RU223494U1 - Hive for earth pollinating bees and entomophagous wasps - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to agriculture, in particular to beekeeping and plant growing, as well as to environmental activities aimed at maintaining natural populations of wild bees and rare and endangered plant species pollinated by them, as well as entomophagous wasps that regulate the number of phytophagous insects. A hive for wild bees includes a shelving body into which two boxes are inserted, the internal space of which is divided by plates into several compartments - slot-like cavities designed to accommodate nesting blocks. Nesting blocks are rectangular briquettes formed from a composite material, the composition of which is selected in accordance with the needs of pollinating bees or entomophagous wasps of specific species inhabiting the hive. One of the compartments of the nest box is filled with cocoons with decoy bees or wasps. The hive is covered with a wide flat lid. The technical result consists in ensuring the exclusion or significant reduction of the accessibility of bees and wasps nests for predators and parasites, due to the gnawing of the nesting canal by the bees or wasps themselves; the vertical arrangement of nesting blocks is more natural for earth bees and wasps; the use of nesting blocks that are attractive to ground bees and wasps, thanks to the use of composite materials similar in composition to the natural substrate that ground bees and wasps use for nesting in nature; long-term use of nesting blocks. 1 ill.

Description

The utility model relates to agriculture, in particular to beekeeping and plant growing, as well as to environmental activities aimed at maintaining natural populations of wild bees and rare and endangered plant species pollinated by them, as well as entomophagous wasps that regulate the number of phytophagous insects. Wild earth bees are specialized pollinators of a number of agricultural plants (alfalfa, clover, some vegetable, fruit and essential oil crops), as well as pollinators of rare and endangered plant species in natural ecosystems, the pollination of which by honey bees is impossible or economically unjustified. In this regard, breeding wild bees (leaf-cutter bees, osmium bees, etc.) for use as pollinators of various crops, as well as supporting natural populations of wild bees by providing them with hives for settlement, are relevant and are becoming increasingly widespread. Breeding entomophagous wasps is a promising direction when using a biomethod in the fight against phytophagous pests of crops in both open and closed ground.

A well-known hive for wild bees, which is also used for breeding wasps, contains a body, which is a box into which nesting blocks are inserted, made in the form of a package of grooved plates, the grooves of which form horizontal cavities potentially suitable for nesting bees or wasps. The operation of the hive involves carrying out annual activities for the removal of nesting blocks, their disassembly, cleaning and disinfection with their subsequent return to the hive, using special devices and equipment [Hobbs G.A. Alfalfa leafcutter bees for pollinating alfalfa in Western Canada. Ottawa: Canada Dep. Agric, 1973. 30 p. (Inform. Div., Publ. 1495)].

The disadvantage of the device is the presence of gaps between the plates and the body of the hive, which allow parasites and predators to penetrate directly into the nesting channel; horizontal arrangement of channels, unnatural for some species of bees; regular arrangement of entrance holes, which makes it difficult for bees to orient themselves within the nesting blocks; the need for annual disassembly of nesting blocks for their cleaning from parasites and cocoon residues, disinfection, subsequent assembly and fastening in the body; decoy bees are placed in trays that are placed separately from the hive and young bees do not perceive the hive as a place of hatching, which reduces the population of the hive (the proportion of female bees that have populated the hive out of the number of those born); technological difficulties in the manufacture of grooved plates and the need to use special expensive wood species (cedar, etc.), which leads to high costs of labor and money for the manufacture and maintenance of the hive; the complete unsuitability of the hive for populating it with species of pollinating bees and entomophagous wasps that build their nests in the ground.

The purpose of the device is to exclude or significantly reduce the accessibility of bees and wasps nests for predators and parasites, due to the gnawing of the nesting canal by the bees or wasps themselves; the vertical arrangement of nesting blocks is more natural for earth bees and wasps; the use of nesting blocks that are attractive to ground bees and wasps, thanks to the use of composite materials similar in composition to the natural substrate that ground bees and wasps use for nesting in nature; long-term use of nesting blocks; increasing the attractiveness of the hive due to the flight of decoy young bees or wasps directly from the hive and the availability of nesting blocks from all sides of the hive; ensuring relatively stable microclimatic parameters of cavities for nesting blocks, as well as reducing labor costs and funds for the manufacture and maintenance of the hive.

The technical result is the exclusion or significant reduction of the availability of nests of pollinating bees and entomophagous wasps for predators and parasites.

The technical result is achieved by the fact that the hive for wild bees includes a case made in the form of a shelf, covered with a lid, in which two nesting boxes are located. The internal space of the nesting boxes is divided by smooth plates of waterproof plastic into several slot-like cavities designed to accommodate nesting blocks. In one of the cavities inside the nest box, cocoons of the species bred in the hive are placed. Nesting blocks are briquettes formed from a mixture of dry fine clay and fine river sand, or dry fine clay and loam, or a mixture of loam and river sand, or fine loam. One of the compartments of the nest box is filled with cocoons with decoy bees or wasps. The hive is covered with a wide flat lid. The walls of the nest boxes are made of fairly thick boards, and the hive body is covered with a wide lid, which ensures relative stability of the microclimatic conditions of the chambers with nest blocks.

The device disassembled into its component parts is presented graphically.

Fig. 1 - shelving body and hive cover.

Fig. 2 - nest box, separating plates and nest blocks.

