WO2025038804A1

WO2025038804A1 - System for automated rearing of bees

Info

Publication number: WO2025038804A1
Application number: PCT/US2024/042410
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gene E. ROBINSON; Adam Hamilton; Huimin Zhao; Stephan Thomas LANE
Original assignee: The Board Of Trustees Of The University Of Illinois
Priority date: 2023-08-17
Filing date: 2024-08-15
Publication date: 2025-02-20

Abstract

A system for automated bee rearing includes a brood housing system having a hexagonal sheet structure to hold brood and an incubator sized to hold at least a part of the brood housing system and configured to control and maintain predetermined environmental conditions for the incubation of brood contained in the brood housing system. The system also including a larval feeding system to supply a food source to the brood housing system and a transport system to selectively transport the brood housing system between the incubator and the larval feeding system.

Description

SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED REARING OF BEES

Related Application

[001] This patent application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/520,154, which was filed on August 17, 2023, and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

[002] This disclosure relates to beekeeping and more particularly to a system for automated rearing of bees.

Background

[003] There are many species of social bees, such as honey bees, that live in colonies and cooperatively maintain the well-being of the colony or bee hive. Honey bee colonies have a queen bee. The queen bee lays eggs in a comb, such as wax comb or paper comb, within the hive. After the eggs hatch, the resulting larvae are tended by worker bees (which feed and clean them up to 100 times a day) until they develop into pupae, spin a cocoon, and metamorphose into adults. During the pupa’s metamorphosis, the workers will seal its cell with a wax capping, which the brood will chew through to emerge as adults. The rearing of bees is managed by the worker bees. In general, the size and health of the bee population in the hive, as well as the egg laying production of the queen determines the success of the hive and magnitude of bees being reared at any given time.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[004] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an automated bee rearing system.

[005] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a part of an example larval feeding assembly.

[006] FIG. 3 is a plan view of an example of a larval feeding assembly.

[007] FIG. 4 is a top view of an example of the larval insert. [008] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the larval insert of FIG. 4.

[009] FIG. 6 is a bottom view of an example of the larval insert of FIG. 4.

[010] FIG. 7 is a plan view of an example channel plate.

[011] FIG. 8 is closeup view of a portion of the channel plate illustrated in FIG. 7.

[012] FIG. 9 is an example, of a portion of a queen bee egg laying and brood emergence environment.

[013] FIG. 10 is an example of a larval feeding assembly with diet and larvae that are ready for pupation.

[014] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a pupal comb and a pupal scaffold.

[015] FIG. 12 is a side view of an example of the pupal comb, the pupal scaffold and the larval insert.

[016] FIG. 13 is a side view of an example of the pupal comb, the pupal scaffold and a pupal cover.

[017] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an example of the larval feeding system and a channel plate.

[018] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of another example of the larval feeding system.

[019] FIG. 16 is a schematic of an example of controller circuitry.

[020] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of an example bee rearing system.

[021] FIG. 18 is an example operational flow diagram of an automated bee rearing system.

Detailed Description

[022] A system for automated rearing of bees is described herein. Bees, such as honey bees, are important pollinators of agriculturally important crops, and model organisms for insect ecotoxicology. The term “honey bee” is used herein, however, it should be understood that the system is not limited to use with honey bees, and other types of bees, such as bumble bees, mason bees and the like may also be used. Bees are in decline, with human bee colony managers (e.g. beekeepers) routinely reporting record yearly colony losses. Many stressors impacting honey bee decline (pesticides, pathogens, parasites, nutrition) influence the complexity of manually rearing honey bees in the lab. The present rearing system provides an automated or semi-automated solution to the development of honey bee brood (larvae and pupae). In this system, the impact of such stressors can be controlled, isolated and/or eliminated to improve the process of honey bee rearing and facilitate research targeting the pre-adult life stages of the honey bee.

[023] For instance, this system increases the number of bees that a single person can simultaneously rear from hundreds to tens or even hundreds of thousands. This dramatic increase in scale will allow government and academic researchers to make unprecedented progress in identifying and treating the profound issues facing honey bee colonies. It will also permit agrichemical and contract research companies to radically change the current process of bee ecotoxicology testing, allowing for high throughput screening of compounds early in the discovery process. Since pesticide development requires substantial investment (up to a decade or research and hundreds of millions of dollars for a single compound), this change would save millions of dollars and result in the development of safer, more pollinator-friendly pesticides. Additionally or alternatively, the mass production of young adult honey bees may benefit the beekeeping and pollination industries, by providing healthy bees on demand and without respect to local season or bee colony health.

