WO2016147017A1 - Two-colony beehives for migratory beekeeping and containers suitable for their storage and transportation by vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject of this invention is the construction of lightweight, two-colony beehives and containers suitable for their transportation by trailers. Parts of the beehive include the framework, the short (4a) and long (4b) side-walls, the underlaid (1), the rectangular frames (3) which are being suspended in gouges carved into the front and the back walls, the 'frame- cover with a boosting spacer (6)' which holds the hive roofing (8) and (in this particular invention) a queen excluder. A specification of this beehive is the removable separator wall (2) in the middle of the hive which has a colony-unification window (5). The size of the frames (3) is half the size of the commonly used frames, and the frames (3) are parallel to the entrance (10) which is located on front wall of the structure. The frames (3) are being suspended in gouges amongst the short side walls (4a), the entrance (10) is supplied with a folding landing-plank (9). There are venting holes (12) on the walls of the hive to ensure proper airflow, the main frame and the separator (2) are built with lightweight architecture, and the underlaid (1) is constructed in a way to allow quick cleaning and easy honey extraction. The container's grid-like structure chassis (13) is narrower than the width of the structure and it is built to meet the requirements of being suitable for transportation by smaller trailers. The top frame (14) is made of fine wire mesh. Between the chassis (13) and the top frame (14) are the storage compartments (16) which are designed to hold the beehives and they yield easy access for cleaning and for the extraction of the honey. The legs (17) of the containers are intended to hold the hives in place and they are designed to be gradually expandable to achieve stability and elevation.

Description

TWO-COLONY BEEHIVES FOR MIGRATORY BEEKEEPING AND CONTAINERS SUITABLE FOR THEIR STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION BY VEHICLES

The subject of this invention is the construction of lightweight, two-colony beehives and containers suitable for their transportation by trailers. These beehives are space-saving and the containers ensure cost-effective solution to the transportation of the hives - they could effectively be used not only in migratory beekeeping but also with installed hives.

It's well known that beekeeping and commercial honey production is an agricultural activity which requires high level of expertise.

Most commonly used expressions in beekeeping:

Queen bee: female bee, the only bee in the entire colony that's capable of reproduction

Worker bees: females that are unable to reproduce, their main purpose is to collect nectar and to pollenate. They also fill the purpose of feeding the larvae.

Drones: male bees, their only known purpose is to mate with the queens. They do not have stingers and do not participate in nectar and pollen gathering.

Brood: the bee's larvae

Mite: a parasite that attacks bees

Pheromones are naturally occurring odorless substances the fertile body excretes externally, conveying an airborne signal that provides information to, and triggers responses from, the opposite sex of the same species.

Swarming: when a bee colony becomes too large, the population becomes congested and space becomes limited in the hive. At this point there could be more than one queens at a given time. Therefore some of the bees will leave the hive with one of the queenbees to find a new home. One colony can only have one queen.

Nest: the bees' habitat

Nectar: a sweet substance derived from flowers which is being processed into honey by the bees

Hive: a facility built for the bees

Two-colony hive: the hive is divided into two separate parts. Each has its own queen bee; in other words, two bee families are being placed into one hive

Hive designs used in Hungary: NB ½ storage, NB, Hunor

Container: this is where the hives are being placed. They are equally suitable for storage and transportation and protect the hives from the weather Honey super a part of a beehive where the bees collect honey

Queen excluder: a mesh grid (usually made of wire or plastic) used to separate the hive body from the honey supers. The purpose of this grid is to keep the queen from laying eggs in the honey combs. It's being implemented by sizing the cells of the grid just enough for the worker bees to pass through, but queens cannot.

Frames: a hive frame or honey frame is a structural element in a beehive that holds the honeycomb or brood comb within the hive body (or super). The hive frame is where bees build the combs out of beeswax. They are a key element of the modern "movable" hive as they can be removed in order to inspect the bees for disease or to extract the excess honey. Honey combs: where the worker bees collect the nectar and the pollen.

Brood combs: where the queen bee lays the eggs

Warm-build hives: the frames are being placed horizontally (relative to the entrance)

Cold-build hives: the frames are being placed vertically (relative to the entrance)

Inner cover: provides separation from an overly hot or cold outer cover and can be used as a shelf for feeding or other purposes.

