WO2020058841A1 - System and method for pollination by bees - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and system for pollinating a target crop by bees is provided. The method comprises the steps of removing a number of worker bees from a reproductive bee colony and housing the worker bees in a portable pollination hive with no queen bee. The system includes a production hive housing a reproductive bee colony with a queen bee for producing worker bees and a pollination hive without a queen bee and housing a selected number of worker bees for pollinating the target crop. The pollination hive includes a portable hive and a worker bee colony without a queen bee housed within the hive.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR POLLINATION BY BEES

CROSS-REFERENCE(S) TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from South African provisional patent application number 2018/06227 filed on 17 September 2018, which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a system and method for optimising pollination of plants by bees. In particular, it relates to a system and method for agricultural pollination of crop plants by honey bees.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Farmers often establish bee colonies on their farms or make use of pollination services that provide bee colonies for agricultural and commercial pollination of plants. Typical crops that may be pollinated in this manner include vegetable crops, fruit crops, such as berry crops, and seed crops. The benefits of natural pollination by bees include labour costs savings, improved fruit quality, increased production and decreased dependence on weather conditions or native pollinators, for example.

Pollination services are often offered to farmers by honey producers. Large reproductive colonies of honey bees are deployed on farms for the dual purpose of producing honey and pollinating the crop plants. Currently, beekeepers providing pollination services supply fully reproductive honey bee colonies and usually in so-called Langstroth hives designed by L.L. Langstroth in the 1850’s.

A Langstroth hive is a vertically modular beehive with standard dimensions characterised by the following key features: (i) vertically hung, removable frames in which bees build honeycomb; (ii) a bottom board with an entrance for the bees; (iii) boxes containing frames for brood and honey, the lower boxes of the hive being reserved for egg laying by the queen and brood production, and the upper boxes from which the queen bee is excluded being used for honey production; and (iv) an inner cover and top cap to provide weather protection. Langstroth hives function to promote hive strength and honey production. The ubiquity of the Langstroth hive design is symptomatic of a conflict of interest between beekeepers and farmers seeking pollination services. While beekeepers are primarily concerned with honey production and the health, consistent brood production and size of their bee colonies, farmers only require efficient pollination of their crops to ensure profitable yields. Many producers of pollination-dependent crops rent beehives supplied by beekeepers, and often suffer sub- optimal pollination leading to loss of revenue.

The number of reproductive colonies that are needed per hectare of crop plants varies in relation to the attractiveness of the crop, the competition from surrounding sources of nectar and pollen, and the percentage of flowers that must produce fruit or seed to provide an economic return. It is widely believed that agricultural pollination services can only be improved by increasing the number of Langstroth hives on farms and thus the number of bees per hectare. Therefore, the typical and primary solution offered by beekeepers for poor pollination is to add more hives to farms which may result in increased revenue for beekeepers, but often provides minimal improvement in pollination and increased cost to producers. The underlying inefficiencies of pollination are not addressed.

Bee colonies require a variety of nectar and pollen sources which are generally not met by target crops. A large proportion of the bee workers in hives on farms may not visit the target crop, but instead seek out other flowers to find pollen. This is because a single agricultural crop cannot meet the nutritional requirements of a reproductive bee colony. Agricultural crops are often poor sources of pollen, leaving worker bees with no option but to fly long distances to find pollen to feed developing brood.

Many agricultural crops provide large quantities of nectar, but small amounts of pollen, often with poor nutritional value. Therefore, honey stores can build up quickly in hives placed on farms. When most of the available space in a hive is filled with honey stores, workers increasingly focus on collecting pollen, leading to avoidance of the target crop in favour of flowers with better pollen rewards.

Within Langstroth hives, there are many activities that worker bees partake in, including nurturing and feeding larvae, tending to the queen and the drone bees, ventilating the hive, packing pollen, making and sealing honey and lastly, foraging on flowers for nectar and pollen. As a result, only a small proportion of workers in a hive are foraging from and pollinating flowers.

Furthermore, a number of problems arise from increasing colony size and the use of large reproductive colonies in Langstroth hives for agricultural pollination. Worker bees in large honey bee colonies tend to fly further distances in search of food, because large colonies can support more exploratory flights by worker bees. The mean flight distance of worker bees in colonies also increases with hive establishment age as worker bees discover new food resources. Therefore, worker bees in larger colonies will tend to fly beyond the target crop in search of food, and this effect increases with time, leading to a reduction of pollination efficiency at the target crop.

It has also been found that experienced worker bees in a colony search for familiar flowers instead of foraging on a target crop. In particular, honey bees tend to feed on flowers which were rewarding in the recent past through a behaviour called floral constancy. Since entire hives, often with experienced foragers, are transported to farms where flowers of the target crop are unfamiliar to worker bees, they may be more inclined to try and find floral resources in the surrounding environment they are familiar with. Even though new naive workers emerge after hives are placed on farms, they are likely to follow directions from experienced foragers to visit flowers beyond the target crops.

Worker bees have a limited lifespan and therefore need to be reproduced to replenish the population. The production rate of worker bees in hives are limited by available food sources. Beekeepers frequently move hives around the landscape in search of flowering plants that the worker bees can forage from to maintain adequate nutrition. Foraging areas are often selected with the aim of producing and selling high-quality honey, typically from Fynbos or Eucalyptus dominated areas that may be limited in the landscape. When such foraging areas are unavailable, the food availability in a hive may be sub-optimal leading to lower production rates of worker bees.

It has also been found that the constant movement of large reproductive hives causes colony stress. Traditional beekeepers move large Langstroth hives between farms several times per year, as well as to foraging areas at times that a target crop is not flowering. Although responsible beekeepers move their hives at night, the travel process remains stressful to reproductive hives due to temperature fluctuations and disturbances which may cause a decline in colony health. This affects the quality of the pollination service when hives arrive at farms. There are also increased labour and transport costs involved in moving relatively large and heavy hives over large distances.

Hives used for pollination services are exposed to pesticides used on farms, often for a large part of the year and during peak brood production. The build-up of pesticides inside hives and reproductive colonies over time can increase the susceptibility of hives to disease and decrease foraging performance of workers.

There is thus a need to improve and optimise the pollination of plants by bees for efficient food production. The preceding discussion of the background to the invention is intended only to facilitate an understanding of the present invention. It should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgment or admission that any of the material referred to was part of the common general knowledge in the art as at the priority date of the application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a method for pollinating a target crop by bees, the method comprising the steps of:

removing a number of worker bees from a reproductive bee colony; and

housing the worker bees in a portable pollination hive with no queen bee.

A further feature provides for the pollination hive to be placed at or near the target crop at a site remote from the reproductive bee colony.

Still further features provide for the method to include controlling the storage of honey by the worker bees in the pollination hive to increase the foraging behaviour of the worker bees; for the control of the storage of honey to include providing preformed synthetic combs in removable frames for honey storage and regularly removing honey-filled frames from the hive.

