WO2004098276A2

WO2004098276A2 - Heat system for combating mites and other improvements in a bee-hive

Info

Publication number: WO2004098276A2
Application number: PCT/GB2004/001929
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel Norberto Rivitti; Silvana Ovelar
Original assignee: Lyons, Andrew, John
Priority date: 2003-05-05
Filing date: 2004-05-05
Publication date: 2004-11-18
Also published as: AR045703A1; WO2004098276A3

Abstract

A method and a device for ridding a bee-hive of Varroasis by heating air drawn into the hive from outside heat. The treatment may be carried out using a standard heater fan coupled to the lower entrance of the hive. The inside of the hive is thus heated to about 38 °C for about 2 minutes. The treatment may be repeated about five times on following days. comprising at least one honeycomb, a housing and at least one. A polyfunctional device includes a unit stacked on top of the upper or only brood chamber includes an upper vent for enabling convection hot currents to pass through the hive. The polyfunctional device further includes means enabling other typical beekeeper functions to be performed without extra tools, such as feeding and incentivating the bees, removing honey from the hive and breeding queen-bees on a small scale.

Description

HEAT SYSTEM FOR COMBATING MITES AMD OTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN A

BEE-HIVE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention . The present invention belongs to the field of apiculture and is generally related to production of honey and bee-hives. It particularly refers to a method of injecting air and polyfunctional device for improving production and sanitary conditions in American- or eventually other types^' of hot- or cold-air exposure bee-hives, including an apparatus for blowing hot air to rid hives of infestation of certain mites, in particular the Varroa ήacohsoni or Varroa destructor mite responsible for ^"Varroasis plagues.

Bee-hives are structures for housing bee colonies for reproduction and honey production as is well known in the art of apiculture. In their natural state, honeybees carry out there activities in hives, segregating wax to build honeycombs for nesting their brood. Natural beeswax honeycombs are built perpendicular to the hive inlet; this situation is known as hot-exposure. On the other hand, many artificial hives have what is known as a cold-exposure arrangement wherein the plastic honeycombs are placed para llel to the hive opening, on the belief that it benefits hive living conditions in adverse external climate. The honeycombs usually include some cells for drone

(or male) brood, in addition to the worker brood cells.

Both, kinds of cells have hexagonal cross-sections although the drone cells cross-section (face to face) is larger (0-7 cm) than the worker cell cross-section (0-5 cm). This dif- ference is recognized by the queen and worker bees to segregate the drone bee eggs from the worker eggs. In addition to mating with the queen bee, drone bees perform several useful auxiliary functions in -the colony, • such as by flying around inside the hive thereby assisting in ventilating the air therein which helps to avoid ^'proliferation of diseases in the colony. Drone bees also generate heat to warm the brood, replacing worker bees in this operation.

The honey consumed by a colony is proportional to the heat necessary for the brood to develop. There is no material difference whether the honey is translated into heat by a worker bee producing heat or by a drone heater bee. In fact, if the latter incubate the brood, then the worker bees are available for other tasks. According to P. Jean-Prost in Apicul tura, 3rd Ed.,

1989, "Complemento sobre Varroasis en 1990" ("Complement on Varroasis in 1999") , drone bees actively participate in the elaboration of honey from concentrated nectar by spreading the nectar around the colony. One drone supplies about fifty workers. Before it becomes honey, the nectar has is by several mouths. Hence drone bees are not only required^' by queen-bee breeders but are- also decidedly useful to the honey-producer beekeepers.

The Varroa ήacobsoni mite is known to infest all honeycomb cells housing larvas although they tend to complete their cycle in drone-bee cells. The mites infest the drone bee pupa just before the cells containing the drone bee pupas are capped by the worker bees in the hive. The infestation is capable producing high mortality rates if not checked. This of course negatively impacts the infected bee-hive production and diminishes honey production. In fact, the pest is capable of exterminating- an entire colony within 2 years if left unchecked. There is, therefore, a strong economic need to combat this mite. ^• 2. Description of the Prior Art.