[024] Honey bees make vital contributions to the pollination of agriculturally important crops (contributing billions of dollars annually to crop production) and natural ecosystems. Honey bees are also one of the most important model systems for assessing the influence of environmental contaminants on insect pollinators, and EPA approval of bioactive compounds like pesticides is often contingent on honey bee testing. The larval stage of the honey bee is of particular interest for determining how factors like diet, pathogens, parasites and environmental contaminants influence individual and colony success. However, studies on larval exposure to these factors are performed in the lab due to the complexity of colony social behavior and observing larval development under natural conditions. When in vitro rearing of bee larvae is performed bees cannot be reared from the egg stage but must be manually grafted to a sterile container after hatching. Current techniques for manual in vitro rearing require the physical manipulation of delicate larvae that are only around 1 mm in length. The larvae must be manually removed from their cells using a grafting tool and transferred to a new container where they are fed manually by scientists using a pipette. This procedure is very time consuming and leads to high levels of mortality and potentially other adverse effects. In addition, individual larvae must be fed manually by pipette, a time-intensive procedure that limits the number of larvae that can be reared simultaneously. Due to these challenges it is currently extremely difficult to artificially rear adult bees in the numbers required for scientific experimentation and/or commercial or large-scale colony building or expansion without the system described herein.

[025] To overcome the difficulties with manual in vitro rearing, the bee rearing system described herein is an automated or semi-automated system that enables researchers to collect and mass-rear honey bee larvae in the lab and/or allows commercial beekeepers to collect and mass-rear honey bee larvae to increase the number of bees/colonies used for large scale honey production and/or pollination. The bee rearing system has the potential to transform how agrichemical companies, contract research organizations, and government and academic institutions perform honey bee research, as well as how commercial and hobbyist beekeepers create, maintain and grow colonies of bees.

[026] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a bee rearing system 100. The system may be used to produce healthy adult honey bees from eggs without the need for honeybees or a beehive environment. The bee rearing system 100 includes one or more of: a brood housing system 102, an incubator 104, a transport system 106, and a larval feeding system 108. The brood housing system 102 is a multi-piece structure in which the bee brood are contained and reared to adult bees. As used herein, the term “brood” should be construed to include all phases/stages of holometabolism. Holometabolism refers to development during the bee rearing process, including honey bee eggs deposited in the brood housing system 102, the larval stage, the pupal stage, the pre-emerged bee stage and imago, or emerged adult bee stage. The brood housing system 102 may include parts with a pre-defined size and shape in accordance with SBS (Society of Biological Standards) to provide compatibility with the incubator 104.

[027] The incubator 104 is sized to hold a number of the brood housing systems 102, or parts of the brood housing system 102. Heating, ventilation and cooling equipment included in the incubator may be controlled with controller circuitry to control and maintain predetermined environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity and pressure, for the incubation of bee larvae contained in the brood housing system 102. The incubator 104 may include internal racks, shelves or other organizers and automated transfer systems to house, store and retrieve a large number of the brood housing systems 102. For example, each of the brood housing systems 102 in the incubator may be assigned a unique ID, an RF ID, or some other identifier, such that controller circuitry of the incubator system 104 knows the location of the respective brood housing systems 102 at all times while the systems 102 are within the incubator. In addition to automated control of ambient environmental conditions within the incubator enclosure, controller circuitry of the incubator 104 may also have an indexed storage system such that the location of each of the brood housing systems 102 stored in the incubator 104 may be tracked and managed. The incubator 104 may also include an automated deposit and retrieval system to independently move/manipulate individual brood housing systems 102 within the incubator 104. One or more automated ingress/egress openings 112 in the housing 104, such as a motorized moving door, wall or panel, may be used to deposit within the incubator, and retrieve from the incubator the brood housing systems 102. In an example, the incubator 104 may accommodate a standard size and shape of the parts of the brood housing system 102, such as parts with a pre-defined size and shape in accordance with SBS (Society of Biological Standards). An example incubator accommodating such parts with a predefined size and shape in accordance with SBS (Society of Biological Standards) is a Thermo-Fischer Scientific™ Laboratory Automation Incubator.

[028] The transport system 106 may be an automated system used to transport at least parts of the brood housing system 102 between the incubator 104 and the larval feeding system 108. The transport system 106 may include tracks, conveyors, lifts, robots, wires, arms and/or other such structure controlled by controller circuitry to convey at least parts of the brood housing system 102. Controller circuitry associated with the transport system 106 may cooperatively operate with the incubator 104 to deposit and retrieve brood housing systems 102 at the ingress/egress opening(s) 112 and at the larval feeding system 108. In examples, the incubator 104 may include the transport system 106. In other examples, the incubator 104 and the transport system 106 may be standalone independent systems that communicate wireless or by wireline, using, for example, a standard communication protocol, such as ethernet, or a proprietary protocol, or some combination thereof.

