WO2016120649A2

WO2016120649A2 - Device to manage honey bee's swarming

Info

Publication number: WO2016120649A2
Application number: PCT/HU2016/000005
Authority: WO
Inventors: Péter FENDRIK; Ármin FENDRIK
Original assignee: Fendrik Péter; Fendrik Ármin
Priority date: 2015-01-29
Filing date: 2016-01-20
Publication date: 2016-08-04
Also published as: HU231081B1; HUP1500030A2; WO2016120649A3; EP3250028A2; EP3250028A4

Abstract

1. A beekeeping device (1) suitable for comprehensively managing the whole swarming process of honey bees, for detecting swarming and capturing swarms, further dividing the parent colony after swarming, and also for preventing further swarming, which device is made of metal, wood, plastic or their combination, can be mounted on the hive and easily detached from it (1), which device includes at least one queen trap (4) and at least one moving gate (7) and worker bees can constantly pass through the entrances (2) of the device (1), but upon swarming, the queen cannot leave the device (1) through its entrances (2), characterised by that the device (1), with its at least one integrated sensor (5), can detect the swarming-specific accumulation of bees on and about the queen trap (4) or the presence of the formerly marked queen, whose marking is matched to the sensor (5) in the device (1), by that there is a control unit (6) in the device (1) that is connected to the sensor (5) and will put the moving gate (7) into operation upon the detection of swarming and prevent the swarming bees from returning into the hive by operating the moving gate, by that the device (1) will open the dividing tunnel (12), integrated in the device (1) and closed down until swarming, for the bees wishing to leave the hive, and the dividing tunnel (12) integrated in the device (1) will guide the bees after swarming to the outlet of the dividing tunnel (15) placed at a considerable distance from the entrances (2), by that by modifying the geometry of the outlet of the dividing tunnel (15), the bees entering the device (1) from the hive that instinctively orient themselves towards the outlet of the dividing tunnel (15) after swarming can be divided repeatedly, and this division can be continued as long as the parent colony abandons its swarming impulse.

Description

Device to manage honey bee's swarming

The device to manage honey bee's swarming is a beekeeping device equally suitable for controlling the whole swarming process, quickly terminating the swarming fever, detecting swarming and capturing swarms. Scope of application

We have developed the device to manage swarming so that apiaries could utilise the benefits of swarming, and inducing swarming could become a trusted, reliable and modern method.

The device to manage swarming can make natural increase easy and reliable. With the device to manage swarming a large number of the labour-intensive manipulations to prevent swarming will become unnecessary, beekeeping can become easier and operations more efficient. The losses arising from absconding swarms and prolonged swarming can be avoided.

At the same time, the device to manage swarming also makes it possible to efficiently protect the bees against varroa mites. With the device, swarms carrying and spreading various bee diseases, for example American foulbrood, could be prevented from leaving the hive.

With the widespread application of the device to manage swarming, the geographical expansion of various wild and aggressive bee species can be contained.

Background

Biologically, swarming is one of the most important capabilities of honey bees {Apis mellifera). The bee colony ensures race preservation by swarming. Swarming is a complex process. As a first step, days before swarming, the 'swarming fever' occurs. This swarming fever can be triggered by several factors, the most important of which is that the colony gets congested in the hive, but the swarming fever may also be triggered by dearth or disease. The approaching swarming fever is indicated by the bees' starting to build swarm cell for the queen to lay eggs in. The amount of open brood decreases. The bees hardly carry pollen or nectar. Under favourable weather conditions, around the time when the swarm cells emerge, the colony will release the first swarm. With the first swarm, the old already mated egg-laying queen will generally leave the hive. Nevertheless, the swarming fever will usually not stop after the first swarm is cast, but will continue as long as the population of the parent bee colony sufficiently reduces in number. Swarming is a natural process that is also biologically desirable for the bees. During swarming, many of the worker bees of varied ages in the colony will leave the original beehive, hive or hollow tree with the queen in a short time and, in the majority of the cases, will never return. The bees in the swarm are able to start a new colony right away. Also virgin queens may leave with the swarm. Virgin queens usually leave the hive after the first swarm, but may also be present in the first swarm if the old queen perishes for some reason. During swarming, the swarming bees fly in circles in the air for a while and in a few minutes' will temporarily settle down in a good place, generally not far from the apiary. By then, the swarm will have sent out scout bees to find a new home for the swarm to settle in. Based on the information received from the scout bees, the swarm will make a decision and start out for its new home. Should the queen leaving the hive with the swarm perish for any reason, the swarming bees will shortly feel queenless and return to the parent hive to swarm out again with the virgin queen emerging next.

The size of the swarm is highly varied, it generally weighs between one and five kilograms, but there are also very small or even huge swarms that consist of several joint swarms.

If the bee colony has a relatively congested nest, in the subsequent one or two months, it will cast several swarms. Usually the first swarm is the largest and it usually leaves the hive with the old queen. If the bee colony is still strong enough after the first swarming, some days later, a second swarm will leave the hive. This swarm is already significantly smaller and usually flies away with a freshly emerged virgin queen. The swarms following the second swarm are afterswarms that usually fly out with a virgin queen and are much smaller than the first swarm. The swarms flying out at the end of the beekeeping season are considered less valuable by beekeepers, since they are unable to start a colony independently that would be capable of wintering.

The period of swarming generally coincides with the bee colony's height of development. Under moderate climate, in the north hemisphere, this period generally lasts from May until the end of June. Swarming is only possible under weather conditions suitable for swarming, not when it is cold or rainy. Swarming usually takes place from the late morning to the early afternoon hours.

There are considerable differences between the swarming impulses of various bee species. There are bees that have a very strong impulse to swarm. These swarm significantly more often and their swarms are smaller, often consisting of only a few handfuls of bees. They might continuously swarm even through the whole beekeeping season.

Swarming is judged highly differently by beekeepers. In the past, inducing swarming was the main tool of colony reproduction. Swarming was a desirable process when bees were kept in skeps. In parallel with the introduction of hives to beekeeping, inducing swarming faded into the background.

Swarming related beekeeping manipulations could by divided into two main groups prior to the introduction of the device to manage swarming:

The first and more efficient group of swarming related initiatives consists of manipulations to prevent the approaching swarming fever. Beekeepers aim to prevent the approaching swarming fever since they are afraid of the losses resulting from swarming, of losing swarms and production. The loss of swarms mainly results from absconding. The swarm is often visible, but settles in places inaccessible to the beekeeper. The swarming fever can last several weeks and the colony not abandoning swarming will not forage for a long time, neither will it rear brood, which can result in a highly considerable loss in honey production or even in the deterioration of the bee colony. There are many types of methods to prevent the approaching swarming fever; such are expanding the beehive, ensuring better ventilation, encouraging bees to draw cells, checkerboarding the brood with frames for egg- laying or removing capped brood.