Outer cover: provides weather protection for the hive

Telescoping frame-cover (sieve-cloth-covered frame-cover with a boosting spacer) is an area above the frames that could be separated by sieve-cloth. The sieve-cloth provides a layer of insulation to the hive at winter time. In the hot weather months the high temperature air will vent through here. By turning the cover upside down, the space can be expanded. It could also house the feeder , which is most often used to feed water, granulated sugar or sugar syrup at times of the year when no, or not enough, nectar flow is available from natural sources to meet the hive's needs.

Nectar flow: when a large quantity of the same type of nectar / pollen is available in a certain agricultural area for the bees to collect. This is when migratory beekeeping could be utilized at its best. The honey flow could last up to 2 weeks, depending on species of the flowers (acacia, mixed flowers etc.)

Migratory beekeeping: the beekeeper is transporting the bees within areas based on the types of pollen available

Standing (installed) hives: the bees are not being transported, they collect pollen in the surrounding

Honeycombing: the beekeeper acquires the honey from the honeycombs with a help of an equipment Smoker: a hand-held device used to neutralize bees by blowing smoke on them. This has a temporary immobilizing effect on bees and they lose their sense of smell and also it puts them in a haze, which in terms makes them appear to be more calm.

As it's well known, most of the hives used today is only suitable to house bees in one-colony form, and the two-colony technology cannot be used. Two-colony technology means that the queen bee along with the nurse bees are separated into one part of the beehive, while worker bees reside in the other part (without a queen bee).

It's also known that the two-colony beehives currently in use are usually large in dimensions as they are in weight, therefore their use for migratory beekeeping is very problematic, as the safe placement and fastening of the hives is difficult and time-consuming. It usually requires the work of several professional personnel at the same time, therefore this option is costly and it could only be executed at significant expenses; which in term raises a higher risk for profit gain. Aside from the economical aspects, swarming also poses a potential risk factor, as the bees (along with the queen bee) could permanently leave their hives during migration.

As the hives themselves, the same problems emerge with the containers commonly used to transport the hives. They are also too large in size and relatively heavy to ensure cost- effective transportation.

As we have mentioned above, there are two-colony beehives, however they are unfit to be placed in containers, due to their construction, as way too large in size and weight and therefore they cannot be transported on smaller trailers, only by trucks or heavy trailers. With the traditional method, transportation of the same amount of bees would require six times the storage area of the method described in this invention - which obviously mean higher expenses.

Another problem source emerges from the handling aisle, used in the traditional containers, which also increases their size and weight. Furthermore, these aisles are very narrow and with the heat building up, the bees become increasingly difficult to handle. Another factor that adds to the containers being too big of a size is that entrance of the hive is quite wide. Another lack of functionality with the currently used containers is that the smoker cannot be utilized while extracting the honey, because it takes place in the handling aisle.

Amongst the industrial property law documents, the closest one to this invention would be the beehive described in Hungarian patent number 57241. In this particular invention, there is an extra cover area built above the brood comb, with an extra entrance. This also provides easy access to the honey, during extraction and it's being filled with isolation pillows off-season, to preserve warmth.

The downside of this invention is that the hive is large in size and heavy, so it's not cost- effective to build it into containers. These beehives weight about 150kg, therefore it's difficult to move them.

Although it's a two-colony solution, as it is separated to 2 units and also includes an extra entrance on top of the hive, however, it's not lightweight construction, and is also cold-built, meaning that the frames in the supers are being placed perpendicular to the entrance, which is not a space-saver solution. Furthermore, the size of these frames is relatively large; about twice the size of the invention described in this patent application. With my invention, the space could be much better utilized by reducing the size of side walls, and also rotating the smaller sized frames by 90 degrees and placing them in the supers vertically. This way the weight can be reduced, as each frame contains about 2-4 kg honey.

The aim of this invention is to find a solution to the above described shortcomings and to create two-colony lightweight construction beehives and containers that are suitable for transporting these beehives on smaller trailers. This would make the transit of a relatively large colony easier and allow multiple hives to be placed in one container, making the transfer more simple and cost-effective in industrial honey production and especially in migratory beekeeping. Another advantage of this invention that it provides adequate isolation in the hive and it provides easy access for inspection and cleaning.