The winged-movement of drone-bees is known to assist' airing- of hives as mentioned" hereinabove to remove moisture and avoid diseases proliferating 'in hives (thus, we take exception at the assertion in above entioned U.S. Patent No. 6,475,061 that drone bees are to a certain degree expendable for beekeepers other than queen-bee breeders) . Furthermore, hives are known to have small holes in their tops for generating convection air currents to remove humidity from inside the hive. Otherwise, forced ventilation is used but this, of course, leads to greater power consumption.

U.S. Patent No. 4,257,133 to Steinrucken discloses a solar evaporator bee-hive cover which improves air circulation within and around the honeycomb, increasing moisture evaporation rate in the hive. This in turn is said to increase the rate at which nectar is changed into a concentrated form enhancing the production of larger quantities of honey.

The seasonal .internal and external physical conditions, e.g. honey production insofar both quantity and quality, brood, quiescent or else dynamic state of the bees, radiation, diffusion, convective currents, evaporation, condensation and weather, are not constant and are further altered by interference on the part of the bee- keeper when opening the hive to artificially feed the bees or later to expel the bees when removing honey, cool the breeding hive and bother its inhabitants. In view of this, some beekeepers drill a hole about 16 millimetres in diameter in the inner part of one of the handles of the upper chambers, thereby weakening the material.

Under these^' conditions, most beekeepers in the Southern hemisphere adopt the cold-exposure arrangement for their hives, i.e. with the combs parallel to the air vent. The vent is partially shut by means of a vent-keeper in 100 cold climates'' and is left fully open in times of full activity. If this is not effective enough, one brood chamber may be slid over the other about 15 millimetres to air the room, however this deteriorates the material and opens the hive to sudden climatic changes endangering the 105 sanitary conditions of the colony.

An inner cover at the top of the chamber regulates the temperature of the colony. However, moisture condenses there because of the humidity in the room and evaporation coming from the honey maturing, making extraction thereof

110 more difficult and consuming more energy.

A feeder is sometimes provided in the roof for providing nourishing or incentivating jellies to the colonies, although most beekeepers use a plastic bag with holes in it, however the hive has to be opened to put the bag 115 inside.^' Moreover, the sweet syrup falling on the floor full of dead bees, offal and all kinds of dirt which the bees sweep out through the entrance increases the chances of contaminating the product which is ingested later.

Australian-type pollen traps are typically laid on 120 the floor, however they are difficult to remove and replace. The vent traps, being near to the ground, are easy prey to ants are in permanent contact with moisture. Intermediate and roof traps are also used, however all require the hive to be moved when installed or removed.

125 Before the honey is taken from the hive, the bees stuck to the combs have to be removed by means of -smoke, insect-repellent fumes, air pumped in, expellers or brushing, " all of which are invasive and in some cases leave some residue on the honey product.

130 Acaricides (e.g. Apistan, Bayvarol, formic acid, lactic acid, oxalic acid, Thymol, Nee ^'' oil, etc.) formulated to attempt to exterminate Varroa ήacobsoni have also been found to hurt the bees. In addition, there are inherent drawbacks in using chemicals to- disinfest be'e- 135 hives-, namely contamination of the honey and beeswax production and the mites eventually developing resistance to the formulation.

Non-chemical methods include the use of drone brood inserted in specific combs in the hive as decoys, in view

140 of that the mites are far more attracted to drone blood than to worker blood. The decoy combs are capped with the mites trapped inside and then removed and frozen to kill the mites. Another non-chemical approach is provided by U.S. Patent No. 5,162,014 to Moore et al which teaches a

145 method for treating bees infested with mites or other parasites by exposing the hive to a magnetic -field which is designed to combat the mite or parasite infestation but not affect the viability of the bees themselves.

Use of heating in connection with beehives is also

150 known, although for different reasons. U.S. Patents No.

3,683,432 to Musgrove and 4,280,236 to Herman disclose electrical heater installations for softening the beeswax and assisting in removing honey. U.S. Patent No. 3,994,034 to van Damme et al discloses a heater installation generat-

155 ing a hot-air curtain for protecting bee-hive brood from cold weather._, U.S.' Patent No. 4,739,531 to Robson is an early example of the use of electricity in connection with honeybees. The electric apparatus enables collecting venom from the bees and includes electrical conductors disposed

160 in the colony to excite the bees.