The second main group of swarming related beekeeping manipulations aims to prevent swarming already during swarming. When the bees have already drawn swarm cells and the queen has laid eggs in them, removing capped brood, dividing the colony, or in the last resort, regularly destroying swarm cells can be more or less efficient swarm prevention techniques. Unfortunately, the above-described techniques are often highly labour-intensive and have only a limited scope under adverse weather conditions in reliably preventing the swarming fever or swarming. Since the approaching swarming fever is determined by very important factors, such as congestion, little open brood in the nest and no foraging. Under adverse weather conditions, beekeepers simply cannot open the hive and in strong colonies with congested nests swarming fever will shortly develop and swarming will take place. The gravity of the problem is highlighted by that between 10 and 70% of bee colonies in Hungarian apiaries swarm each year despite all manipulations and a large number of the swarms abscond. Without the beekeeping manipulations, almost every colony would swarm. The manipulations to prevent and reduce the approaching swarming fever may not only fail to happen due to adverse weather conditions. Since the above-described manipulations are extremely labour-intensive and must be performed within a very narrow time frame, even under sustained weather conditions that are deemed favourable for beekeeping, bees will often swarm for the lack of sufficiently skilled labour to perform the required tasks. When swarming takes place, swarms must be captured. However, there are serious limitations on capturing swarms. Monitoring swarming will also require the permanent presence of an observer.

Several methods have been developed to capture swarms. These methods mainly relate to capturing swarms that have left the hive and settled down elsewhere. Settled swarms are easy to capture if they have settled low, the bees are calm and the queen is old. In such cases, the swarm can be shaken off and the bees lured into a suitable skep.

A workable solution can be to place hives suitable to lure cast or stray swarms near the apiary. Their efficiency can be increased if we introduce brood combs or pheromone traps. Still these procedures are less efficient and, to make matters worse, require the beekeeper to be with his or her bees in the swarming season.

We are summarising the utility of our invention, the device to manage swarming, in beekeeping as follows:

When the device to manage swarming is used, it is not necessary and not even recommended to prevent swarming, since natural swarms consist of bees of the right age composition in every case. With our device, the swarming process can be controlled to make inducing swarming a highly favourable and controllable reproduction method both for biological and beekeeping considerations. With the device to manage swarming, the parent colony can be forced to stop further swarming after the first swarm leaves. The device to manage swarming also functions as a device to divide the colony. After swarming is completed, the foraging bees still leaving the hive can be forced to join the swarm captured by the device for the desired time.

Through the application of the device to manage swarming, we can induce swarming to take place in a single and therefore not long phase, and, as a result, the bees of the parent colony will be out of production for only a short time.

The device to manage swarming will make capturing swarms more reliable. The techniques applied so far have not always allowed this aim to be realised.

The above-described manipulations carried out with great difficulty in order to prevent the approaching swarming fever will become unnecessary, and beekeepers will be able to save a considerable amount of time.

We can transport the swarm captured by the device to manage swarming with ease and can settle them down in any hive.

With the help of the device to manage swarming, we can easily separate the queens in the swarms from the worker bees. To this date, mainly in the case of swarms emerging with a virgin queen, this has meant a highly crucial problem - if the very agile virgin queen escaped while capturing the swarm, the whole swarm absconded.

With the application of the device to manage swarming, no wild bee swarms can abscond that would cover large distances and endanger people and domestic animals. This can be very useful in the case of Africanised honey bees. The swarming induced by the device to manage swarming is also useful as a colony reproducing beekeeping method since the swarm is made up of bees of various ages. Beekeepers so far have created artificial and forced swarms, which do not have the biological value of natural swarms, from brushed or picked bees with painstaking effort. Absconding swarms can carry and spread bee diseases. The application of the device to manage swarming can localise diseases that have so far been impossible to be localised by beekeepers. In addition, both the captured swarms and the parent colonies can be efficiently treated against varroa and other diseases. Efficient treatment is guaranteed by that the swarms have no capped brood for days, and consequently a single treatment can destruct the majority of the mites. In the parent colony, all capped brood will emerge by the second week following swarming. Since the new queen will only start egg-laying this time, all the mites in the parent colony are on the emerged bees and can be easily destroyed by a single treatment. Swarms intensively draw cells. Therefore the device to manage swarming we can also indirectly increase wax production. The regular renewal of honeycomb will also be vital for preventing the damage caused by bee poisoning.

Similar solutions

Several methods and tools have been developed to control swarming. We are describing the tools and the methods relying on such tools and used so far in three main groups. The first group of tools consists of the devices to divide colonies by which beekeepers prevent swarming. With them, they weaken strong colonies with a swarming impulse so that they would abandon swarming. The second group of tools comprises the devices by which beekeepers try to prevent the swarm leaving the bee colonies and the queen escaping the hive in general. The third group contains devices by which absconding swarms can be captured.

The tools to divide colonies belonging to the first group have so far been used in apiaries to prevent swarming. This method could not be applied to prevent afterswarms in parent colonies since, after natural swarming, no egg-laying queen would be present in the parent colony that would make division possible and keep the swarming bees together by producing pheromone. It is because the egg-laying queen will leave with the first swarm and at least one week must pass before the young emerging queen can mate. Division can, however, be only performed from the nest because foraging bees will return to the hive they have oriented themselves towards. The snelgrove frame can divide the bee colony before swarming. The essence of its operation involves that the beekeeper divides the hive including a strong colony with a swarming impulse in two with this device. The beekeeper will open or close gates in alternating directions. As a result, the beekeeper can deceive foragers coming from the nest and the part of the parent colony to be divided and which have oriented themselves towards the entrances, so that they would return to join the part of the hive inhabited by the weaker colony. Thereby the nest of the stronger bee colony can be weakened and the colony will abandon its swarming impulse. A disadvantage of the method is that the bee colony must be inspected before division, often the queen must be detected, the nest rearranged with hard toil and the queen cells in the queenless part destroyed to avoid its swarming. With the application of the device to manage swarming, we do not divide the bee colony before swarming to prevent swarming but we do so after swarming, so that the bee colony would stop further swarming. With our invention, the division of the colony is achieved by using a dividing tunnel with a perforated wall and a moving end and of a flexible geometry and can achieve the desired result by repeatedly changing its position. The bee colony does not need to be checked before using our invention due to swarming, nor should the nest be manipulated or cells relocated or destroyed. With the application of the device to manage swarming, the bees leaving the hive after swarming will reinforce the first swarm clustered about the device and will not create an independent bee colony. Of the devices making up the second group, one concept that is generally characteristic of the whole group can be described through the Dadant hive, which is currently commercially available in the US. An essential characteristic of the above-referenced hive is that it prevents the queen wishing to swarm from leaving the hive and therefore the bee colony will not swarm. The queen's egress from the hive is prevented by queen excluders. The undisturbed passage of worker bees from the hive is ensured by the aggregate large surface of several entrances and queen excluders. The solution, however, is not suitable for preventing the approaching swarming fever. Whenever the bee colony is congested, swarming fever will develop, and swarming may take place. Any resulting swarm will, however, return to the hive since the swarming bees will feel the absence of the queen trapped in the hive, and will cluster about the parent hive. Therefore no swarm is generated. The swarming fever is, however, not over with the swarming, but will become prolonged, since the bee colony will wish to swarm repeatedly. The lack of foraging and the decreased brood can lead to the weakening of the bee colony in the long run. Should the beekeeper open the nest for some reason, the queen and the swarm following her would highly probably abscond. The similarity between the above-described solution and our invention is that the device to manage swarming will not allow the queen to leave the device, but a difference is that with the application of our invention, the device to manage swarming, the queen will leave the hive during swarming. A further difference is that our invention, the device to manage swarming, has no bearing on the natural swarming process and separates the swarm and the parent colony after swarming. The device to manage swarming can terminate the swarming fever in two or three days and prevent further swarming by colony division after swarming.