Therefore the herein described invention will meet the requirements of a lightweight, two- colonial beehive that is easy to transport even by smaller trailers by constructing them and the carrying containers to be smaller in size and lighter in weight. This could be executed by taking all building criteria in consideration listed below:

the frames are half the size of the commonly used frames

the frames are suspended on the shorter side-walls and they are parallel to the entrance located on the shorter front-wall - as it is done in warm-built beehives

a removable separator wall is built within the hive, in between the two colonies; this wall is supplied with a colony-unification window, which remains open while the hives are being transported, to allow the worker bees to sense the pheromones of the queen bee, therefore preventing swarming, and at the same time ensure adequate ventilation of the hive, so the bees get enough fresh air.

the bottom of the hive in constructed to yield easy access for cleaning and for honey extraction the containers consist of stands, chassis, on which the side walls are affixed and the top frame that also serves as a roof. The chassis grid is smaller than the width of the structure, the stands are expandable (staircase-like), however they are extremely stable and they ensure that the hives stay in place. The area between the chassis and the roof is the storage space for the beehives, which allow beekeepers to gain access to the hives easily by sliding these drawer-like compartments out of the whole structure.

Therefore the subject of this invention is a two-colonial migratory beehives and containers specially designed for their transportation.

The most common embodiment of the beehive described in the invention is effectuated by Claim 1.

The variations to the implementations are realized by Claim 2 - 4.

The most common embodiment of the container described in the invention is effectuated by Claim 5.

The variations to the container's implementations are realized by Claim 6 and 7.

The invention is illustrated by the below listed figures (in appendix):

Figure 1 - plan view of the beehive

Figure 2 - side view of the long side of the beehive

Figure 3 - front view cross-section of the beehive

Figure 4 - axonometric view of the beehive

Figure 5 - frontal slice view of the frames used in this invention

Figure 6 - axonometric view of the container

Figure 7 - rear view of the container

Figure 8 - side view of the container

Figure 1 illustrates the plan view of this invention's beehive, which contains a removable separator wall 2 lengthwise right in the middle. The separators - indicated by dashed lines on figure 1 - are equipped with five bee-colony unification windows, which are in an open position during transportation, for the worker bees to be able to sense the pheromones of the queen bee, and therefore they would not be prone to swarming. The frames 3 are also illustrated on Figure 1. In compliance with the usual structure of a warm-built hive, these frames 3 are parallel to the entrance built on the lower part of the short side wall 4a of the hive (obscured on this particular drawing). On Figure 1 can be seen furthermore long side wall 4b, the folding landing-plank 9 by which the entrance can be blocked, and the air vents 12 which yield adequate ventilation within the beehive even in the winter season, so the hive would stay warm and dry that way contributing to maintaining a healthy bee-colony.

Figure 1 also illustrates the queen excluder 11 made of metal (wire mesh) to separate the honeycombs from the brood combs. It's designed in a way that the worker bees could fit through but the queen bee cannot, therefore she will only lay her eggs in the brood comb area, this way keeping the honey egg-free.

Figure 2 illustrates the side view of the long side wall 4b this invention's beehive with the entrance 10 and the folding landing-plank 9. The hive is divided into two sections by the queen excluder 11 ; the honey combs and the brood combs - as mentioned above. In Figure 2 the frames 3 that are parallel to the entrance 10 and the air vents 12 are also depicted. The hive has an extra support board in the middle (unmarked on the drawing) to prevent it from collapsing.

Figure 3 is the front view cross-section illustration of the hive described in the invention - the short-edge walls 4a, the long-edge walls 4b, the removable underlaid 1, the removable separator wall 2 with the colony-unification window 5, the frames 3 are being suspended in gouges carved into top-frame lath 3a which has protruding edges. On top of the beehive there is the reversible, sieve-cloth-covered 'frame-cover with a boosting spacer 6' that allows beekeepers to create an "escape area" 7 above the frames 3. The purpose of this specialized item is to create a space above the frames 3 that is adjustable in size by simply turning the frame-cover over. When it's turned downwards in the hot summer months, the available space will increase, allowing the hot air to escape and also providing the space needed to feed the bees water and sugar-syrup when there is not enough nectar available for them to collect. The 'frame-cover with a boosting spacer 6' holds the hive roofing 8 which is made out of plywood, which serves the purpose of sealing the hive and keeping the light out. At the same time this roof 8 could be removed while the hive is being transported in the specially- designed containers during the hot summer months, as the container protects the hive from the weather conditions but at the same time yields fresh air to the bees, therefore the need for extra cooling system can be eliminated.

The interior of the beehive is divided into space A and space B - as it is illustrated on Figure 3. The two-colonial design and the applied technology allows for example to have the queen and its own worker bees in one section (space A), and worker bees of three colonies in the other section (space B), in other words one hive house the worker bees of 4 colonies. In turn this will allow us to transport the most amount of bees in the least amount of space.