Yet further features provide for the method to include the step of establishing a reproductive bee colony with a queen bee for producing worker bees in a production hive.

Still further features provide for the step of removing worker bees to include removing bee brood from the production hive before the worker bees emerge and incubating the bee brood until the worker bees emerge.

In accordance with a second aspect, there is provided a system for pollinating a target crop by bees comprising: a production hive housing a reproductive bee colony with a queen bee for producing worker bees; and a pollination hive without a queen bee and housing a selected number of worker bees for pollinating the target crop.

Further features of this aspect provide for the production hive to be located at a location where areas with regular exposure to pesticides are beyond the normal foraging range of a bee; and for the pollination hive to be located at or near the target crop.

Yet a further feature provides for the system to include an incubator for incubating worker bee brood removed from the production hive until worker bees emerge; and for the incubator to have a collection container associated with it and configured to receive the worker bees and transport them to the pollination hive.

Still further features provide for the production hive to include multiple brood boxes; and for the multiple brood boxes to be in fluid communication with each other to provide the queen bee with access to all of the brood boxes.

Still a further feature provides for the system to include a feeder configured to resemble, either in colour or shape, the flowers or reproductive units of the target crop; for the feeder to be placed at or near the entrance of the pollination hive; and for the feeder to contain a food source, thereby training naive worker bees to associate the colour or shape of the crop flower with a nectar reward.

In accordance with a third aspect, there is provided a pollination hive for pollinating a target crop comprising: a portable hive; and a worker bee colony without a queen bee housed within the hive.

Further features provide for the pollination hive to include removable frames with preformed synthetic combs arranged for honey storage by the worker bees.

Yet further features of this aspect provides for the pollination hive to be folded from a single sheet of cardboard; and for the sheet to have slots configured to receive and support the removable frames when the sheet is folded into a hive.

Still a further feature of this aspect provides for the hive to have an aperture configured to receive a container for transporting worker bees.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of the traditional method of using reproductive bee colonies for agricultural pollination;

Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a system for pollinating a target crop by bees; Figure 3 is a front view of an embodiment of a production hive;

Figure 4 is a front view of an embodiment of a pollination hive; Figure 5 is a front view of an embodiment of a removable frame with synthetic comb for honey storage;

Figure 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates an embodiment of a method for pollinating a target crop by bees;

Figure 7 is a side view of an embodiment of an incubator for a brood frame; Figure 8 is a sectional side view of the incubator of Figure 7 with a collection container; Figure 9 is a three-dimensional view of the incubator of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a top view of the incubator of Figure 8; Figure 11 is a plan view of a sheet configured to be folded into an embodiment of a pollination hive;

Figure 12 is the sheet of Figure 11 folded into an embodiment of a pollination hive; Figure 13 is a three-dimensional side view of the pollination hive of Figure 12 with the one side panel unfolded and the top panel lifted up to show the inside of the hive;

Figure 14A is a three-dimensional bottom view of the pollination hive of Figure 12 with a container attached to an opening in the pollination hive;

Figure 14B is another three-dimensional bottom view of the pollination hive of Figure 12 with the container removed and a cover placed over the opening;

Figure 15 is a front view of the pollination hive of Figure 12 with an entrance fitting;

Figure 16 is a three-dimensional view of the pollination hive of Figure 12 with the one side panel unfolded and the top panel lifted up to show removable frames mounted therein;

Figure 17 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a removable frame with synthetic comb;

Figure 18 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a system for pollinating a target crop by bees;

Figure 19 is a graph comparing the number of months bees of different trial groups were actively foraging for nectar while given different food sources;

Figure 20 is a graph comparing the number of months bees of different trial groups were actively foraging when given different amounts of provisions; and

Figure 21 is a graph showing worker bee activity during the first five days after emergence.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

Traditionally, honey-producing reproductive bee colonies in standard Langstroth hives are placed near a target crop for the dual purpose of producing honey and allowing the bees to act as pollinating agents to assist in the pollination of the target crop. The traditional method of using a reproductive bee colony for agricultural pollination is illustrated in Figure 1. The colony (1) is established with a queen bee (3) and worker bees (5) in a Langstroth hive (7). The Langstroth hive (7) includes one or more vertically stacked brood boxes (9) at the bottom and honey supers (11) stacked on top of the brood boxes (9). Brood boxes (9) are typically more voluminous or deeper than honey supers (11). An entrance (13) into the hive is provided below the brood boxes (9). Multiple honey supers (11) may be stacked on top of each other to increase honey production as shown.

The queen bee (3) only has access to the brood boxes (9) as demonstrated by an arrow (15) in Figure 1 , whereas the worker bees (5) have access to both the brood boxes (9) and the honey supers (11) as demonstrated by a second arrow (17). The queen bee (3) is excluded from the top honey supers (11) to restrict the laying of eggs and thus worker bee production by the queen bee to the bottom brood boxes (9). The exclusion of the queen bee (3) from the top supers is usually achieved via a mesh between the brood box (9) and the supers (11) having holes through which only the worker bees can pass. The worker bees (5) have unrestricted access to the one or more brood boxes (9) and the honey supers (11) and fill any cells without eggs with honey.

The worker bees perform multiple tasks in a reproductive colony. Worker bees engage in nectar foraging and to a slightly lesser degree to pollen foraging as a protein source that is used to feed developing larvae. Worker bees also spend a considerable amount of time on non-foraging activities such as building comb, brood care (feeding and warming) and tending to the queen bee.

The traditional Langstroth hive is designed for both worker bee production and honey production and may be used to provide pollination services. Such hives with whole reproductive colonies are moved throughout the year to ensure flowers are available for high-grade honey production, often resulting in hive stress. The reproductive colony requires a variety of nectar and pollen sources to meet all of its needs. The worker bees quickly fill cells with honey when foraging on crops. Beekeepers leave the hives on farms for extended periods without removing built-up honey.

Pollination of a target crop may be improved, optimised or made more efficient by decoupling the need for reproductive colony maintenance and worker production from pollination services. A system including a pollination-optimised beehive for pollinating a target crop may be provided to address the problems associated with using traditional Langstroth hives for pollination services offered to farmers. This optimised system and method is discussed in detail below.

The method for optimising pollination of a target crop by bees generally includes the steps of removing a number of worker bees from a reproductive bee colony and housing the worker bees in a portable pollination hive without a queen bee. The pollination hive may be placed at or near the target crop to ensure the bees are within foraging range from the target crop. The pollination hive may therefore be placed at any suitable location that will allow the worker bees easy access to the target crop and that is within foraging range of the bees. Depending on the terrain, the pollination hive may be placed in between the target crop or may be placed on the outskirts of the target crop. Worker bees have a maximum flight range of about 12 km and therefore the pollination hive should be placed at a location within about 12 km or less from the target crop. Additional factors that may influence the placement of the pollination hive may include environmental factors such as sun exposure, water availability and topography.