Patent description US1410444 describes a nonswarming beehive. The hive is essentially made up of two compartments, in the upper, queenless compartment an independent entrance is created through which the bees can freely enter and exit the hive. Between the two compartments a controller board is placed through which worker bees can pass but only in one direction, upwards from below, while the drones and the queen cannot pass through this controller board. Neither can the drones or the queen leave the lower compartment.

The relatively simple antiswarming measure to place a queen excluder in the hive's entrance can be contested from many aspects apart from the above-mentioned ones, and can only be applied for a limited time. It is because worker bees can pass through the queen excluder with a relatively small surface in a limited number, which will limit the bee colony's foraging and biological activities, and will therefore cause the weakening of the bee colony.

Patent description US1462933 describes a collapsible queen and drone trap. The trap can be mounted on the front wall of the hive, in front of its entrance. The queen or the drones cannot leave the device since it is limited by a queen excluder. During swarming, the queen and drones leaving the hive will be caught up in the trap of the device. Worker bees can pass through the device. According to the inventor, an advantage of the structure is that it can be hung in front of hives of various dimensions. The device can be folded and unfolded, and the bees caught up in the trap can be transported. This device is essentially suitable for trapping drones and the queen escaping the hive, but it is not suitable for reliably capturing swarms since it will not prevent the return of the swarming bees to the hive. This device is not suitable for dividing the bee colony or controlling swarming either. As opposed to our invention, the device to manage swarming, the description does not offer a procedure for accurately determining the date of swarming. The device described in the patent description is similar to our invention, the device to manage swarming, in that it is also capable of trapping the queen. Still, as it is described in the patent description, also drones can get into the queen trap, which highly hinders the efficient operation of the trap, the removal of the queen and exact detection of the time of swarming.

Patent description US1896925 describes a trapper and retainer for bee swarms. According to the inventor of the described device, the device automatically detects swarming bees and prevents their egress. The swarming bees leaving the hive will pass through a pivotally supported trip chamber. The tilt of the trip chamber will prevent the bees from leaving the device and the bees will be trapped in the retainer. So the device can detect the high number of bees swarming out of the hive and will retain them in a chamber. The trip chamber is tilted by the large weight of egressing bees. A similarity between the above- referenced patent and our invention is that both detect the approaching swarming by measuring the accumulation of bees. However, there are major differences also in measuring the accumulation of bees. The device described in patent description US1896925 measures the bees and their weight accumulated during swarming along their main flight path, that is, where the bees pass through the device while swarming. In this case, the problem lies in the fact that bees accumulate in large numbers in the given direction not only during swarming. In times of the honey flow, before thunderstorms and during orientation, it regularly happens that a large number of bees pass along the main path. And the frequent congestion of bees will set the device in motion also when actually no swarming is in progress. The above description does not describe a device that would eliminate the problem of the bees' congestion taking place several times a day out of the swarming stage in order to exactly detect swarming. The device is not suitable for shortening the swarming process either, since after swarming, the population of the parent colony cannot be regulated with it. Patent description US2644175 describes a queen and drone trap. The trap consists of two parts, the lower and upper compartments, to prevent the escape of the queen and the drones. Between the two compartments a bee-escape is placed that guides the queen from the lower to the upper compartment. This device has limitations in capturing swarms, since the swarm feeling queenless will usually return to the hive. The device is not suitable for controlling swarming either.

Patent description US2607053 describes a beehive with automatic swarm control. The device passively forces the emerging queen and drones into a trap. The description presents a drone and queen trap that will not allow the queen and the drones to leave the device based on the above-described principle, but will guide them upwards. The trapped queen and drones will get into an upper trap chamber through a tunnel. As soon as swarming worker bees realise that they are queenless, they will return to the device. A major problem, however, is that in the device described in this specific patent description the worker bees can only enter and exit the hive through a very narrow bee-escape, which will highly upset their foraging activities and will cause constant congestion. A further problem with the device registered under the above-referenced number is that the whole of the prospective swarm will not or just partly cluster about the queen trapped in the trap, since the swarming bees will want to return to the original nest in the hive, so the device has a rather limited efficiency in capturing the swarm. The device does not measure the accumulation of the bees, neither it is capable of detecting the swarming. This device is not suitable for dividing the bee colony further or for controlling swarming.

Patent description US2578634 also presents a queen and drone trap by which the emerging drones and the queen can be trapped. The trap has a removable glass cover that the apiarist can look through. The trap is not suitable for capturing the swarm or controlling swarming for the above-described reasons.

Patent description GB235135 also describes a device invented to capture swarms. The device detects the weight of swarming bees. If, as a result of the bees leaving the hive, a valve built in right next to the opening tilts, the entrance board will detect the weight of the egressing bees. As a result of the detected weight, the bees will be guided towards the swarm trap whose gate will close. Therefore, essentially, it is also about detecting the weight of egressing bees. However, this weight is measured near the entrance board where bees regularly accumulate anyway for reasons unrelated to swarming. This will then lead to the serious problems presented earlier. The device is therefore not suitable for capturing the swarm. The device is not suitable for controlling the strength of the parent colony or preventing further swarming either, since it will not divide the colony after swarming. The main difference lies in the fact that our invention is capable of inducing the bees to accumulate in a way specific to swarming and to measure their accumulation where it typically occurs upon swarming.

Patent description GB2445861 describes a trap. The trap consists of two screens both of which will allow the passage of worker bees but prevent the passage of drones and the queen. In the first screen, there is a one-way funnel that will allow the passage of the queen and drone bees, which then will get trapped between the two screens. The device is fundamentally unsuitable for capturing swarms or controlling swarming.