Figure 4 is the axonometric view of the beehive which is a rectangular prism. In this drawing illustrated is the framework on one of the side walls, the support board described under Figure 2, the entrance 10 and the queen excluder 1 1.

Figure 5 is frontal slice view of the frame 3 and the rectangular top-frame lath 3a on t e top which has protruding edges.

Figure 6 is the axonometric view of the container in which the beehives can be seen placed in two rows. The hives are placed back to back so both entrances 10 are approachable by the bees. Furthermore depicted are the chassis 13 and the top frame 14 which functions as a roof. The container 13 is constructed.

Figure 7 is the rear view of the container while it is loaded on a trailer with the beehives placed inside. Since the chassis 13 and the top frame 14 - which also functions as a root - are both grid-like structure, therefore the container is lightweight. The whole structure is actually wider than the chassis 13, providing therefore stability even on smaller trailers. The front wall 15a and the back wall 15b are also depicted on Figure 7, along with the storage compartments 16 that hold the beehives, these latter are built with rails to allow beekeepers to move the compartments in and out of the container structure with ease.

Figure 8 is the side view of the container where the chassis 13 and the top frame 14 is illustrated, furthermore the beehives placed between them in two rows - the hives have 2 entrances 10 each. The storage compartments 16 that hold the beehives are only figuratively indicated, as they are in a closed position on these figures, pushed inside the container. The stands / legs 17 mentioned below are illustrated in their open position in this picture.

Based on all of the above it can be concluded that the inventions explained in this patent application are excellent solutions to creating space-saving and lightweight tw o-colony beehives and also light-weight containers with specialized chassis which can be cost- efficiently utilized in the transportation of said hives even by smaller trailers while yielding easy access for maintenance. An additional advantage of the invention is that it makes keeping and transporting the same amount of bees possible on a floor area six times less than the commonly used solutions.

The frames 3 used in this invention are the same size as the frames of an NB ½ hive. The transition is also simple in the case of frames used in NB and Hunor hives. Two bee colonies are divided by the separator wall 2 within the beehive, which can easily be removed, therefore the NB and / or Hunor frames could be placed in the hive in the invention - so are all other standard frames used in Hungary today.

Further advantage of the beehives in this invention is that at times of nectar flow it is possible to remove a nest (along with the queen bee) from one of the colonies. The queen issues a pheromone that keeps the colony together. So when the nest is removed, the colony- unification window 5 can be opened on the separator wall 2 through which the pheromone can spread across the hives. Therefore the colony without the actual nest will sense the queen's smell and the bees will have a perception of still having a queen, this way swarming can be prevented, but at the same time there is no brood, which in turn means that the nurse bees will collect nectar and the mite infestation can be eliminated as well. It's well known that honey production can only be maximized by a strong bee colony. The strength of a colony is greatly influenced by the swarming, as at these times thousands of bees could leave the hive with a queen and never come back. The invention allows this to be prevented, as there is no queen bee present only her scent is, so the bees don't have the urge to leave the hive. This technique can be utilized with other colonies as well - the nest with the queen could be removed and the other colony's worker bees could be merged with a use of a smoker. So now we have one colony with the queen in one area (A) of the hive, while in the other area (B) the worker bees are 2 other colonies are united, therefore we can count with the total of three colonies' worker bees. This process could be extended up to four colonies, meaning that beekeepers only need to transport lots of bees and not lots of hives to maximize honey production.

The "extra" bees gained from other colonies could also serve as a reserve in case of theft or sickness, so the beekeeper will have healthy bees and they don't have to start beekeeping all over from scratch.

The invention can be accessorized by additional anti-theft and safety devices and tools as well. For example a remote control central lock to prevent the compartments to be pulled out of the hive and it could also activate an alarm system. Further security a hidden GPS signal transmitter can be installed. Another extra security measure that could be added is an inner scale within the hive that sends data to the beekeeper's phone about the weight of the nectar collected on a given day. By utilizing these, beekeepers don't have to be present at the site at all times, but they could remotely monitor the activities around their hives, which is exceptionally helpful at the times of migration.

There is no passage between the hives in the middle of the container in this invention. The hives can be maintained (in protective clothing) from the outside - the storage compartments 16 can be pulled out of the container structure and the hives become easily accessible from the top and the ventilation is resolved as well.