The pollination hive may be placed at a site remote from the reproductive bee colony. The production hive and pollination hive may be spatially separated from each other to limit pollination hive worker bees from returning to the production hive. It was however observed that worker bees that took their first exploratory flight from the pollination hive rarely return to the production hive. A significant distance between the production hive and the pollination hive is therefore not required. A“remote site” may therefore include the hives being spatially separated by any suitable distance that limits the return of pollination hive worker bees to the production hive. A suitable distance between the pollination hive and production hive may be about 50 m or more, preferably about 100 m or more. A“remote site” may also include the hives being separated by a physical barrier, for example, the production hive may be housed within a building and the pollination hive may be placed outside the building at any suitable distance therefrom.

A selected number of worker bees may be removed from the reproductive bee colony and placed at or near the target crop. The number of worker bees may be selected to control the foraging behaviour of the worker bees to optimise pollination of the target crop. By limiting the number of worker bees housed in the pollination hive, the worker bees are less likely to take long exploratory flights and forage on plants further away from the target crop.

The storage of honey by the worker bees in the pollination hive may be controlled to increase the foraging behaviour of the worker bees and thereby optimise the pollination of the target crop. To control the storage of honey, preformed synthetic combs in removable frames may be provided in the pollination hive. By supplying the bees with preformed comb it obviates the need for the bees to build their own comb from bee’s wax which provides them with more time for foraging. The frames should preferably be removed regularly and replaced with empty frames to avoid honey build-up and saturation of the combs in the pollination hive. This encourages the worker bees to keep visiting the target crop. Removing the frames regularly may include, but not be limited to, removing frames when 30 percent of cells are filled with honey, or about 40 percent honey, or about 50 percent or more are filled with honey. The frames may also be removed on a time dependent basis regardless of the percentage honey in the frame, for example on a weekly basis.

The method may also include the step of establishing a reproductive bee colony with a queen bee for producing worker bees in a production hive. By having a separate pollination hive that is placed at the target crop, the production hive can remain stationary which reduces travel stress on the reproductive colony. Also, the small pollination hive may be easier to transport than the relatively big production hive. The reproductive bee colony should be well maintained to provide a continual supply of worker bees. The production hive may be provided with a food source, preferably an artificial food source, to increase the rate of production of worker bees. In addition to increasing food resources, the space available for worker bee production may be expanded, preferably by adding additional modular brood boxes to the production hive. The brood boxes may contain already preformed brood combs for the queen bee to lay eggs in. The queen may have unrestricted access to the entire production hive. Bee brood from the production hive may be removed from the production hive before the worker bees emerge and may be incubated either in an incubator or in a pollination hive. If the bee brood is not incubated in the pollination hive then the newly emerged worker bees may be transported to the portable pollination hive when enough worker bees have emerged.

The method may optimise pollination by increasing foraging behaviour of the worker bees and focussing their foraging behaviour on the target crop.

The method may also include the step of placing a training feeder at or near the entrance of the pollination hive. The feeder may be the same colour or shape of the flowers or reproductive units of the target crop. A food source may be contained in the feeder to teach naive worker bees to associate the target crop with a nectar reward. The feeder should preferably be placed at or near the entrance of the pollination hive before the newly emerged worker bees start taking their first exploratory flights from the pollination hive. After the first few days of deploying the worker bees at the target crop the feeder may be removed.

In addition to the above described method, a system may be provided for optimising the pollination of a target crop by bees. The system may include a production hive housing a reproductive bee colony with a queen bee for producing worker bees and a pollination hive without a queen bee and housing a selected number of worker bees for pollinating the target crop.

The pollination hive may be located at or near the target crop to ensure the pollination hive is within foraging range of the target crop. Worker bees have a maximum flight range of about 12 km and therefore the pollination hive should be placed at a location within about 12 km or less from the target crop.

The production hive may be located at a location where areas with regular exposure to pesticides are beyond the normal foraging range of a bee. Areas with regular exposure to pesticide may include areas that are treated with pesticide according to normal gardening or agricultural practice as well as areas that are exposed to high levels of pesticide. Minimal to no exposure to pesticides will be favourable to the health of the colony and may limit hive infections. The normal foraging range of a bee varies depending on the available forage around the hive, but it is usually between about 500 m and about 3 km, with a maximum of around 12 km. Therefore, the absence or very low use of pesticides within a 3 km radius surrounding the production hive is preferable to reduce pesticide exposure. More preferable would be very low or no pesticide exposure within a 5 km radius surrounding the production hive and even more preferable would be very low or no pesticide exposure within a 12 km radius surrounding the production hive. The location of the production hive should preferably allow for optimal bee colony health with ample food, pollen and nectar resources. The production hive may also be located inside a controlled environment, for example inside a building with temperature control. As mentioned above, the production hive may include multiple brood boxes that are in fluid communication with each other to provide the queen bee with access to all of the brood boxes.

The production hive may include a food source to supplement the diet of the bees for maximum worker bee production. The food source may be artificial and may include sugar water, preferably with added vitamins and amino acids, and a pollen substitute. By supplementing the diets of production hives, exposure to pesticides can further be reduced.

The system may also include an incubator for incubating worker bee brood removed from the production hive until worker bees emerge. The incubator may have a collection container such as a jar or box associated with it to receive and transport the worker bees to the pollination hive. Alternatively, the bee brood may be removed from the production hive and incubated in a pollination hive.

The system may also include a feeder that resembles the colour and/or shape of the flowers of the target crop and that is placed at or near the entrance of the pollination hive. The feeder may contain a food source such as sugar water. The feeder may assist in training naive worker bees to associate the flowers of the target crop with a reward.

The pollination hive for pollinating a target crop generally includes a portable hive and a worker bee colony without a queen bee housed within the hive. The pollination hive may include removable frames with preformed synthetic combs arranged for honey storage by the worker bees. The frames may be vertically mounted with support structures to support them within the pollination hive. While real comb may be used in the pollination hives, it is preferable to use synthetic comb. The synthetic comb may be made from a suitable plastics material.

The pollination hive may be folded from a single sheet of material, such as cardboard or any other suitable material. The sheet may have slots configured to receive and support the removable frames once the sheet is folded into a hive. The pollination hive may also have an aperture to receive a container for transporting worker bees. The container may be used to collect worker bees either from the production hive or from an incubator and to then transport the bees to the pollination hive. A barrier may be provided to prevent entry of other insects into the pollination hive. The barrier may be a plastic mesh, arranged to cover an entrance to the hive, to exclude insects that are larger than the worker bees. The bees intended to be used for pollination of a target crop is preferably honey bees from the Apis genus.