More recently, U.S. Patent No. 6,475,061 to Huang discloses an electrical system for preventing mites from infesting a beehive. The system is based on the inventor's belief that exposure ^• to 44°C will kill the mites but not 165- hurt the bees. Heating wires are embedded in combs, forming parallel electrical circuits of 1»8 to 2-1 Ω. According to this Huang patent, electricity is applied via external terminals connected to a 12 volt battery during 1 to 5 minutes for killing drone, bee larva and pupa and the mites

170 on the larva and pupa. According to practical information published on the MSU (Michigan State University, U.S.A.) website, the electricity is applied to the external terminals between 5 and 8 minutes. The capped cells are then opened by the bees to remove dead or dying brood.

175 After 3 to 5 days, the drone comb is ready for the queen to lay eggs again.

One drawback of the Huang system is that honeycomb foundations^" are made up of about 20% animal wax which is of animal origin and has a melting point between 61 and 63°C 180 (whereas paraffin is of mineral origin having a melting point between 40 and 70°C) . Therefore, the foundation becomes charred if exposed to such high temperatures, particularly for such long times.

Another drawback is the cost of installing the

185 electrical wiring in a comb and the need to open the beehive colony to insert the wired comb. The wire is embedded _.inside a long thicker wax sheath so that it is invisible. However, the wire either melts the wax or else no heat is radiated. If the wire can be seen, either the wire failed

190 to pass through the sheath or ^' the sheath broke. Bees immediately propolinate all visible metal material in the hive and if the metal is inside a cell or a row of cells, the queen-bee simply does not lay any eggs there. When the larva is operculated and begins its metamorphosis, for two

195 days it threads a cocoon which ends in the rectum where the larva excretes and leaves its skin changes against the bottom of the cell, where the wire is. If the cocoon deteriorates,' the cell gets contaminated and the larva therein may get ill or die or infect the colony with sorne-

200 serious contagious disease such as Loque. The Varroa ήacobsoni mite suffers and dies at 38°C according to P. ^' Jean-Prost in' Apicul tura, 3rd Ed., 1989,

"Complemento sobre Varroasis en 1990" (c.it. supra), page ^'4, section 2.8.2 "Biologia del Parasito" ("Parasite Biology"),

205 subsection 2.8.2.1, fifth paragraph.

The nearest approach to the present invention is believed to be U.S. Patent No. 5,069,651 to Arndt, which discloses a closed-loop system for circulating air and heating the hive to rid it of mites. A fan draws air from

210 the top of the hive, passes it through an air-heater, and reinjects it into the hive via a spout connected to the bottom opening of the hive, so as to completely cap it, in order to heat the hive to 120-130°F (49-54^°C), preferably 120-125°F (49-52°C), for 15 minutes. The Arndt patent also

215 relies on unidentified prior art stating that it is known that the Varroa mite cannot tolerate temperatures of 107- 111°F (42-44°C), for 20-30 minutes.

The Arndt system also has the drawback .that the honeycomb foundation may melt and char for reasons similar

220 to those given hereinabove in connection with the Huang system. The temperature of at least 49°C is high enough to soften and melt the wax in addition to deteriorating the quality of the royal jelly and vast pupa food fed to the larva. The extra heat makes the hemolymph travel towards

225 the outer part of the body as a reaction to maintain thermal balance. Normal temperature in a bee is 35°C ± 1°C. The temperature excursion from 34-36°C to 49-54^°C is around 16°C on the average, which is extremely high (it only takes a 2° temperature shift to make humans blush or

230 get a cold feeling; imagine what the bees will feel with a 16°C excursion) , specially since it is not just a short hot burst but involves exposures up to 15 minutes long at a time .^' In order to increase efficiency and remove a larger

235 number of mites, Arndt^' further suggests spraying vegetable oil into the hot air-stream, preferably in-' 6-8 burst during the 15-minute duty-cycle. The suggestion to mix vegetable with the hot air is clear admittance that the Arndt hot-air closed-loop system alone is not very effective. The

240 addition of vegetable oil is presumed to choke the mite breathing system (spiracles) , however this is a different effect from the heat. The vegetable oil may kill not only the Varroas but also the bees, being an extraneous addition to their diet. Moreover, use of petroleum jelly (also known

245 as vaseline) and other oils is forbidden (in Argentina at least to our knowledge) since it may choke the bees' s breathing pores.