The shelving body (Fig. 1) consists of vertical posts 1 and transverse narrow 2 and wide 3 slats, the presence of the latter gives the entire structure the necessary rigidity and visually increases the depth of the nest boxes 4 (Fig. 2), which is important for attracting earth bees and os. The nest box contains drainage holes 5, and vertical slits 6 are cut from the inside in the front and rear walls for inserting separating plates 7 into them. Nest blocks 8 are inserted into the slot-like cavities between the separating plates. The hive assembly is covered with a lid 9, between the hive lid and The upper edges of the nesting boxes leave free space necessary for bees or wasps to approach the nesting blocks.

The hive is made and assembled as follows.

The shelf body (Fig. 1) is made of wooden slats fastened with self-tapping screws. Nest boxes 4 are made from planed boards of sufficient thickness (at least 2 cm) to give greater stability to the temperature and humidity conditions of the nest blocks. Separating plates 6 are cut from smooth plates of waterproof plastic about 1 mm thick. Nest blocks 7 can be manufactured in two ways.

The first method involves molding nesting blocks directly in the nesting box 4. Dividing plates 6 are inserted into the box. Molding material is poured into the gaps between the plates, which can consist of a mixture of dry fine clay, lumps no more than 1 mm in diameter, and fine river sand, or dry fine clay and loam, or a mixture of loam and river sand, or fine loam, or any other composite mixtures similar in composition to the nesting substrate of bees or wasps of specific species in nature. The gaps between the separating plates 6 are filled with the molding material gradually, layer by layer. Each layer of molding material is generously irrigated with water until excess water appears in the drainage holes 5. The last layer of molding material should completely fill the nest box. After filling the nesting box with molding material, the boxes are left to dry, while the free space formed as the molding material dries is filled with additional portions of the molding mixture and moistened with new portions of water in moderate quantities, preventing water from entering the already dried layers of nesting blocks.

The second method of manufacturing nesting blocks involves molding nesting blocks in the form of briquettes in shapes corresponding in size and shape to the slot-like cavities between the separating plates 7 in the nesting box 4 of the hive, from similar materials in a similar way.

The finished briquettes of nesting blocks 8 are inserted between the separating plates 7 of nesting boxes 4, while one of the cavities of the nesting box is filled with cocoons with decoy young bees (or wasps) and covered with a layer of dry composite mixture and slightly moistened. Nest boxes 4, loaded with nest blocks 8, are installed in the hive body, which is covered with a lid 9.

After this, the hive is ready to be populated by bees or wasps.

The hive is used as follows. The shelving building is exhibited in an area of an agricultural crop that is pollinated or requires protection from phytophages, or in the habitat of pollinating bees or entomophagous wasps in nature. Nest boxes with nest blocks are inserted into the body. The body is covered with a lid, which is attached to the body with self-tapping screws.

Attraction of pollinating bees or entomophagous wasps for nesting in the hive is ensured by the similarity of the hive with natural objects usually used by wild bees for nesting in natural conditions - outcrops of clay and loam, scree on steep slopes devoid of vegetation, shelves on rocky ledges filled with fine material weathering and similar objects.

The similarity of the hive to the natural nesting sites of bees not only ensures its high attractiveness for pollinating bees, but at the same time, due to the design features of the hive described above, provides reliable protection of nests from parasites and predators and, as a result, high survival rate of offspring. Such a hive makes it possible to use it without removing nesting blocks for several years in a row, after which nesting blocks that become unusable are simply replaced with new ones.

Successful colonization of a hive for ground pollinating bees or entomophagous wasps is guaranteed by placing cocoons with young bees or wasps, which are previously found in nature, in one of the compartments of the nest box.

Example of use. The hive can be of different sizes depending on the species of pollinating bees or entomophagous wasps for which it is intended. In particular, the dimensions of the hive and the dimensions of the nesting blocks intended for the largest bees from the genera Xylocopa and Anthophora can reach maximum sizes, namely, nesting boxes - 300x300x400 mm (dimensions of the cavity of the box), nesting blocks -300×360×25 mm. For smaller bees and wasps, the size of the hive and nesting blocks can be reduced in proportion to their size. When using hives to support natural populations of bees - pollinators of rare and endangered plant species, as well as entomophagous wasps living in protected areas, where the number of species of bees and wasps of different sizes can be significant, it can be recommended to use nesting blocks of different thicknesses in one hive. It is recommended to cover all surfaces of the hive (external and internal) with drying oil, and then with ship varnish, which will significantly extend the time of use of the hive.

The technical solution eliminates or significantly reduces the accessibility of nests of pollinating bees and entomophagous wasps for predators and parasites, due to the solidity of nesting blocks, greater attractiveness of the hive due to a more natural vertical arrangement of nesting blocks and a nesting substrate close to natural, as well as increasing the attractiveness of the hive due to the accessibility of the hive from all four sides and the protection of the nesting blocks by the hive cover from overheating and excessive moisture. In addition, the hive is economical in terms of the use of materials for the body and nesting blocks, their long-term use, as well as the time spent on installation, moving, maintaining and storing the hive.

Claims (2)

1. A hive for ground pollinating bees and entomophagous wasps, including a shelf-shaped housing covered with a lid, in which two nesting boxes are placed, the internal space of the nesting boxes is divided by smooth plates of waterproof plastic into several slot-like cavities designed to accommodate nesting blocks , while in one of the cavities inside the nest box there are cocoons of the species bred in the hive. 2. The hive according to claim 1, characterized in that the nesting blocks are briquettes formed from a mixture of dry fine clay and fine river sand, or dry fine clay and loam, or a mixture of loam and river sand, or fine loam.

Images