An embodiment of a system (100) for optimising the pollination of a target crop by bees in this manner is illustrated in Figure 2. The system (100) includes a production hive (103) housing a reproductive bee colony with a queen bee (105) for producing worker bees (107) and a pollination hive (109) housing a selected number of worker bees (107) for pollinating the target crop. The pollination hive (109) may be located at or near the target crop. The pollination hive does not include a queen bee and the hive may be provided with a barrier (111) configured to prevent entry of other insects or a queen bee so that a wild queen cannot be adopted.

The production hive (103) and the pollination hive (109) may be spatially separated to prevent return of the worker bees to the production hive (103) that they originated from and to further prevent the queen from joining the worker bees at the pollination hive (109).

The system (100) may further include an incubator (113) for incubating bee brood removed from the production hive (103). The newly emerged worker bees in the incubator (113) are then transferred to the pollination hive (109) to provide pollination services at the target crop.

The production hive (103) shown in Figure 3, comprises a hive body (115) which defines a receptacle (1 17) arranged to receive one or more brood boxes (1 19). The receptacle (1 17) may be defined within a three-walled structure (121) or unit with a roof (123) and a stand (125) that is fitted with an adjustable bottom board (127) also functioning as a shelf on which a brood box (1 19) is mounted. The bottom board defines an entrance (129) for the bees. The size of the entrance (129) may be adjusted with a slider or the like to allow more or less bees to enter and exit the production hive. The position of the bottom board (127) may be adjusted relative to the length of the hive body (1 15) to adjust the size of the receptacle (117) and accordingly, the number of brood boxes (1 19) that may be stacked therein. The bottom board (127) may be supported on ledges arranged to be equally spaced about the length of the hive body (1 15) by a distance corresponding to the height of a brood box (1 19).

In use, a reproductive bee colony may be established with a new queen bee and worker bees in a single brood box (119a) added to the hive body (115). The first brood box (1 19a) is mounted at or near the top of the hive body (1 15). Additional brood boxes (1 19) may be added below the first brood box (119a) to provide more space as the colony expands from continued worker bee production by the queen. When the hive body (1 15) contains multiple brood boxes (1 19), the brood boxes (119) are configured and arranged to be in fluid communication with each other to provide the queen bee with access to all of the brood boxes (119). The brood boxes (119) may be vertically stacked within the hive body (115) and the top and bottom walls of each brood box may be provided with one or more openings for the bees, including the queen bee, to have full access to all of the brood boxes. Brood boxes (119) containing worker bees are also removed and replaced with empty boxes for continuous, unrestricted worker bee production in the production hive (103).

The brood boxes may contain real comb or preformed, synthetic brood comb. The synthetic comb may be made from a plastics material. The brood comb may contain bee brood that may be removed from the production hive to be incubated until new worker bees emerge.

The production hive (103) provides new, naive and inexperienced worker bees for a pollination hive (109) forming part of the system (100). The worker bees may be removed from the production hive (103) while they are still encased in their cells in the brood combs, just before emerging. Referring back to Figure 2, the worker bees may then be incubated in an incubator (113) so that they emerge from their cells and may then be transferred to one or more pollination hives (109).

The pollination hive may be specifically configured to house a select number of these newly emerged worker bees and its size will depend on the number of worker bees it houses in relation to the size of the target crop. It is foreseen that a relatively small hive of standard size may be used and that multiple hives may be suitably placed at or near a target crop based on the size of the crop, the type of crop and other considerations for the purpose of pollination.

The pollination hive (109) shown in Figure 4 includes a pollination hive body (131), which defines a receptacle arranged to receive a pollination box (133). The pollination box (133) may be a brood box (119) removed from the production hive (103) from which the queen bee (105) has been excluded and from which removable frames with brood combs provided or built by the bees have been removed to adapt the brood box for its new purpose, namely the pollination of the target crop. A queenless colony of worker bees (107) spends more time foraging and thus pollinating the target crop if they do not need to tend to the queen or brood and build brood comb or nests for egg laying and the like.

The pollination box (133) is provided with an entrance (135) into the box (133) that has a barrier arranged to prevent entry of insects that are larger than the worker bees. The barrier (137) may be a mesh with apertures that are sized to permit worker bees to pass through the mesh, whereas larger insects such as wasps are excluded from the pollination hive (109) by means of the mesh based on size. Although wild queen bees are not expected to enter pollination hives due to their occupation by worker bees, their adoption may still be prevented with the barrier. The barrier (137) may be integrally formed with the pollination box (133) or attached over the entrance to the pollination box (133). Unlike in standard Langstroth hives where a queen excluder is placed between the deep brood super and the honey supers, the barrier (137) covers the entrance (135) to the hive (109).

The pollination box (133) includes and supports vertically mounted removable frames (139), shown in Figure 5, with preformed synthetic combs (141) arranged for honey storage by the worker bees (107). Such combs may be made from a plastics material. The preformed combs ensure that the worker bees do not partake in comb building as one of their natural activities, and rather spend more time foraging on the target crop to assist in the pollination thereof.

A method for optimising the pollination of a target crop by bees is illustrated in Figure 6. At a first step worker bees or foraging bees are removed or isolated from a reproductive bee colony (601), preferably a honey bee colony. The removed or isolated worker bees are then housed in a portable pollination hive with no queen bee (603) and in a manner that ensures that a new queen bee is not adopted from the environment. This may be done by placing a mesh over the hive entrance to exclude insects that are larger than the worker bees. The pollination hive of worker bees is placed at or near the target crop to optimise the pollination of the target crop (605).

Since isolated worker bees only require nectar and have less need for protein-rich pollen, they tend to mostly forage on the target crop. The number of worker bees that are removed from the reproductive bee colony is selected to control the foraging behaviour of the worker bees to optimise the pollination of the target crop.

The method may also include controlling the storage of honey by the worker bees in the pollination hive to increase the foraging behaviour of the worker bees and optimise the pollination of the target crop. This may be done by providing or fitting the pollination hives with preformed synthetic combs in removable frames (607) that are vertically or otherwise mounted for honey storage by the worker bees. Worker bees therefore do not need to spend any time building comb with bees wax. Further control of the honey storage process is aimed at preventing honey saturation of the combs in the pollination hive by removing honey regularly (609) and even before honey build-up occurs to ensure that the worker bees keep visiting the target crop. This may be done by removing honey-filled frames and replacing them with empty frames.

If bee brood is removed from the production hive then the method may also include the step of placing the brood in an incubator until the bees emerge. The emerged bees may then be transported from the incubator to a pollination hive without a queen bee. The incubator is discussed in more detail below.