Patent description 6B 578919 describes a device, which, according to the inventor, is suitable for capturing swarms. The device detects the queen bee previously marked with radioactive or optically detectable materials and when detected, will guide the queen and the bees through gates. The lifetime of the queen marked with a radioactive material will get shorter, and, in addition, the application of the radioactive material is harmful for the environment and it is furthermore hazardous and prohibited. With the optically marked queen it is a major drawback that the accumulation of swarming bees makes the detection of the optical marking highly difficult. It is a real challenge to efficiently shield the area partly lit by the sun outside the entrance. After swarming, the device described in the patent description of the above-referenced number will guide the bees out of the hive through an entrance in a completely opposite direction to the original one. In addition, upon the detection of the marked queen, the tunnel leading to the original entrance will close down and for this reason the young bees producing royal jelly that would become indispensable later in rearing brood and wish to leave with the swarm but have not yet oriented themselves towards the original entrance will get trapped in the hive. The problem is that through the new entrance only middle-aged bees will fly out upon swarming and afterwards. Communication between the swarm and the bees trapped in the hive, which would ensure proper swarming, will cease. Therefore the age composition of the swarm will be unfavourable and the resulting swarm will be small. The above description does not offer a solution to further divide the parent colony. And due to the defective swarming, the parent colony is expected to issue a swarm again. Our invention, the device to induce swarming ensures that the young bees wishing to leave with the swarm would be free to leave the hive through the original entrance during the whole swarming process and to spatially communicate with their swarming mates. Consequently, their egress from the hive is fully guaranteed. A significant difference as compared to the above-referenced description is that with our invention, the device to manage swarming, the whole swarming process can be regulated, the period of the swarming fever can be shortened, afterswarms induced and division of the required extent performed with the help of dividing outlets of a flexible geometry. Another major difference is that, as opposed to the operation of the device described in patent description GB578919, queens are not necessary to be marked for our invention to work. Our invention is therefore also suitable for capturing unmarked freshly emerged queens wishing to swarm. We primarily mark queens beforehand to help the beekeeper decide whether the queen is in the device, and if so, in which section of the device it is. In addition, we do not mark the queen with a radiation source or optically detectable marking as described in patent description GB578919 for reasons enumerated above. We use markings that can be detected magnetically or with the help of radio waves, which is safe for the queen and the environment, and can be detected easily even with a high density of bees.

Patent description DE1288356 describes a swarm capturing device. The queen leaving the hive during swarming is forced into a far away queen trap via a long tunnel. The swarm will cluster about this trap section. As opposed to our invention, this description does not include moving gates, a procedure to detect swarming, or a method to prevent the return of the swarm to the hive. The narrow entrance of the device causes significant congestion for the bees exiting and entering the hive. A further problem can occur if the drones block the entrance to the queen trap since they are free to enter this section. With the above- referenced device, the swarms cannot be captured efficiently as the queen probably fighting her way to the queen trap will lure only a part of the swarm to the trap. Patent description DE602410 describes a swarm and drone catching device that can be attached to the hive's entrance. The device guides the queen to a trap that is closed for the drones. It is possible to let the drones out of the part of the device where they may gather. This device, however, fails to measure the bees' accumulation upon swarming, neither does it operate moving gates. By merely separating and trapping the queen, the swarm cannot be efficiently captured for the above-mentioned reasons. As compared with our invention, the above- referenced device fails to measure the bees' accumulation, neither it is able to further divide the colony after swarming.

Patent description DE2264601 describes a device designed to be placed in front of the entrance, the rear wall of which will fit the hive's entrance and only worker bees can pass through its front wall. It is possible to let out the drones caught in the device. The device guides the emerging queen and drones forward due to its trapezoid shape, and the queen is trapped in the trap chamber. The swarm is also captured here with the help of the trapped queen. An advantage of the solution as compared with the earlier patents presented above is that the passage of worker bees is less hampered. The large number of drones ending up in the trap chamber can, however, cause congestion and even block the queen's passage. A part of the swarm will cluster about the trapped queen in some cases. The device is not suitable for colony division after swarming though. Another major difference is that our invention is capable of detecting the swarming by measuring the bees' accumulation and will block the passage of the bees wishing to get back into the hive when swarming is detected. In diversion from the solution presented in this patent description, our device is furthermore capable of shortening the swarming fever.

The third group of devices aimed at preventing damage arising from swarming contains devices suitable to capture swarms that have already left the hive and settled down outside. Although our invention, the device to manage swarming, allows for the swarm to fly out of the hive, but because the swarm will become queenless, it will voluntarily return in the direction of the original hive where it will remain due to the captured queen and become easily managed.

Having studied the patent descriptions, we have only found solutions that are only partly similar to our invention. They include the application of grids and traps to prevent the passage of drones and the queen and the application of valves tilting due to the swarming bees' passage or weight as well as of moving gates. Our invention, however, cannot be built from the specific parts of the inventions published so far. None of the inventions presents a procedure that is capable of differentiating between the bees' accumulation specific to swarming and the one occurring for other reasons. None of the inventions present a tool or a procedure, not even in part, that is also capable of shortening the swarming fever. To our knowledge, no description or device or practical solution presented therein currently exists that would be capable of fully managing the whole of the swarming process in complete harmony with the bees' biological characteristics.

The brief description of the device to manage swarming

When creating the device to manage swarming, one of our main priorities was to enable apiarists to fully manage the natural biological reproductive process of honey bees. This will allow for utilising the favourable opportunities inherent in swarming. By properly controlling swarming, it is our essential aim to check and drive back varroa and other bee diseases.

In order to realise our aim, we have had to develop a device that will control the whole swarming process and is able to shorten the period of the swarming fever. With the device to manage swarming, the parent colony can be weakened to the desired extent and dividing the colony can be carried out efficiently after capturing the swarm. An advantage of dividing the colony after swarming is that, by doing so, we can shorten the period of the swarming fever and for this reason, the swarming bee colony will stop foraging for only a short time. A further benefit of dividing the colony is that we can avoid the often pointless late afterswarms, which are undesirable since weak swarms or those emerging late will no longer be able to develop a bee colony that is able to winter.

The device to manage swarming is able to capture swarms in a reliable and efficient way.

The steps to create the device to manage swarming can be summarised in four main points as described below: A. By creating the device to manage swarming, we were looking for and have identified signs easily detectable by sensors that only occur upon swarming and are therefore specific to swarming. Such are the worker bees' accumulation in certain sections of the device or the detection of the formerly marked queen when it leaves the hive. In order to rule out the factors disturbing the detection of the above-mentioned signals and also the disturbances arising out of the natural behaviour of bees, we have forced the worker bees to follow several egress routes and measured their accumulation only where it will specifically occur upon swarming. Thereby, we have been able to determine the time of swarming even if the queen is unmarked. We have seen that measuring the accumulation of worker bees can be efficiently used to determine the exact time of swarming provided we can exclude the frequent accumulation of worker bees for reasons other than swarming as a disturbing factor from our observations. We have done so by guiding worker bees along several egress routes by the device to manage swarming. Along the main egress route, which the majority of the worker bees will follow while leaving the hive through the device to manage swarming, the worker bees' accumulation will regularly occur since this is the optimum route for them. The accumulation of worker bees can be caused by honey flow, orientation, a sudden thunderstorm, robbing or intensive scouting too. Since the worker bees' egress along the ancillary routes is cumbersome, the worker bees that have already left the hive will not orient themselves towards them in great numbers. Worker bees will almost entirely orient themselves towards the entrances of the main egress route and therefore want to get back into the device through them and then to the hive. Therefore the accumulation of the worker bees upon orientation, during intensive honey flow or in times of robbing will only occur along the main egress route. We have noticed that there are sections along the ancillary egress routes and in their direction where the large-scale accumulation of bees only and specifically occurs upon swarming. By inducing and measuring this swarming-specific accumulation of the bees, it will become possible to determine the exact time of swarming.