In addition, the Arndt system is difficult to put into practice. The outer and inner covers of the hive need 250 to be taken off, then the to part has to be installed and the fan adjusted to the lower bee entrance. The bees would escape from the hive instead of being orphaned. Furthermore, there is no mention of how heat is generated, air injected and power supplied.

255 The foregoing description is intended to bring forth the cumulus of drawbacks and tools used in beehive hygiene and honey production.. ^"

One of the methods known for breeding queen-bees on a small scale is the roof-frame system, by adding on a 260 Pachansac ring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention to provide a solution to the above-mentioned drawbacks.

Another object of the invention is a bee-hive 265 device to assist in maintaining the temperature of the brood nest without condensing moisture. A further object of the invention is a. bee-hive device embodying a bee expeller.

Yet another object of the invention is a bee-hive 270 device providing easy access and recollection of clean and dry pollen.

Yet a further object of the invention is a bee-hive device to enabling addition of an additional frame for breeding queen bees on a small scale.

275 Yet a further object- of the invention is a bee-hive device to reduce energy consumption and increase the number of bees in pecorea.

Still another object of the invention is a method and means for injecting an air current at a controlled

280 temperature between the lower and upper vents to keep infestation at normal levels or eliminate Varroa ήacobsoni mites .

The essence of the present invention is a combination of means for carrying out correlated functions

285 integrated into a single unit, thereby significantly reducing the amount of tools usually used by the bee-keeper and optimizing honey production. In particular, the device comprises a unit including an upper vent in volumetric relation to the lower vent (bee entrance) for airing and

290 drying out moisture by natural convection so that moisture is not allowed to accumulate without disturbing the temperature of the brood nest. The -unit of the invention further includes means for expelling bees, means providing easy access and recollection of clean and dry pollen, means

295 for enabling an additional frame to be added to the hive for breeding queen bees on a small scale and means for reducing hive energy consumption and increasing the number of bees in pecorea. According to a further feature of the invention,

300 the unit may be coupled to means for heating and injecting ambient air -into the hive at a controlled temperature^' by natural convection to rid a bee colony of Varroasis infestation, thereby improving colony sanitary conditions.

The above and other objects, features and ad- 305 vantages of this invention will be better understood when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is 310 illustrated by way of example in the following drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the essential parts of a bee-hive incorporating the device of the present invention.

315 Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the polyfunctional unit of figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-section view of the bee-expeller means of the unit of figure 2.

Figure 4 is a cross-section view of the unit of figure 2 320 showing a detail of the roof airing means.

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a device for inserting between the upper honey chamber and the hive roof according to the present invention.

Figure 6 illustrates a detail "C" of the device of figure 325 5.

Figure 7 is a cross-section elevation view of detail "B" of a separator of the device of figure 5.

Figure 8 is a cross-section plan view of detail ^ΛB" of the separator of figure 7. 330 Figure 9 illustrates a cross-section detail of the separator of. figures 7 and 8 taken along section A-A in figure 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Figure 1 illustrates a hot-exposure, American-type 335 beehive- comprising a floor 1 having front and back entrances or vents which may be blocked by means of respective keepers 2 and 3. The keepers 2 and 3 may simply be rotated between two different positions to either completely close the entrance or just a part thereof.

340 A standard chamber or nest 4 and a set of standard brood frames 5, which may be conventional, inhabited by the bees, rest on the floor.

The polyfunctional device of the invention is mounted over the chamber 4. As illustrated in more detail

345 in figure 2, this device comprises a floor 6, which functions as an inner or intermediate cover, provided with four holes 7 and 8 of two different diameters for draining the nourishing syrup, which is thicker (i.e. more dense) than the incentive syrup, down to the chamber 4. Both holes

350 may be closed off by means of plugs 9 having rounded heads and a cylindrical guide which is inserted in the drain hole 7 or 8 to stop the syrup from dripping down.

The sides 10 of the polyfunctional device are tapered 11 on the inside for receiving a horizontal frame 355 and have two holes for receiving pegs 12 for supporting the device when it is turned upside down. An opening 13 in the front of the device functions as an upper vent. By means of a groove in the base thereof a landing platform 14, a vent keeper 14 and a pollen trap 16 may^' be removably placed.