Figures 7 to 10 show an example embodiment of an incubator for receiving bee brood. The incubator (150) as shown in Figure 7 is configured to receive a single brood frame (152). The incubator (150) may be portable. The internal temperature of the incubator (150) may be precisely controlled using an electronic temperature control unit (154) which includes a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the incubator (150). The temperature control unit (154) may further include a heating element, a fan, and a custom-programmed microcontroller with an LCD screen to set and control the internal temperature of the incubator (150).

The panels (156) covering either side of the incubator (150) can be removed to view, through a pane of glass or other transparent material, the brood frame (152) and bees emerging inside the incubator (150). Alternatively, the panel itself may be made from a transparent material.

The top of the incubator (150) has a lid (158) that can be removed by sliding it out. A pair of rubber strips (160a; 160b) with a narrow or no space between them prevents bees from escaping when the lid (158) is removed. While the rubber strips (160a; 160b) prevent bees from escaping, they also allow a user, when a sufficient amount of worker bees have emerged, to insert the nozzle of a pressurised air blow gun on either side of the brood frame (152) and blow the emerged bees to the bottom of the incubator (150). Again, it is useful to have a view of the inside of the incubator (150) to more accurately use the blower to move bees down.

The incubator (150) may have an angled section (162) at the bottom to allow for the bees to be funnelled into a collection container (213) such as a jar which screws into the bottom of the incubator (150). Once enough bees are collected inside the container (213), they can be transferred directly to a pollination hive. The pollination hive is configured to receive the container (213) to facilitate the transfer of bees in an indoor setting without bees escaping, as will be discussed in more detail below.

The incubator has a height of about 60 cm and a width of about 50 cm, however any suitable size incubator may be manufactured. The incubator may be configured to receive numerous brood frames at a time. Instead of fitting each incubator with a temperature control unit, the environment wherein the incubator is housed may be temperature controlled. Any suitable alternative method for removing the emerged bees from the incubator may be used, such as brushing the bees into a transportation vessel. The incubator may be located any reasonable distance from the production hive and the pollination hive. Transporting the brood frames to the incubator may be easier than transporting the emerged worker bees from the incubator to the pollination hive and it may therefore be preferable to have the incubator located near the pollination hive. This may also reduce travel stress on the bees.

The process of transporting the bees may include removing the brood frame from the production hive and placing it in the incubator. The incubator may then be transported to the target crop and when the worker bees emerge, they can be transferred from the incubator to a pollination hive. This process could minimise the travel stress experienced by the worker bees as the majority of travel is completed before the bees emerge from the brood frame.

An example embodiment of a pollination hive is shown in Figures 11 to 16. In this embodiment the pollination hive (200) may be folded from a single sheet (202) of cardboard cut in a pattern as illustrated in Figure 1 1. When folded, and as shown in Figure 12, at least two of the sides of the pollination hive (200) will consist of two layers of cardboard to increase insulation. Additional folded sections may also be added so that the floor and back wall of the pollination hive are also two layers thick.

The sheet (202) may have various cutaway sections. An entrance (204) may be provided to allow the worker bees to access the inside of the pollination hive (200). An entrance fitting (206) may be secured to the entrance (204). As best shown in Figure 15, the fitting (206) may have a barrier (208), such as a sliding gate, which can be closed while transporting the pollination hive (200). Holes (210) may be provided in the sheet (202) to receive fasteners such as cable ties to secure the pollination hive (200) to a base.

An aperture (212) may be provided in the sheet (202) and be configured to receive a container (213) shown in Figure 14A for the transportation of worker bees from an incubator. The aperture

(212) is square but may be any other suitable shape for receiving the container (213). When the pollination hive (200) is in the operative upright position, the aperture (212) is located at the bottom of the pollination hive (200) but may located on any suitable side of the hive.

As shown in Figures 13, 14A and 14B, a loading attachment (214) may be secured to the edge of the sheet (202) that defines the aperture (212). The loading attachment (214) also has an opening (215) defined by an edge with a groove (216) to more securely receive the container

(213) with the transported worker bees. The loading attachment (214) may have cover (218) as shown in Figure 14B to close the opening (215) after the worker bees have been transferred from the container (213) to the pollination hive (200). The opening (215) is circular with a diameter of about 9 cm however the opening may be any suitable size and shape in order to receive the container. The loading attachment (214) may be manufactured as two parts with small apertures provided in each part to receive fasteners such as cable ties to secure the two parts together over the aperture (212) in the pollination hive (200). The two parts may also fit together with a snap fit or be secured together in any other suitable manner. Alternatively, the loading attachment may be manufactured as a single unit. Stabilising slots (220) and support notches (222) may be cut into the sheet (202). As shown in Figures 16 and 17, the slots (220) are configured to receive frame stabilisers (224) that may be present on the removable frames (226). The frames (226) may also have support brackets (228) and the support notches (222) are configured to receive these brackets (228) to assist in supporting the frames (226) when they are placed inside the pollination hive (200). Each frame (226) may have a spacer (230) to support the top panel or roof (232) of the pollination hive (200).

The sheet (202) may have a total length of about 90 cm and a total width of about 50 cm however any suitable length or width sheet may be manufactured. The assembled pollination hive may be relatively small with a length that ranges between about 20 cm and about 40 cm, a width that ranges between about 15 cm and about 35 cm and a height that ranges between about 10 cm and about 30 cm. Each frame (226) may have a height of about 12 cm and a length of about 18 cm, however any suitable size frame may be used. The pollination hive (200) shown in Figures 11 to 16 is configured to receive 8 removable frames (226), however the size of the sheet and consequently of the pollination hive may be adapted so as to accommodate any number of combs depending on the intended purpose.

The sheet (202) may be coated with paint to increase water resistance. The paint may consist of pure acrylic copolymers and resin additives and can be custom-coloured to alter thermal absorptivity for varying weather conditions.

As shown in Figure 17, preformed synthetic comb is provided in each removable frame (226). The synthetic comb (234) may be produced using a 3D-printer with a custom-coded slicing protocol adapted from the Honeycomb infill pre-set in the open-source program Slic3r™ (https://slic3r.org/). Slic3r™ converts 3D models into a sequence of instructions that can be followed by a 3D printer. By altering the code that generates these instructions, the synthetic comb is printed with sealed comb cells, since the printer is forced to overlap previous paths. The comb is printed in two parts that clip together with the openings of the cells facing down. The comb may also be printed with the cells facing up. The cells may also be printed so that they are angled downwards from the opening of the cell. This serves to prevent honey stores from flowing out of cells.

The material used for printing may be PLA (polylactic acid) which is a thermoplastic aliphatic polyester produced from fermented starch found in corn, sugarcane, potatoes, etc. This material is non-toxic and biodegradable, recyclable, or reusable if cleaned and experiments show that honey bees accept comb produced with this material. Any other material, suitable for use in a beehive, may be used to create the synthetic combs. Alternative methods of producing the synthetic comb may also be used such as injection moulding or thermoforming. Figure 18 is a schematic illustration of a system (300) for optimising the pollination of a target crop by bees. The system (300) includes a reproductive colony housed in a production hive (not shown), an incubator (304) for receiving one or more brood frames (302) and a pollination hive (308) with no queen bee.