The solution offered by the invention allows bees to keep their habitat clean. Beekeepers can also land a hand to bees in cleaning the hive as it has a removable bottom which can be easily removed after the hive is pulled out of the container's storage compartment 16. This outside- maintenance feature is really helpful to beekeepers in checking for mite infestation and also at honey extraction, because the bees could easily be blown off of the frames 3. A specialized bag needs to be placed under the hive while doing this and the bees will be blown into this bag while the beekeeper quickly removes the frames 3 and after the honey is extracted, the bees could be placed back into their habitat.

Since the beehive's short side 4a - the one with the entrance 10 - is narrow, therefore the length of the container is reduced. The chassis 13 is elevated in the middle on the inside providing adequate support during transportation, which allows the container to be hauled by smaller vehicles.

The advantages of the two-colonial beehives and their containers described in this invention patent application:

Large amount of bees - up to four colonies' worker bees could be transported in relatively small floor-space and lightweight beehives.

These lightweight and small hives could be transported cost-efficiently

The container is smaller in size, therefore it can be hauled by smaller vehicles on a medium- size trailer.

The container is suitable to house enough beehives that can hold about 40-50 bee colonies, because the bee per square unit ratio has increased.

The same amount of bees can be kept and transported on a floor area six times less than the commonly used solutions.

The invention offers easier maintenance, because the beehives pulled out of the containers are at a normal human height, making them easy to access, and since there's enough space, it's not that hot and it's protected from nature (plants and animals).

The honey can be easily and quickly extracted by using the blowing off method.

The container protects against the weather and also anti-theft features can be added.

Solely one person is able to get the hives ready for transportation in a short amount of time.

The large-scale honey production can be executed very cost efficiently.

Claims

1. Two-colonial beehive suitable for migration which consists of a framework with short and long side walls, an underlaid, a front panel, a back panel, and gouges to hold the rectangular frames that are inserted in them, a top frame cover which has an expendable booster, a hive top cover roofing, and - in this particular case - a queen excluder wherein the includes a removable separator wall (2) lengthwise right in the middle, said wall is equipped with a bee colony unification window (5), the size of the frames (3) is half the size of the commonly used frames, and the frames (3) are parallel to the entrance (10) which is located on front wall of the structure, the frames (3) are being suspended in gouges amongst the short side walls (4a), the entrance (10) is supplied with a folding landing-plank (9), there are venting holes

(12) on the walls of the hive to ensure proper airflow, the main frame and the separator (2) are built with lightweight architecture, and the underlaid (1) is constructed in a way to allow quick cleaning and easy honey extraction.

2. The beehive according to patent claim 1 wherein the framework and the separator (2) is constructed into a lightweight structure by making the frame out of solid wood and the surrounding covers out of plywood, with air gap between them

3. The beehive described in patent claim 1 and 2 wherein the mid-section of the landing-plank (9) is made of sieve cloth (or similar breathable material) to ensure adequate ventilation

4. The beehive built by patent claim 1 through 3 wherein at least one extra air vent is being installed on the back wall of the hive (12), besides the one on the landing-plank (9) to ensure that the bees are provided enough fresh air

5. The container that's suitable for the storage and transportation of the beehives described in claim 1 through 4 by small trailers wherein said container holds the storage compartments which are affixed to the chassis, the container has stands, a front wall, a back wall, side walls and a top frame that functions as a roof wherein the chassis (13) is narrower than the width of the structure, it's built to meet the requirements of being suitable for transportation by smaller trailers, the chassis and the top frame (14) is made of fine wire mesh, between the chassis

(13) and the top frame (14) are the storage compartments (16) designed to hold the beehives and to allow easy access to them for cleaning and for the extraction of the honey, and the stands (17) are intended to hold the hives in place and they are designed to be gradually expandable to achieve stability and elevation

6. The container described in claim 5 wherein it's expediently constructed of metal

7. The container constructed as per claim 5 and 6 wherein rails are installed on the sides of the storage compartments (16) to ensure that the hives could be easily moved in and out.

LIST OF REFERENCES underlaid

divider / separator wall

frame

a top-frame lath

a short side-wall

b long side-wall

colony unification window

frame-cover with a boosting spacer

escape area

hive roofing

landing-plank

0 entrance

1 queen excluder

2 airvent

3 chassis

top frame

5a front wall

b back wall

storage compartment 17 stands / legs

A space A

B space B