360 The de-beeing means, comprising two spaced panels

17 and 18, is situated in the top of the device, above the vent 13. The upper panel 17 is horizontally placed with a slot in its middle. As shown in figure 3, the lower panel 18^' is arch-shaped^' with its concavity facing downwards. In 365 the middle^' of the lower, panel 18 there is ah opening- covered by a wire netting 19 so that the bees can see the light from the chamber located on top of and towards the vent 13. The bees are able to pass through two holes passing through the latter panel 18.

370 As illustrated in figure 4, the outer cover 21 which covers the top 20 of the device feeder comprises a blind panel 22 and a perforated panel 23 forming an air chamber which vents to the four winds so that, in the event that the de-beeing means is used, the chamber with the

375 extractable honey is sufficiently aired so that the bees therein do not choke at the time of greater exposure to hot temperatures, rather a hot current may move downwards therethrough to maintain the temperature of the brood nest in the afternoon and night when temperatures go down.

380 An auxiliary device comprises a heater fan 24 operating on AC mains voltage or which may be powered by a 12-volt DC battery, a thermostat 33, an entrance keeper and a bellows pipe or nozzle covering the entrance. The nozzle is provided with holes for distributing air by natural

385 convection. The holes are selectively placed on the nozzle to divide the air intake into three jets, one each near the front and back of the brood chamber comprising three brood frames each and a third jet spanning four frames in the middle of the chamber.

390 The nozzle is funnel shaped such that its diameter progressively tapers off towards the end. This funnel-shape feature together with a proper distribution and size of the holes are designed so as to raise the temperature of the front and back groups of three frames each to 38 °C and the

395 intermediate four-frame group to 36°C. The middle .section of the chamber is heated to 2°C less since it has been found that the bees concentrate here when hot air is blown in, thus making up the difference with their body heat and movement, such that the temperature is uniform in the 400 chamber..

The device described hereinabove in connection with figures 1 to 4 may be used as follows:

Obtaining Pollen:

The keeper 3 in the back floor entrance is removed 405 to let the bees exit the hive and the keeper 2 on the front floor entrance is set in place to plug the front floor entrance. The upper keeper 15 is removed.

The bees, accustomed to enter the hive by the front, leave the hive by the back and re-enter by the upper 410 entrance 13. After the bees have become accustomed during 48 hours to entering through the new opening 13, the lower back keeper 3 is replaced and the landing platform 14 is removed and replaced with the pollen trap 16.

According to the bee-keepers needs, when the pollen 415 load is complete or else in the afternoon when the bees stop passing through the entrance 13, the trap is removed, emptied and placed back again in front of the upper entrance 13. Once the trap is not needed any more, the landing platform 14 is put back in place and the lower 420 front entrance keeper 2 is removed.

Feeding Syrup:

The roof 21 is lifted and the device cover 20 is removed. The plugs 9 are placed in the corresponding drain holes 7 or 8. An adequate amount of syrup, such as 6-8

425 litres, is added, the cover 20 is put back in place and the roof 21 lowered again. Use of the Device as Bee Entrance:

According to weather conditions and beekeeper criteria, the landing platform 14 may be placed and the

430 upper keeper 15 placed with its slot either in the open position to let the bees through or else rotated 90° to the closed position, closing the upper entrance 13.

De-Beeing the Honey Chamber:

In this case, the hive should contain at least two 435 brood chambers, the lower one functioning as a brood chamber and the other as a honey chamber. The polyfunctional device is placed in between, under the honey chamber. The honey harvested in the device may be removed 24 hours later.

440 Breeding Queen-bees in the Roof Frame :

The cover 21 is lifted, the top 20 is removed and the frame 5 designed for this purpose is fastened in place by means of the four pegs 12. The polyfunctional unit is turned upside down so that the horizontal frame lies over 445 the brood nest. Breeding is carried out according to the rules of the art.