The process may be divided into 4 stages, namely: brood production, brood incubation, pollination hive assembly and worker transfer, and pollination hive deployment.

During the stage of brood production reproductive bee colonies, housed in production hives, are kept in a stationary location. Frames (302) containing capped bee larvae (brood frames) are collected from production hives. All adult bees, including the queen are removed from the frame (302) and the frame (302) is then placed inside a single-frame incubator (304).

During brood incubation the removed brood frames (302) are kept in incubators (304) at about 35°C. Once adult worker bees start emerging from their cells, they are moved to the bottom of the incubator (304), preferably using a pressurized air gun. At the bottom of the incubator (304), the worker bees are funnelled into a collection container (306).

The next stage includes production of the synthetic comb (not shown), preparation and assembly of the pollination hive (308) and transfer of the worker bees from the incubator (306) to the pollination hive (308). The pollination hive (308) is folded from a pre-cut, single sheet of cardboard. A hive door (310) with a removable gate (312), and a bee-loading port (314) are added to the box. Thereafter, 8 removable frames (316) with synthetic combs are added to the hive (308). The synthetic combs are 3D-printed using biodegradable plastic (PLA) and are loaded with food provisions (80% sucrose solution and pollen substitute).

The hive (308) is then sealed, leaving a single opening at the bottom of the hive (308) in the form of a port-hole (318) to which the bee collection container (306) can be attached directly to transfer newly emerged worker bees. Once all the bees have been transferred, a plug (320) is placed into the port-hole (318) to seal the pollination hive (308).

Finally, the pollination hives (308) with worker bees and no queen bees can be deployed to target crops. Pollination hives (308) are able to remain closed for 2-3 days to allow for travel to target crops. To start pollination, a sliding gate (312) is pulled from the entrance (310) and may be discarded. The pollination hive (308) can be mounted on a pole (322) or placed on a flat surface.

Additionally, a small nectar feeder (324), manufactured to reflect the same colour and perhaps even shape as flowers of the target crop can be placed at the pollination hive entrance. This feeder (324) may serve to teach naive worker bees, especially in the first few days of deployment, to associate the colour of the crop flower with a nectar reward. The feeder (324) may have an opening (326) at the centre of the synthetic flower (328) that is connected to a food source (330) such as sugar water. In pre-prototype trials, this teaching strategy substantially increased the rate at which worker bees learned to forage on target flowers. The training feeder can be modified for each target crop.

Prototype trials revealed that bees continue to function as a foraging colony for at least 30 days with high survival (>95%) of workers. Pollination hives (308) should therefore be able to provide pollination services for most crops for the entirety of their flowering period.

To provide a continual supply of worker bees for the pollination hives that may be placed at or near a target crop, a reproductive bee colony may be established with a queen bee for producing worker bees in a production hive. The reproductive colony is kept stationary to reduce travel stress and maintained to ensure a continual supply of worker bees. The reproductive colony may be provided with shelter and nutrition aimed at promoting and optimising such continual production of worker bees. The worker bees may also be reared from eggs within a controlled environment providing optimal development conditions.

Removable frames with preformed brood combs containing brood as pupae encased in cells are periodically removed from the production hive to incubate inside a climatically controlled incubator until emergence. It typically takes a day or two of incubation until the capped/mature brood/pupae emerge as new worker bees.

These newly emerged workers bees may then be transferred to an empty pollination hive that includes frames containing the synthetic comb for honey storage and has limited food sources, and transported to farms to pollinate target crops. The quantity of food will preferably be tailored to provide bees with enough energy provisions to survive travel and the first few days on site at the farm, but not so much that they are not encouraged to fly and forage for more food, thereby pollinating crops.

Food provisions may strategically be placed on only one side of all synthetic combs. In doing so, the worker bees are provided with enough food, while also exposing them to entire sections of comb that are empty. These empty cells encourage workers to collect more food and thereby promotes foraging and pollination.

The term“worker bees” as used in this specification refers to the worker bee brood in all stages of development as well as the worker bees after they have emerged from the cells.

Any suitable method or device may be used to remove the adult workers bees and possibly the queen from brood frames, and also to remove newly emerged worker bees from a frame taken from the incubator in order to place them in the pollination hive. For example, a brush system may be used to gently sweep bees away from the frames. A plurality of brushes may be arranged to be interspersed between brood frames at or near an inner side wall of the brood box so that when the brood frames are removed or pulled out of the brood box, the adult worker bees and possibly the queen bee are brushed aside and back into the production hive to be retained therein. Alternatively, a mechanical shaker may be used to shake bees off the frames and return them to the production hive. A similar method or device may be used to brush or shake newly emerged worker bees from the frames in the incubator into an empty pollination hive before transporting the pollination hive to a farm with a target crop for pollination. Alternatively, newly emerged worker bees may be removed from the brood frame in the incubator by blowing pressurized air along the sides of the brood frame so that bees fall down to the bottom of the incubator. Depending on the design of the incubator, the worker bees may then be funnelled into a collection jar or any suitable container for transporting the bees to the pollination hive.

The rate or production of worker bees may be increased by providing a food source, preferably an artificial food source that meets all of the bees’ nutritional needs for brood production. The colony is also likely to expand if space is made available for worker bee production by adding brood boxes to the production hive that the queen bee has full and unrestricted access to.

Worker bees can be removed from the production hive for providing pollination services in a number of ways. In one embodiment the queen bee may be excluded from a brood box, the brood box with only worker bees therein may be removed from the production hive and brood combs in the brood box may be replaced with removable frames with preformed synthetic combs for honey storage to adapt the brood box for use in the pollination hive as a pollination box. Alternatively, the worker bees may be established in a separately provided pollination hive or added to a previously established pollination hive that no longer houses worker bees following their death. In another embodiment, individual brood frames, instead of a whole brood box, may be removed from the production hive and placed in an incubator until the worker bees emerge and are transported to a pollination hive.

The system and method may include honey bees from the Apis genus, such as Apis mellifera capensis found in the Western Cape in South Africa or Apis mellifera scutellata found in Africa or any other subspecies of Apis mellifera, or even Apis cerana. Honey bees are versatile pollinating agents and may be used to pollinate a variety of crops. Examples

Lab Trial 1

Method

200-600 Newly-emerged worker bees were transferred to Apidea mini-hives of 15 x 20 x 25 cm and were kept in indoor flight cages with ad libitum food (sugar water and pollen substitute) and water.

Results

Newly emerged honey bees started to forage within 4-6 days. This represents a rapid transition to forager-mode, which typically only occurs towards the end of a worker-bee's life (>21 days). Without brood to take care of, worker bees appear to switch rapidly to forager-mode, which is advantageous for providing pollination services.

