brood nest, back into the interior of the hive frame superstructure.
It is also advantageous when a secondary thermal energy is by the help of a radiant surface of a photo-absorbent component radiated into the interior of the hive frame superstructure, where it heats the brood nest and when the secondary thermal energy releasing from the active surface of the photo-absorbent component upward is directed from an external frame part and/or a thermo-insulating foil back toward the photo-absorbent component whereby is in the thermosolar lid formed a greenhouse effect.
It is also advantageous when the primary thermal energy and the secondary thermal energy efficiently cooperate and comes to a temperature increase in an entire interior of the hive frame superstructure and to heating of the brood nest.
Further the essence of the invention is the device for pursuance of a thermal treatment of bee colonies in order to ensure perish of bee parasites in the interior of the hive frame superstructure via a transformation of short wave electromagnetic radiation for long wave thermal radiation where the hive frame superstructure is equipped, for production of the primary thermal energy or the secondary thermal energy or for simultaneous production of the primary thermal energy and the secondary thermal energy, either with a thermosolar lid, procured with a photo-absorbent component, which contains an active surface and a radiant surface, or is from side procured with a transparent screen, whereas in an interior of the hive frame superstructure is placed a thermo solar frame, which is procured, by an active photo-absorbent layer situated in a direction toward a screen, or the hive frame superstructure is simultaneously equipped partly with a thermosolar lid procured with a photo-absorbent component which contains an active surface and a radiant surface and partly with a from side formed transparent screen, whereas in an interior of the hive frame superstructure is placed a thermo solar frame, which is procured, by an active photo-absorbent layer situated in direction toward the screen.
In an advantageous design of the device the screen is formed by a transparent external component and/or an internal component, whereas on a transparent internal component of the screen is fixed a drip for a capture of condensed liquid.
In an optimal case the thermo solar frame is in interior of the hive frame superstructure made concurrently with its face board in the way to form between the thermo solar frame and an internal component of the screen a front chamber of upward flow of hot air and simultaneously there is a free space above a top frame end and a bottom frame end of the thermo solar frame.
In an optimal design the thermosolar lid consists of a frame built into the hive frame superstructure from the side and/or in the form of a ceiling and contains a transparent internal frame part adjacent to a photo-absorbent component and/or a transparent external frame part, whereas between the external frame part and the photo-absorbent component is formed a closed space.
It is also advantageous when in the closed space of a thermosolar lid is for an increase of a greenhouse effect placed a transparent thermo-insulating foil.
By featured invention it is possible to reach a higher efficiency in that that by the help of presented way of thermal treatment of bee colonies and by presented device for a thermal regime control in the hive comes to an efficient reduction of parasites, whereas it is used such a way of a thermal treatment of bee colonies which respects different sensitivity of bees for temperature regarding to their age and takes advantage of a possibility of a solar energy or another radiation source use. The bee colony treatment itself is not time demanding, production and operation costs are very low and the device is possible to use on already existing hive systems.
The method of a thermal treatment of bee colonies in order to ensure perish of bee parasites (20) in an interior (11) of a hive frame superstructure (1) through transformation of short wave electromagnetic radiation for long wave thermal radiation, where the essence of the invention is in the fact that an efficient temperature increase above the value of 40° C. is done by the help of a secondary thermal energy (93) and/or a primary thermal energy (91) when sunrays (10) or a generated radiation (60) permeate through a thermosolar lid (3) on an active surface (361) of a photo-absorbent component (36) and/or go through a transparent screen (5) into the interior (11) of the hive frame superstructure (1) where land on an active photo-absorbent layer (72) of a thermo solar frame (7). Also is an essence of the invention a construction of a device for pursuance of a thermal treatment of bee colonies where the hive frame superstructure (1) is for formation of the primary thermal energy (91) or the secondary thermal energy (93) or for simultaneous formation of the primary thermal energy (91) and also the secondary thermal energy (93) either equipped with the thermosolar lid (3) procured with the photo-absorbent component (36) which contains an active surface (361) and a radiant surface (362) or is from the side procured with the transparent screen (5), whereas in the interior (11) of the hive frame superstructure (1) is placed the thermo solar frame (7) which is procured with the active photo-absorbent layer (72) situated in a direction toward the screen (5) or is the hive frame superstructure (1) at the same time equipped partly with the thermosolar lid (3) procured with the photo-absorbent component (36) which contains the active surface (361) and the radiant surface (362) and partly with, from the side formed, the transparent screen (5), whereas in the interior (11) of the hive frame superstructure (1) is placed the thermo solar frame (7) which is procured with the active photo-absorbent layer (72) situated in a direction toward the screen (5).
Particular examples of invention design are schematically illustrated in enclosed drawings where:
The drawings which illustrate featured invention and subsequently described examples of a particular design do not in any case limit extend of protection given in the definition but only clarify essence of the invention.
The device for pursuance of a thermal treatment of bee colonies illustrated in
In
In
The thermal treatment of bee colonies in an inner environment of the hive is realized either by the help of the primary thermal energy 91 which rises on the active photo-absorbent layer 72 of the thermo solar frame 7 or through the secondary thermal energy 93 which radiates from the thermosolar lid 3 or by cooperation of the primary thermal energy 91 and the secondary thermal energy 93. The thermal energies 91, 93 enable to reach temperature over 40° C. in entire interior 11 of the hive frame superstructure 1, which results in perish of bee parasites 20. With regard to health of bees and their brood is the exposition time of the thermal treatment dependent on a distance of the hive bottom 2 and the thermosolar lid 3, on a hive surrounding temperature, sun radiation intensity and also on a thermo insulation characteristic of whole hive system.
In case that the hive is perfectly sealed, the distance of furthest point of the brood nest 8 from the thermosolar lid 3 does not exceed 36 cm, surrounding temperature ranges in an interval 28-33° C., sky cloudiness is not over 20% of its surface, the hive bottom 2 is without gaps, the entrance 121 of the hive frame superstructure 1 stays open for height 1 cm and in the furthest point of brood nest 8 is reached temperature at least 40° C., the period of a thermal exposition of the interior 11 of the hive frame superstructure 1 is set for two hours. However described most suitable conditions of thermal treatment of colonies do not have an universal validity and an effect is also influenced by other factors, for example used hive system or other, here not mentioned, natural conditions. The thermal exposition length in the interior 11 of the hive frame superstructure 1 is thus variable.
Described method of a thermal treatment of bee colonies and a device for pursuance of this method is not only possible invention design, when the primary thermal energy 91 or the secondary thermal energy 93 can be obtained from thermal radiation from another then solar source. For example through a thermo-energy component 40 with a source of generated radiation 60 in the form of hot air or electric resistance or bulb or hot liquid or flame or thermal accumulator, whereas the hive frame superstructure 1 does not have to have screen 5 as is illustrated in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PV 2012-775 | Nov 2012 | CZ | national |