Beekeepers have long observed that swarming bees feel the presence of a queen and will cluster about her. We have utilised this phenomenon to lure a part of the swarming worker bees that have already emerged from the device back to the device. Queens are captured by queen traps placed in the device. In the device to manage swarming, the queen traps are placed in sections that are out of the bees' main egress route. Therefore the bees' accumulation is easier to measure here. We have also determined the optimum design of queen traps. Queen traps must have a small surface and weight to volume ratio, so that the accumulation of worker bees could be measured more efficiently.

We have furthermore seen that we can also enhance the worker bees' accumulation near the queen traps if we only make the queen traps passable for worker bees occasionally.

We have seen that the worker bees' accumulation in the queen traps upon swarming is further enhanced not only by the presence of the queen, but also by the congestion along the main egress route of the swarming worker bees wanting to leave the hive and their larger scale deflection from that route. We have seen that we can deflect the worker bees from the main egress route by optical devices and tunnels. The light, as a result of the positive phototropism of bees, will lure a part of the worker bees passing through the main egress route towards the queen traps, and deflect them towards the ancillary egress routes. Although worker bees can pass through the tunnels' walls, their curvature follows an upward arching direction bees like, and for that reason, the majority of the worker bees deflected from the main egress route will follow these ancillary egress routes.

We have seen that the detection zones of the sensors measuring the accumulation of worker bees specific to swarming must be protected against disturbances, such as the wind or the weight caused by other creatures landing on them. Preventing the accumulation of drones around the sensors was a further vital task. Drones are present in the hive in large numbers during swarming and the drones regularly wanting to leave the hive would accumulate in the queen traps of the device. We have ruled out this possibility by building in grids of the right size. Through such grids the queen and the worker bees are able to pass, but not the drones, since they have the broadest dimensions. A further problem might arise from the accumulation of drones in front of the grids that would result in congestion and narrow down or even entirely block the passage of worker bees, which would be a serious limitation on the bee colony's activities. We have seen that congestion can be avoided by letting the drones accumulating in the hive out of the hive at times other than the time of swarming. β. Upon the detection of swarming-specific signs we have guided the swarming bees in a timed manner through a moving gate. By the timed movement of the gate we have allowed all the worker bees wanting to swarm to leave though the device and the swarm to be complete. By moving the gate, we have furthermore prevented the bees flying back onto the device from returning to the hive.

C. With the application of queen traps we have forced the swarmed bees to return to the device and remain permanently there, and that the swarm would not wish to leave the device.

We have seen that if we can prevent the return of the bees into the hive after their return onto the device, the swarming bees will remain in and about the device to induce swarming. We have tied down the swarm at that location for as long as necessary.

D. We have prevented further swarms by further dividing the parent colony by the device to manage swarming. We have divided the colony in a sufficiently efficient way. Therefore division has been realised in the direction of the original entrance while constantly ensuring communication during swarming between the swarm that has left the hive with the bees of the swarm still remaining in the hive.

We have noticed that when we block the way leading back to the hive, it is advisable to open a dividing tunnel for the bees wanting to leave the hive.

We have seen that the moving gate could be useful for periodically letting out the drones captured in the hive.

We have realised that by modifying the geometry of the dividing tunnel, colony division can repeatedly be performed. Consequently, the parent colony can be weakened to the extent that it would give up any further attempt at swarming. We have furthermore seen that by perforating the wall of the dividing tunnel, the efficiency of colony division can be increased. We have noted that the divided bees can be forced to join the swarm and would thereby not be wasted.

Some of the specifically favourable embodiments of the invention are described in the subclaims. We are describing the invention in more detail with the help of the attached figures while enumerating some favourable embodiments of the device to manage swarming.

A brief description of the figures

Figure 1 gives the side view of such an embodiment of the device to manage swarming which is mainly recommended to be used in moveable frame hives. One element of the device to manage swarming is to be mounted under the hive and the other on the front of the hive.

Figure 2 gives the side view of an embodiment that can be applied in horizontal hives. The device is fitted to the front wall of the hive and the inlet of the device directly joins the hive's entrance.

Figure 3 gives the side view of such an embodiment of the device to manage swarming that can equally be used for moveable frame hives and horizontal hives, by mounting the device directly at the hive's entrance. The device includes several types of sensors. Drones are allowed to pass through the queen trap periodically. Detailed description of some possible embodiments

It is advised to fit the device (1) on the hive well before the intensive honey flow and the swarming season so that the worker bees can get used to it, orientate to it and it should not hinder the bees' foraging activities. For the efficient operation of the device (1), it is important to ensure that the bees exiting the hive and returning to it could avoid the device (1), and that the swarming bees leaving the hive could leave through the device (1) only. In order to ensure the above-described, the device (1) must fit tightly and the hive should have no further entrances through which the bees could leave the hive.

The device (1) can be mounted on the hive in several ways depending on the type of hive the device (1) is mounted on. The device (1) may have several structural designs. Below, we are describing two specifically favourable embodiments. According to the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the device (1) consists of two main components that can be fitted to one another, and one of them can be mounted to the bottom of the hive, to the lower box, while the other component of the device (1) can be mounted to the hive's front wall too. This design is highly recommended for moveable frame hives. With this design, the worker bees wanting to leave the hive will get to the component of device (1) in front of the hive through the component fitted to the hive and leave through it. In this case, a high surface grid (11) that prevents the passage of the drones is integrated in the component fitted to the bottom of the hive. Thereby the grid (11) to prevent the passage of drones can prevent the possibly high number of drones from getting into the component fitted to the front of the hive without causing congestion for the worker bees. The component of the device (1) fitted to the front of the hive can be detached from the hive and the other component of the device (1) easily, and can be removed with the swarm without having to lift the hive.

Two other favourable embodiments of the device (1) can be seen both in the case of horizontal and moveable frame hives. These arrangements are shown in Figures 2 and 3. In these cases, the device (1) is not made up of components but can be installed on the hive's front wall, to the entrance, as one unit. The device (1) can be mounted tightly in such a case by using filler piece to fill any space between the hive's front wall and the external wall (16) of the device (1) facing the hive. This filler piece is advised to be installed on the hive before the device (1) is suspended on the hive. The easy installation and removal of the device (1) is . furthermore ensured by hooks mounted on the hive or the filler piece, onto which the device (1) can be mounted with a single movement of the hands.

After installing the device (1) on the hive, it is advised to slightly dislocate the plate blocking the arching path of the main egress route (19) of worker bees leaving the device (1) to make the passage of worker bees through the device (1) considerably easier. Once the worker bees have got used to the device (1) and have oriented themselves to it, the two plates containing entrances designed to cross the arching path of the worker bees' main egress route (19) can be installed. By applying the above-described method, the worker bees will easily adapt themselves to the device (1) from the beginning and will carry on with their foraging activities undisturbed while passing through the device.