Treating Varroasis:

The hive comprises the floor 1, the back floor entrance 3, one or two brood or brood and feeding chambers

450 4, the polyfunctional device with the upper keeper 15 in the open position so that the bees may pass through the slot therein, and the roof 21. The heater fan is connected to the front lower entrance and the thermostat 33 in the upper keeper 15. The heater fan 24 is switched on to blow 55 hot air into the hive. When the temperature inside the chamber reaches 38 °C, the heater fan 24 is kept on for two more minutes and then switched off. The thermostat 33 and then the heater-fan 24 are removed and the lower front keeper replaced, ending the cycle which is repeated five 460 times every five- consecutive days.

Figures 5 to 9 illustrate a device according to the invention for placement between the upper (if more than one) honey chamber 4 and the roof 21. As may be seen in figure 5, the device consists of a chassis 26 holding a 465 plate 31 with a slotted hole in the middle for the bees to be able to escape through when expelling the bees or for placing a heat sensor on top when treating the hive against Varroasis. A diamond-shaped grate 27 for collecting pro- poleum is supported below the. plate 31 by strips 28.

470 Two U-shaped de-beeing members have a pair of discontinuous alternating grooves 30 horizontally divided by separator 32. Simply by placing a honey chamber on top of this device makes the bees travel downwards to the brood chamber or nest 4, however they do not know how to get back

475 up; in this way de device fulfills its purpose of expelling bees from the honey chamber.

The device of figure 5 further includes a pair of keepers 29 for controlling the convective flow of air through the hive.

480 While preferred embodiments • of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended

485 claims.

Claims

THE CLAIMS

1. A method for combating Varroasis in a bee colony living in a beehive, the method comprising performing the steps of:

490 heating the air inside the hive to a predetermined temperature, maintaining said predetermined temperature substantially constant for a predetermined duty time- interval, wherein said predetermined temperature and 495 time-interval are selected to substantially destroy at least ^'most Varroa ήacobsoni mites therein without substantially harming bees of the colony and, thereafter, allowing the inside of the hive to cool down back to room temperature;

500 characterised in that said predetermined temperature is over about 38 °C and substantially under 42°C.

2. The method of claim 1, characterised in that said temperature is about 38 °C and said duty time-interval

505 is around two minutes.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, .characterised in that the hive heating step comprises the subsets of: drawing in air from outside the hive, heating the drawn air to 38 °C,

510 blowing the heated air into near the bottom of the hive and allowing hot air to substantially fill the hive by natural convection and exit from above the hive to the outside.

515 4. The method of claim 3, characterised in that: the maintaining step comprises: sensing the temperature inside the hive, waiting for the sensed temperature to reach said predetermined temperature and thereafter

520 waiting for said predetermined duty time- interval to elapse before performing said step of allowing; and the step of allowing comprises thereafter stop blowing heated air inside the hive.

525 5. The method of claim 4, characterised in that the temperature inside the hive is sensed where said air exits the hive.

6. The method of claim 3, 4 or 5, characterised in that said hive heating step comprises injecting separate

530 heated-air jets into three vertically arranged sections of said hive, said sections comprising a pair of opposite end sections and an intermediate section, wherein air jets are injected into said end sections at said predetermined temperature and into said inter-

535 mediate section at a temperature less than said predetermined temperature to compensate for bee population and activity concentrating more in said intermediate section than in said end sections.

7. The method of claim 6, characterised in that said 540 intermediate jet is injected at a temperature of about

2°C less than said end-section air-jets.

8. The method ^' of .one or more preceding claims, characterised in that the steps of heating, maintaining and allowing to cool are carried-^' out as a cycle which

545 is repeated on following days.

9. The method of claim 8, characterised in that said cycle is repeated about five times every approximately five consecutive days .

10. The method of one or more preceding claims, 550 characterised in that said beehive is an American-type beehive.

11. A device for combating Varroasis in a beehive, the beehive having at least one chamber and a lower entrance leading into the bottom of said at least one

555 chamber, the device characterised by comprising means for heating said at least one chamber to a predetermined temperature over about 38 °C and substantially under 42 °C sufficiently to destroy at least most mites therein said at least one chamber without

560 ^' substantially harming bees therein.

12. The Varroasis combat device of claim 11, characterised in that said means comprises: blower means for drawing in air from outside the beehive through said lower entrance into said at least 565 one chamber, heater means coupled to said blower means for heating the air drawn in to. said predetermined temperature and upper vent means leading off from near the top of

570 said at least one chamber for generating convection heating air currents up through said at least one chamber.