While around 10-20% of worker bees died within the first two weeks of colony establishment, mortality rates decreased rapidly after the first week, and the average lifespan of worker bees was around 3 months. Although bees in outdoor, queen-right colonies are capable of surviving for several months during the winter, actively foraging bees typically work themselves to death within a few weeks. The average lifespan of a worker bee under natural conditions is around 4 weeks. The survival of foraging bees for several months may reflect the ease with which food is obtained in laboratory conditions.

It was observed that foraging worker bees ignored pollen in favour of nectar. When offered flowers that are typically harvested for pollen by bees in the wild, the laboratory bees ignored the pollen on offer and collected nectar instead. This avoidance of pollen likely reflects the lack of demand for protein, which is mainly used to feed developing larvae in queen-right colonies. The lack of pollen foraging in worker-only colonies will likely be beneficial for providing crop pollination services. If bees do not collect and pack pollen in their pollen baskets, there will likely be more pollen available for pollination. Furthermore, foraging bees will be less inclined to leave crop flowers to find superior pollen sources.

The worker bees did not build new comb even when offered comb foundation and when existing comb was limited. Again, the lack of brood to care for likely limits the drive for workers to build comb. The lack of comb building means that more worker bees are potentially available to forage and therefore, pollinate crops. Lab Trial 2

Method

Queenless bee colonies were housed in small polystyrene boxes with real comb. Selected hives were given only sugar solution while the other hives were given both sugar solution and bee- bread. The hives were housed indoors in a flight cage.

Results

The months the bees were actively foraging for nectar were recorded, as shown in Figure 19. It was observed that the workers forage and behave as a colony without a queen present. The workers given artificial bee-bread in addition to sugar solution survived longer and started flying sooner. While around 20% of worker bees died within the first week, mortality rates stabilised after the first week which is also typical of natural colonies. Worker bees ignored pollen in favour of nectar. As noted above, this avoidance of pollen likely reflects the lack of demand for protein, which is mainly used to feed developing larvae in queen-right colonies. It was also observed that the worker bees had an extended lifespan compared to outdoor queen-right hives where worker bees typically have a lifespan of 3-4 weeks.

Using real comb harvested from other colonies exposed the laboratory bees to Nosema infection, which appeared to decrease lifespan. It was also observed that because the worker bees were inexperienced, they were easy to train on specific flowers.

Pre-prototype Field Trial

Method

Queenless bee colonies were housed in small polystyrene boxes with real comb. Selected hives were given limited provisions and placed in a Fynbos region during December which is a very poor flowering environment. The other hives were given ample provisions and kept in a large residential area with ample flowering gardens.

Results

Worker bees continued to behave as a coherent colony which appears to suggest that the flight cages in the previous lab experiments did not artificially force worker bees to stay together without a queen, but that workers tend to form colony groups independent of a queen. As shown in Figure 20, sufficient provisioning appears to be important when placing bees outdoors, to allow them time to find nectar resources. However, in an agricultural setting the bees will have ample access to flowers in close proximity and may not require as much provisions. As seen in the previous trials, the bees did not appear to collect any pollen. Signs of Nosema infection were still present even when the hives were housed outdoors, therefore the source of the infection is likely contaminated comb.

Prototype Field Trial

Method

A queenless colony was housed in a prototype pollination hive with synthetic comb. The hive was placed outdoors.

Results

As shown in Figure 21 , the activity of the field trial bees were recorded for the first five days after emergence. On the first day of emergence no flight activity was observed. Distinction was made between exploratory flights and foraging flights made by the bees. Exploratory flights were characterised by circular flights around the hive and may include foraging flights. After the first 7 days, all observed flights appeared to be foraging flights. Foraging flight activity continued until the trial was terminated 30 days after first emergence of worker bees.

It was observed that foraging bees only collected nectar which is likely to keep them focused on target crops unlike worker bees in traditional hives that need to find pollen sources to feed brood. The field trial bees also displayed typical foraging behaviour on flowers close to the hive. Activity of the field trial bees increased over the first few days after emergence. Usually workers in traditional hives only forage 2 weeks after emergence. At the end of the 30-day trial, the measured mortality rate inside the prototype box was very low (1.5%) and no visible signs of Nosema infection were observed. It appears the synthetic comb allowed for more accurate and hygienic food provisioning.

Prototype Greenhouse Trial

Method

A queenless colony was housed in a prototype pollination hive with synthetic comb. The hive was kept inside a greenhouse and bees were provided with artificial flowers.

Results

It was observed that bees foraged normally on flowers within 3 days of deployment. Bees flew normally around the greenhouse enclosure, displaying no signs of aggregation in corners of the greenhouse, and returning to their pollination hive as normal.

Initial field studies appear to indicate that a worker-only bee colony survives in the same manner in the field as in the laboratory. It was also observed that the worker bees appear to only forage for nectar in the field. Further, when honey-filled comb was removed and replaced with empty comb, worker foraging activity increased markedly.

The trials demonstrate that worker bees without a queen bee appear to continue to exist as a functioning social unit with increased foraging behaviour in both laboratory conditions and in the field.

The prototype trials also revealed that bees returned to their pollination hive for at least 30 days with 988 of the initial 1 ,001 worker bees remaining inside the pollination hive. Since bees form a search image of the hive they exit on their first flight they are very likely to return to the hive that they performed their first exploratory flights from. And since the worker bees that are placed in pollination hives make their first flight from the pollination hive it is unlikely that they will return to their original production hive. It is also very unlikely for the queen to leave the reproductive hive and join the pollination hive.

The method and system described herein may provide agricultural pollination services to fruit, berry, vegetable, and seed farmers. Reproductive honey bee colonies in production hives including queen and worker bees, may be maintained for the purposes of supplying small worker- only hives called pollination hives that may be placed at farms to supply pollination services.

Production hives are configured to be suitable for worker bee production and optimise the rate of production. The production hive may be located at a location specifically selected to limit the exposure of the reproductive bee colony to pesticides. The production hive should therefore preferably not be located at or near a crop treated with pesticides. The production hive is usually located far from the farm with the target crop. The production hive is configured to remain stationary to avoid exposing the colony to stress caused by travel. Preferably, only the pollination hive is transported to a farm with a target crop, which may be hundreds of kilometres away from the production hive. As a result, there is little to no risk of worker bees returning to the production hive, or of the queen bee leaving the production hive to relocate to the pollination hive, as the minimum distance between the respective hives will be much greater than the distance that the bees can fly. It was observed however that worker bees that took their first exploratory flight from the pollination hive rarely return to the production hive even if the production hive should be within a distance that the bees can fly.