The roof of the device (1) protruding far from the hive will protect the bees accumulated in front of the device (1) against precipitation and will also serve as a sun shade in the full glare of the sun. The various colours of the devices installed on neighbouring hives will reduce the chance of disorientation. In the embodiments presented in Figures 1 and 2, with the grid (11) to prevent the passage of drones, the drones can be prevented from getting to the sections of the device (1) where the accumulation of worker bees occurs in a way specific to swarming, since it would disturb the operation of the integrated sensors (5). Such areas are the queen traps (4) and their neighbourhood. With the grid (11) to prevent the passage of drones we can prevent the drones incapable of getting out of the queen traps (4) in any other way from getting into the queen traps (4) and accumulated therein. In order to prevent congestion and maintain the biological functions of drones, it is advised for the drones trapped in the areas before the grid (11) to prevent the passage of drones to be let out of the hive or the device periodically. By temporarily removing a part of the grid (11) to prevent the passage of drones, we can make the drones leave the device (1) along the main egress route (19) at the desired time. Another possibility to let drones leave the hive is to guide the accumulated drones towards the dividing opening (15) in the sections of the day not typical for swarming by making the inlet of the dividing tunnel (13) free by operating the moving gate (7). When swarming threatens, by operating the moving gate (7) we can close the inlet of the dividing tunnel (13). Afterwards, we can also operate the sensors (5) with the necessary power source. During swarming, the queen leaving the hive with the swarm will first push herself through the grid (11) to prevent the passage of drones, whose holes are the right size to allow the passage of the queen but not of the drones. Then the queen will get into the queen trap (4) through the guiding tunnel (3) along the ancillary egress route (20).

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, it is not necessary to use the grid (11) to prevent the passage of drones, since the drones trapped in the queen trap (4) will be let out through the open moving gate (7) in the queen trap (4). When the sensor (5) detects the marking on the formerly marked queen, the device (1) will close the moving gate (7) in the queen trap (4), originally left open, before the queen will get trapped in the queen trap (4), and for that reason, the swarming and formerly marked queen will not be able to abscond from the device (1).

Several factors facilitate the queen's stay in the queen trap (4). Since the queen cannot pass through perforations (8) in the guiding tunnel (3) and the entrances (2) in the queen trap's (4) walls, the queen cannot leave the hive. It is highly likely that the queen cannot return to the hive either, since the size of the queen trap (4) is large in comparison with the outlet (9) of the guiding tunnel (3), the end of the outlet (9) is oriented vertically upwards, and the end of the guiding tunnel (3) ends deep in the queen trap (4). Since the queen cannot follow the swarm's bees and leave with the worker bees in the swarm, the swarming worker bees being in constant communication with each other and feeling the absence of the queen will shortly return to the parent hive.

The accumulation of worker bees about the queen trap (4) specific to swarming will take place for several reasons.

The first of such reasons is that the swarming worker bees leaving the hive through the device (1) will perceive the absence of the queen in a short time and their instincts urge them to fly back to the hive. Meanwhile a part of the worker bees in flight back to the hive will perceive the queen's pheromones and other signals emitted by the queen, land on the queen trap (4) and cluster about it.

The second reason to facilitate the worker bees' accumulation specific to swarming around the queen trap (4) is that the swarming worker bees leave the hive in a short time in vast crowds. The number of bees leaving the hive per unit of time may increase even tenfold upon swarming as compared with the orientation stage or the main honey flow. The worker bees ending up crowding in the device (1) during swarming cannot leave the device (1) without congestion through the main egress route (19) or leave through the entrances (2) in the device (1) falling in line with the main flight path. For this reason, a part of the bees will be guided towards the ancillary egress routes (20) and be forced to move in the direction of the queen trap (4) through the guiding tunnel (8). During swarming, the number of worker bees per time unit ending up in the queen trap (4) positioned along the ancillary egress routes (20) is high. Worker bees accumulate in the queen traps (4), the large number of worker bees can pass through the queen traps' walls slowly, and the size of the queen traps is relatively small too.

The high-scale accumulation of worker bees on the queen traps occurring upon swarming can be intensified by setting the entrances (2) of the device (1) in the queen traps (4) narrower by the component to control passage through the entrances (18), and consequently the worker bees can only slowly or at times not at all push their way through them. The accumulation of swarming worker bees only occurring upon swarming and generated by the device (1) is different from the accumulation of bees occurring for other reasons, since it occurs in a separate space. Therefore, with the device (1), we can induce the accumulation of bees specific to swarming, which we can use to detect the exact time of swarming. The accumulation of worker bees is detected by sensors (5) integrated in the device (1) in the direction of the ancillary egress routes (20). Such sensors (5) can be weight, heat, motion or optical sensors (5) too. Upon detection, the sensors (5) will emit a signal to the control unit (6), which will operate the moving gate (7) with the help of an integrated actuator (17) in a timed way. The change in weight can be perceived by integrated springs (10) too; if such springs are used, the total weight of the bees clustering about the queen trap (4) will compress the springs (10) and they will close a circuit integrated in device (1) that will put the control unit (6) into operation.

In another embodiment, as a result of the change in weight, an integrated lever will tilt and as a result, the control unit (6) will switch on. Mechanically it is a somewhat more complicated solution if the moving gate (7) is operated by a lever sensing the weight of the queen traps (4) and moved through mechanical transmission triggered by the change in weight. With the latter embodiment, the device (1) can be operated even without a power source. The application of a control unit (6) is favourable for several reasons. With the help of the control unit (6), the device (1) is also capable of analysing the signals coming from the sensors (5). In the event the effect triggering the sensors (5) is permanent and lasts for a large part of the time specific to swarming, the control unit (6) will put the moving gate (7) into operation. In the event the impact affecting the sensors lasts for only a short time, the moving gate (7) operated by the control unit (6) will not move.

We can integrate some of the sensors (5) in the sections of the device (1) that are beyond the areas where the accumulation of bees specific to swarming can be observed. These sensors will detect the accumulation of bees not arising out of swarming at times of the main honey flow, orientation or robbing. The signals coming from these sensors (5) will be compared by the control unit (6) with the signals coming from the sensors (5) measuring the bees' swarming-specific accumulation. It will also allow for analysing the disturbing signals the sensors pick up that do not arise from swarming.

The control unit (6) can start the integrated actuator (17) as soon as the swarming-specific impact starts to trigger the sensors (5) or even at times. The integrated actuator (17) will * narrow down the entrances (2) of the queen trap (4) by shifting the component to control passage through the entrances (18). Thereby it will further slow down the passage of worker bees through the queen trap's (4) walls or shut it down for a certain period in a controlled way. Upon the accumulation of worker bees specific to swarming, in answer to the signals received from the sensors (5), the control unit (6) will put the moving gate (7) into operation and prevent the bees' return to the hive.