13. The Varroasis combat device of claim 11 or 12, characterised in that the heater and blower means

575 comprises a heater fan coupled to said lower entrance.

14. The Varroasis combat device of claim 13, characterised by further comprising nozzle means coupling said heater and-blower means through said lower entrance to said at least one chamber, said nozzle means having a plurality 580 of orifices for directing heated air jets into said at least one chamber and a funnel shape with a section tapering away nozzle means, whereby heated air is injected at substantially uniform pressure into said at least one chamber.

585 15. The Varroasis combat device of claim 13 or 14, characterised in that the heater fan is electrically powered by a 12 volt battery.

16. The Varroasis combat device of claim 13 or 14, characterised in that the heater fan is powered from

590 the AC electricity mains.

17. The Varroasis combat device of one or more of claims 11 to 16, characterised by further comprising thermostat means coupled to said upper vent for providing an indication of when the temperature inside said at least

595 one chamber reaches said predetermined temperature.

18. The Varroasis combat device of one or more of claims 11 to 17, characterised in that said at least one chamber comprises at least two chambers mounted one over the other, wherein said upper vent is located at the top of

600 the upper one of said chambers.

19. The Varroasis combat device of one or more of claims 11 to 18, characterised in that said predetermined temperature is about 38 °C and said predetermined time- interval is around two minutes.

605 20. The Varroasis combat device of one or more of claims 11 to 19, characterised in that said beehive is an American-type beehive. ^• -

21. A polyfunctional device for adding to a beehive for carrying out typical beekeeper functions, the beehive 610 having at least one brood chamber, a front entrance leading into the bottom of said at least one chamber and a back entrance across from said front entrance, said beekeeper functions including at least one of the following:

615 airing and drying out moisture in the brood chamber, expelling bees for enabling access and recollection of clean and dry pollen, breeding queen bees on a small scale and

620 reducing hive energy consumption and increasing the number of bees in pecorea; characterised in that said device includes a unit for mounting on top of said at least one chamber, said unit comprising:

625 a horizontal frame and have two holes for receiving pegs for supporting the unit when- it is turned upside down, an opening in the front of the device adapted as an upper entrance or vent in volumetric relation 630 to the lower front entrance. e'ans for removably placing a bee landing platform in front of said upper entrance, a keeper for closing said upper entrance or vent and a pollen trap,

635 a floor provided- with holes adapted for ^' raining syrup down to the chamber, de-beeing means including means enabling bees in the chamber below to see light coming through the upper vent, and

640 means forming an air chamber venting to the four winds for protecting bees in the chamber from choking when exposed to a hot current • and enabling the hot current to move downwards to keep the brood cool .

645 22. The polyfunctional device of claim 21, characterised by further comprising means for selectively plugging said floor holes.

23. The polyfunctional device of claim 21 or 22, characterised in that said front opening keeper means

650 is rotatable through about 90° between a position partially closing said front opening and another - fully closing said front opening.

24. The polyfunctional device of claim 21, 22 or 23, characterised in that said means for removably placing

655 . the bee landing platform, the keeper and the pollen trap comprises a groove in the base of said frame.

25. The polyfunctional device of one or more of claims 21 to 24, characterised in that: the de-beeing means comprise an upper horizontal 660 situated in the top of the device, above the upper entrance or vent, and a lower panel spaced below said upper panel, the lower panel shaped in an arch having a downward-facing concavity and the upper panel having a slot in the middle thereof above the apex of said arch, 665 the lower panel further having an opening covered by a wire netting enabling bees in the chamber below to see light coming through the upper vent; and ' - - said air-chamber forming, means includes a blind panel and a perforated panel forming the air chamber 670 which vent^'s to the four winds. ' ^' . ^'

26. The polyfunctional device of one or more of claims 21 to 24, characterised in that the de-beeing means comprise: a chassis holding a plate with a slotted hole in

675 the middle for the bees to be able to escape through when expelling the bees and a grate for collecting propoleum supported below said plate by removable strips, and a pair of U-shaped de-beeing members having a pair 680 of discontinuous alternating grooves horizontally divided by separator.