The production hive may be located outdoors or inside a building to provide a controllable environment and shelter against wind. The temperature inside the building may be controlled for optimal egg laying and brooding and for the production of worker bees by the queen. The temperature may be maintained around 35 °C (±1 °C) so that the brood develops normally.

The diet of the reproductive colony may be supplemented or completely catered for, depending on the location of the hive in nature or under laboratory conditions in a controlled environment. The production hive may therefore include a food source selected to comprise or supplement the diet of the bees for maximum worker bee production. Since the primary objective of the production hive and reproductive colony is not to make honey of a certain quality grade or taste, an artificial food source may be provided to the bees, such as sugar water to satisfy their energy requirements and a suitable pollen substitute to satisfy their protein and additional nutritional requirements. The sugar water may contain further nutritional supplements such as vitamins and critical amino acids that bees often obtain from visiting different species of flowers. The pollen substitute may comprise a mixture of vegetable and milk proteins, seed oil, sugar, vitamins and minerals. Floral pollen may also be used instead of an artificial or synthetic substitute pollen.

The production hives also allow for easy removal of worker-brood boxes or frames to place in pollination hives. Pollination hives are specifically configured for pollination services by manipulating honey bee foraging behaviour through hive size and food storage control. The separation of hives into production and pollination functions solves several problems associated with the current practice of deploying large reproductive colonies for the purposes of pollination services.

The nutritional needs of the colony or worker bees only are much simpler as workers only require nectar from flowers. Therefore, the majority of workers are likely to forage from and pollinate target crops, instead of spending time and energy in search of nutritional variety from other non crop plants.

The pollination boxes of the pollination hives allow a user to easily remove honey-filled frames and replace them with empty frames. This stimulates nectar foraging by workers throughout the growing season, keeping visitation of target crop flowers and, therefore, pollination optimal.

The pollination hives lack a queen bee and therefore larvae to tend to. They will also require less pollen, since worker bees mostly require nectar for personal nutrition. Consequently, the pollination hives will have a greater proportion of worker bees foraging from and pollinating target crop flowers, leading to an improved pollination effect on the target crop.

The pollination hive is of a particular size to optimise pollination by the worker bees. By limiting the number of worker bees housed in the relatively small pollination hive as compared to the much larger Langstroth hives, the worker bees are less likely to take long exploratory flights and forage on plants further away from the target crop.

The pollination hive may have a length that ranges between about 20 cm and about 40 cm, a width that ranges between about 15 cm and about 35 cm and a height that ranges between about 10 cm and about 30 cm. Due to its small size, the pollination hive is suitably lightweight to be portable for placement at or near the target crop.

By using smaller worker-only pollination hives, the probability that foragers remain closer to the hive and visit the target crop is increased. As there are fewer foragers per hive, the capacity of the hive to find new food resources beyond the target crop are decreased, thereby increasing pollination efficiency of the target crop.

The pollination hives initially consist of newly-emerged and naive worker bees. Without recruitment and direction by experienced worker bees towards other flowers, these bees are more likely to remain in their local environment and forage on the target crop.

The system allows for production hives to remain stationary, with primarily the lightweight pollination hives travelling to farms. Since the pollination hives are generally small and consist only of worker bees, the stress of travel does not affect the supply of worker bees and the cost of travel is reduced.

If only pollination hives are placed on farms, the exposure of the production hive to pesticides may be limited. The method and system described herein ensures that relatively healthy and strong worker bees can be provided to farmers for pollination services as and when required.

Artificial food sources may be used in production hives to ensure sufficient food supply for the optimal production of worker bees throughout the year. Since the aim is not to produce honey, relatively inexpensive artificial bee nutrition may be used. Beekeepers, on the other hand, intending to sell honey products produced by their hives are less inclined to use such food sources. This will result in increased brood production rates, resulting in the production of more worker bees than honey-focused hives, leading to a steady supply of worker bees for pollination services for a longer period of time.

An additional benefit may include the reduction of hive parasitism and disease. Having the production hive in a controlled environment may reduce its exposure to excessive heat and moisture that may promote fungal and bacterial infections. It may also be possible to limit the incidence of invertebrate parasites such as wax moths, hive beetles, and Varroa mites by using plastic combs and other protective measures and materials. The worker bee supply-chain system may alleviate the need to place large reproductive bee hives in diverse and often endangered natural habitat. The impact of adding vast number of honey bee workers to these systems is unknown, but will likely lead to some displacement of local pollinators and their specific interactions with local flora. The use of smaller worker-only colonies have the potential to conserve natural habitat in surrounding areas and may prove to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly than current pollination services offered by beekeepers. This is an additional benefit to partitioning honey bee worker production and pollination services.

The foregoing description has been presented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure.

The language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

Finally, throughout the specification and accompanying claims, unless the context requires otherwise, the word‘comprise’ or variations such as‘comprises’ or‘comprising’ will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method for pollinating a target crop by bees, the method comprising the steps of:

removing a number of worker bees from a reproductive bee colony; and

housing the worker bees in a portable pollination hive with no queen bee.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the pollination hive is placed at or near the target crop at a site remote from the reproductive bee colony.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein storage of honey by the worker bees is controlled in the pollination hive by providing preformed synthetic combs in removable frames for honey storage and regularly removing honey-filled frames from the hive to increase the foraging behaviour of the worker bees.

4. The method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which includes the step of establishing a reproductive bee colony with a queen bee for producing worker bees in a production hive.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the step of removing worker bees includes removing bee brood from the production hive before the worker bees emerge and incubating the bee brood until the worker bees emerge.

6. A system for pollinating a target crop by bees comprising:

a production hive housing a reproductive bee colony with a queen bee for producing worker bees; and

a pollination hive without a queen bee and housing a selected number of worker bees for pollinating the target crop.

7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the production hive is located at a location where areas with regular exposure to pesticides are beyond the normal foraging range of a bee.

8. The system as claimed in claim 6 or 7, which includes an incubator for incubating worker bee brood removed from the production hive until worker bees emerge.

9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the incubator has a collection container associated with it and configured to receive the worker bees and transport them to the pollination hive.

10. The system as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the production hive has multiple brood boxes which are in communication with each other to provide the queen bee access to all of the brood boxes.

11. A pollination hive for pollinating a target crop comprising:

a portable hive; and

a worker bee colony without a queen bee housed within the hive.

12. The pollination hive as claimed in claim 1 1 , wherein the hive includes removable frames with preformed synthetic combs arranged for honey storage by the worker bees.

13. The pollination hive as claimed in claim 11 or 12, wherein the hive is folded from a single sheet of cardboard.

14. The pollination hive as claimed in claim 13, wherein the sheet has slots configured to receive and support the removable frames when the sheet is folded into a hive.

15. The pollination hive as claimed in any one of claims 1 1 to 14, wherein the hive has an aperture configured to receive a container for transporting worker bees.