The embodiment illustrated in Figure 3 shows a device (1) that also makes use of the detection of the formerly marked swarming queen. In the event the swarming colony has a formerly marked queen, we can use a device (1) in which a sensor (5) matched to the queen's marking is integrated. Queens can be marked in advance in several ways. Of them, attaching magnetic markings or RFID tags to the queen's thorax are preferable, since they are not interfered with by the incoming light or the bees present in the sensors' (5) detection zones. One of the advantages of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3 is that device (1) also operates a moving gate (7) that will at the same time allow the drones to pass through in periods out of swarming. For this reason the accumulation of drones interfering with signal detection will not occur in the sensors' (5) zones measuring the accumulation of bees. There is no need to install grids (11) in the device to prevent the passage of drones in this arrangement. The moving gate (7) in the queen trap (4) will close as soon as the queen gets into the device (1), and the queen trapped in the queen trap (4) will become unable to leave the device (1). A further advantage of the arrangement illustrated in Figure 3 is that the device (1) will indicate the presence and position of the formerly marked queen to the beekeeper with a light or sound signal.

One of the main aims to be realised through the application of the device (1) is to capture the whole swarm, whether the queen leaves the hive at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the swarming. Should the queen leave the hive only at the end of the swarming and the sensors (5) emit signals to controls unit (6) already at the beginning of the swarming due to the bees' accumulation, and the moving gate (7) of the device (1) close even before the whole swarming process is completed, the queen and a part of the swarm may be caught in the hive. Contrary to that, should the sensors (5) detect the accumulation of worker bees about the queen trap (4) only after the return of the swarm's bees, it may also happen that some of the swarming worker bees get back into the hive before the moving gate (7) is operated. In the first case, the queen's departure and the escape of the swarm due to opening the dividing tunnel (12) ahead of time would cause a problem. In order to avoid this problem, the control unit (6) is programmed to operate the moving gate (7) with some minutes' delay. In the second case, the perforated walls and opening the inlet (13) of the dividing tunnel (12) integrated in the device (1) will ensure that the middle-aged worker bees and drones will get out through the outlet of the dividing tunnel (15) and join the captured swarm. The youngest worker bees of the swarm can get back into the hive only slowly and, for that reason, they are often trapped outside even if the moving gate (7) is closed with a delay. The queen trapped in the queen trap (4) is the guarantee for capturing the swarm efficiently.

The device (1) is not only capable of capturing the bees constituting the swarm. The device can also prevent afterswarms and shorten the period of the swarming fever. After swarming, the dividing tunnel (12) will guide the middle-aged bees of the bee colony to a new flight path. The inlet (13) of the dividing tunnel (12) integrated in the device (1) will become passable upon swarming for the bees wishing to fly out of the hive after the movement of the moving gate (7). The egressing bees may follow the path curving upward in the body (14) of the dividing tunnel (12) and get outside through the outlet (15) of the dividing tunnel (12). A part of the dividing tunnel (12) protrudes over the device (1) like a trunk and its walls are perforated, which will make orientation to the outlet of the dividing tunnel (15) more difficult. Considering the fact that the bees leaving the hive will wish to return to the hive after swarming through the original flight path they had followed before swarming, and no passage is granted this way, the bees will strengthen the already captured swarm clustering on the device (1). On the day following swarming, by turning the part of the dividing tunnel (12) protruding over the device (1) like a trunk by 90 degrees, the outlet of the dividing tunnel (15) can be positioned horizontally. Thereby we can achieve that the bees of an age to leave the hive would join the captured swarm. It is recommended to repeat the above- described manipulation once a day and by changing the spatial position of the outlet of the dividing tunnel (15) tap the parent colony as long as it abandons the idea of further swarming. The extent of colony division can also be determined by weight sensors (5) integrated in the device (1), and thereby optimised and automated.

As soon as the colony has already become weak enough to abandon swarming, division is completed. Then, by folding the device (1) and its external walls (16) like a box, and detaching it from the hive with the swarm inside, it can be transformed into a swarm transportation box. In the embodiment in which one component of the device (1) is fitted under the hive, the components of the device (1) can be separated with ease and the component in front of the hive can be lifted off the hive with a single movement of the hands.

When necessary, the device (1) can be attached to the hive again. Furthermore, a pneumatic feeder can also be attached to the device (1) to feed the swarm.

It is recommended to fit one device (1) on each hive in the apiary so that emerging swarms could not meet queens coming from other bee colonies, since then they would not return if united with them. During colony division, the bee colony that has lost its middle-aged bees will need to be fed continuously. The drones trapped in the hive and therefore in the device (1) illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 can be let out periodically through the moving gate (7) operated by the control unit (6). The control unit will operate the moving gate or a part of it for a short while, when swarming highly probably does not occur. These are the early morning or late afternoon hours. Through the open dividing tunnel (12), drones can fly out and the accumulation of drones in the sections of the device (1) fitted with sensors (5) and in the hive can be avoided. The drones leaving the hive and unable to return to the hive through the entrances (2) will request to join other bee colonies. The proper ventilation of the hive is ensured by the large aggregate surface of the entrances (2) of device (1). This will also ensure that bees would not congest in the device (1) even during the main honey flow.

The device (1), if fitted with a pollen grid, can also be used as an external pollen collector out of the -swarming season. In that case, after falling through a horizontal grid placed in the bottom of the device (1), the collected pollen will gather in a box placed below.

The device (1) is highly efficient to ensure protection against varroa disease for several reasons. The swarm can be treated with high efficiency since no brood is present. In the parent colony, by the end of the second week following swarming, all brood emerges and only young open brood can be seen at most, which is an excellent opportunity to perform an effective anti-mite treatment.

The control unit (6), if fitted with the necessary transmitter, can transmit information to the beekeeper about swarming and colony division even when the beekeeper is away from the apiary. List of reference numbers

1. device

2. entrances of the device

3. guiding tunnel

4. queen trap 5. sensor

6. control unit

7. moving gate

8. perforations in the wall of the guiding tunnel

9. the outlet of the guiding tunnel 10. springs 11. grid to prevent the passage of drones

12. dividing tunnel

13. the inlet of the dividing tunnel

14. the body of the dividing tunnel

15. the outlet of the dividing tunnel

16. the external walls of the device

17. actuator

18. component to control passage through entrances

19. worker bees' main egress route

20. worker bees' ancillary egress route

Claims

2. The device (1) of claim 1, characterised by that the device (1), by deflecting a part of the worker bees from the worker bees' main egress route (19), will guide them to at least one ancillary egress route (20) and the sensor (5) will detect the accumulation of worker bees in sections lying in line with the ancillary egress route (20) and where the accumulation of worker bees will occur in a swarming-specific way.

3. The device (1) of claims 1-2, characterised by that a slightly upward arching tunnel (3) leads to the queen trap (4) that will guide the queen and a part of the worker bees entering the device (1) towards the queen trap (4) and the inlet of the guiding tunnel (3) will cross the worker bees' main egress route (19).

4. The device (1) of claims 1-3, characterised by that the natural light entering the device (1) will illuminate the guiding tunnel (3) leading to the queen trap (4) more strongly than its neighbourhood, and the incoming light will lure the queen and a part of the bees from the main egress route (19) to the queen trap (4) as a result of the positive phototropism of bees.

5. The device (1) of claims 1-4, characterised by that the guiding tunnel (3) reaches deep in the queen trap (4) and the size of the outlet (9) of the guiding tunnel (3) is relatively small as compared with the aggregate surface of the entrances (2) in the queen trap (4), by that there are perforations (8) in the wall of the guiding tunnel (3) and the size of the perforations (8) allows the worker bees but prevent the queen to pass.

6. The device (1) of claims 1-5, characterised by that the device (1) includes at least one component (18 ) to control passage through entrances (2) by moving which, the passage of worker bees to sections within the detection zones of the sensors (5) can be controlled, and the swarming-specific accumulation of worker bees can increase, which will make it easier to detect accumulation even in small bee colonies, and the entrances (2) of the device (1) can be modified to fit the different measurements of the various species of bee.

7. The device (1) of claims 1-6, characterised by that the inlet (13) of the dividing tunnel (12) integrated in the device (1) is oriented towards the moving gate (7) and fits it precisely, the inlet (13) of the dividing tunnel (12) is closed down by a moving gate (7) before swarming, and the movement of the moving gate (7) upon swarming will open the dividing tunnel (12) for the bees to pass through.

8. The device (1) of claims 1-7, characterised by that the body of the dividing tunnel (14) has perforated walls, the final section of the dividing tunnel (12) largely protrudes beyond the device (1), the end section of the dividing tunnel (12) can be turned around the stub of the dividing tunnel (12) and therefore division can be performed in several directions.

9. The device (1) of claims 1-8, characterised by that the volume of the queen trap (4) is small as compared with the aggregate surface of the entrances (2), the size and weight of the queen trap (4) is optimised in anticipation of the number of bees returning onto the queen trap (4), the sensitivity of the sensor (5) to detect the bees and the entrances (2) on the queen trap (4) opening in several directions will help the bees pick up the pheromones as well as other signals emitted by the queen trapped in the queen trap (4) and therefore they highly probably fly back to the queen trap (4) and cluster there in a relatively small area.

10. The device (1) of claims 1-9, characterised by that the sensor (5) to detect the accumulation of bees can also be a weight sensor (5), an optical sensor (5), an acoustic wave sensor (5), a heat sensor (5) or a combination of them, and this sensor (5) is shielded from environmental disturbances.

11. The device (1) of claims 1-10, characterised by that the sensor (5) is at least at a large enough distance from the device (1), the hive's front wall and the entrances (2) so that the bees clustering in front of the device (1) possibly in several layers in the heat would not disturb the sensor (5).

12. The device (1) of claims 1-11, characterised by that the device (1) will detect the entrance of the formerly marked queen to the device (1) by its sensor (5), because this sensor (5) is capable of detecting the formerly marked queen through magnetic signals or RFID tags and is matched to such markings, by that before detecting the formerly marked queen drones are allowed to pass through at least one of the openings (2) of the device (1), by that after the detection of the marked queen, the device's (1) openings (2) will be narrowed down by the moving gate (7) or by the component to control passage through the entrances (18) so that only worker bees could pass through, by that the device (1) will signal that the marked queen has been trapped in the queen trap (4) to the beekeeper by light or acoustic signals.

13. The device (1) of claims 1-12, characterised by that more than one sensor (5) is integrated in the device (1), the sensors (5) measure the accumulation of bees also in areas that are in line with the main egress route of the bees (19) and the main flight path.

14. The device (1) of claims 1-13, characterised by that in the device (1), near the queen trap (4), springs are installed (10) that will get pressed due to the aggregate weight of the swarming bees clustered on and about the queen trap (4), and consequently a circuit integrated in the device (1) will close.

15. The device (1) of claims 1-14, characterised by that the device (1) also includes weight sensors fitted under the hive (5) that are capable of measuring the weight loss suffered by the whole colony because of swarming and division.

16. The device (1) of claims 1-15, characterised by that a control unit (6) in the device (1) will analyse the signals received from the sensors (5) and the device (1) will consequently be able to differentiate between signals in the sensors' (5) zones not arising out of swarming and those triggered by swarming, and to timely operate the moving gate (7).

17. The device (1) of claims 1-16, characterised by that at least one actuator (17) is integrated in the device (1) and connected to the control unit (6), the operation of such actuator (17) is controlled by the control unit (6), and the actuator (17) will operate the moving gate (7), by that the actuator (17) will move the component (18) to control passage through entrances (2), by that the power for the actuator (17) is supplied by a power source integrated in the device (1).

18. The device (1) of claims 1-17, characterised by that the majority of the entrances (2) of the device (1) are in line with the worker bees' main egress routes (19) and flight paths and the aggregate surface of the entrances (2) is large, for which reason, the passage of worker bees in great number is not limited even upon swarming, and the hive's ventilation is ensured even in great heat.

19. The device (1) of claims 1-18, characterised by that the plate including the entrances (2) in line with the worker bees' main egress route (19) can be moved and the exit of the worker bees from the device (1) along their main egress route (19) can temporarily be made completely unobstructed and thereby the bees' orientation towards the device (1) and their foraging activities can be made easier out of the swarming period.

20. The device (1) of claims 1-19, characterised by that the device (1) includes several queen traps (4) that can be easily removed from the device (1) and queen cages can be joined to the queen traps (4), the outlets (9) of the guiding tunnels (3) leading to the queen traps (4) can be closed upon swarming, and several queens can reliably be trapped in the queen traps

(4) at the same time.

21. The device (1) of claims 1-11 and 13-20, characterised by that a grid to prevent the passage of drones (11) is installed in the device (1) the perforations in the walls of which are large enough to allow the queen and worker bees to pass through but prevent the drones' passage, the grid to prevent the passage of drones (11) is installed so that it would prevent the passage of drones in the direction of the sections of the device (1) equipped with sensors

(5) .

22. The device (1) of claims 1-11 and 13-21, characterised by that the grid to prevent the passage of drones (11) is built in near the moving gate (7), and the control unit (6) of the device (1), by operating the moving gate (7), will allow the drones trapped in the hive and the device (1) to leave in the direction of the dividing tunnel (12) for a short time, and the device (1) will open the dividing tunnel (12) allowing for the drones to leave in the parts of the day (12) when swarming is not typical to occur.

23. The device (1) of claims 1-22, characterised by that the device (1) consists of several detachable components and the components mounted onto the hive from below or above can be detached from the component attached to the hive's front and from the hive with a single movement of the hands and can be taken away with the captured swarm without having to lift the hive.

24. The device (1) of claims 1-23, characterised by that the external walls (16) of the device (1) protect the bees against strong sunshine and precipitation, the side walls are perforated and can be folded up like a box and connected to each other to turn the device (1) into a transportation box to carry the swarm.

25. The device (1) of claims 1-24, characterised by that the device's (1) walls can be shut tight (1) and in such cases, the device (1) can be turned into a tool to treat swarms against varroa mites.

26. The device (1) of claims 1-25, characterised by that the device (1) can be equipped with a pollen grid, and the device (1) can furthermore be used as a pollen collector out of the swarming season, by that the bottom of the device (1) can be removed and cleaned.

27. The device (1) of claims 1-26, characterised by that the control unit (6) of the device (1) is connected to a signalling unit and the beekeeper can get informed about any incidence of swarming, robbing, the extent of division or the weight loss of bee colony even from large distances.