[029] The larval feeding system 108 may provide automated, or semi-automated feeding of bee larvae contained in the brood housing system 102. Controller circuitry associated with the larval feeding system 108 may control not only frequency and quantity of administration of diet to the bee larvae, but also manipulation of at least parts of the brood housing system 102 during the feeding process. The term “diet” or “liquid diet” as used herein refers to the high protein food that bee brood eat, which can be bee bread formed from nectar/honey and pollen and/or royal jelly, which is a protein rich mixture.

[030] Automated cooperative operation of the functionality of the incubator 104, the transport system 106 and the larval feeding system 108 may be performed using instructions stored in a storage medium. For example, applications in the incubator 104 may communicate via an application launcher or an API (Application Programming Interface) with one or more applications associated with the transport system 106 and/or the larval feeding system 108 to provide automation of the bee rearing system 100. In an example, an object-oriented programming language such as Python™ providing the functionality of at least one of the transport systems 106 and the larval feeding system 108 may interface with scheduling software such as Momentum™ from Thermo Fisher Scientific™ software to provide the functionality described herein. In other examples, one or more applications may be executed by the controller circuitry to perform the functionality described.

[031] The queen egg laying and brood eclosion environment 116 may be any form of structure that provides capability to accept at least part of the brood housing system 102 for deposition of brood, such as eggs, in the brood housing system 102 and to allow adult bees to emerge. Although illustrated in FIG. 1 as being outside the bee rearing system 100, in other examples, the queen egg laying and emerging environment 116 may be integrated into the bee rearing system 100. For example, transportation of the brood housing system 102 between the incubator 102 and the queen egg laying and brood eclosion 116 may be automated.

[032] In addition, in example systems, automated assembly, disassembly and configuration and reconfiguration of parts of the brood housing system 102 may be performed as part of the brood housing system 102 transitioning between the queen egg laying and brood eclosion 116, the incubator 104, transport system 106 and the larval feeding system 108. As described herein, the brood housing system 102 includes a number of discrete structural parts/pieces that may be removed, added and/or reconfigured at different stages or transitions. [033] The bee rearing system 100 provides at least two major advances:

1 ) A specialized brood housing system 102 that allows researchers and other beekeepers to rear honey bees en masse through their four major life stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult; and

2) A larval feeding system 108 that interfaces with automated incubators 104 and transport system(s) 106 and optionally queen egg laying environment(s) to create, for example, a fully automated robotic ecosystem.

[034] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a part of an example brood housing system 102. The illustrated part of the brood housing system 102 is a larval feeding assembly 202 that includes a larval insert 204 of feeding cells 206 in a hexagonal sheet structure, where each of the feeding cells 206 is hexagonal shape having a brood platform 208. In addition, the larval feeding assembly 202 includes a channel plate 212 having channels 214 extending between opposite sides of the channel plate 212. In the illustrated example, the larval insert 204 is illustrated as partially translucent and suspended above the channel plate 212 for purposes of explanation, however, the channel plate 212 is dimensioned to receive and removably hold the larval insert 204 to form the larval feeding assembly 202. The channel plates 212 may be dimensioned with SBS formatted dimensions for compatibility with the incubator 104, the transport system 106, and the larval feeding system 108. Each of the feeding cells 206 in the larval insert 204 have an opening 216 at a first end of a respective feeding cell 206 opposite the channels 214, and the brood platform 208 is positioned at a second end nearest the channels 214.

[035] FIG. 3 is a plan view of an example of a larval feeding assembly 202. The larval feeding assembly 202 includes the larval insert 204 positioned in the channel plate 212 such that each of the brood platforms 208 are aligned with the channels 214. In addition, the channel plate 212 includes a lip 302 extending outwardly away from the larval insert 204 to provide one or more handles allowing automated manipulation of the larval feeding assembly 202 with SBS compatible equipment.

[036] FIG. 4 is a top view of an example of the larval insert 204. In the illustrated example, each larval insert 204 is an array of 240 hexagonal cells, with each polyhedral cell having predetermined dimensions, such as a 5.7mm diameter (corner to corner) by 9.5mm deep. These predetermined dimensions may closely correspond to natural bee comb, such as the dimensions found in honey bee comb constructed by honeybees, allowing a queen to lay an individual egg in each feeding cell 206. The larval insert 204 includes flanges 402 to align the larval insert 204 with ledges included in the lip 302 (FIG. 3) of the channel plate 212.

[037] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the larval insert 204 of FIG. 4. In FIG. 5, an example structural configuration of a number of the brood platforms 208 at the bottom of each cell 206 (FIG.4) is illustrated. Each of the brood platforms 208 may include a first structure 502 at a first elevation height, a second structure 512 at a second elevation height, and a third structure 514 at a third elevation height. The third structure 514 may be disposed at the third elevation height, which may be lower than the second elevation height. The third structure 514 may be a strut extending along the respective channel 214 (FIG. 2) to support the first and second structures 502 and 512. The second structure 512 may be positioned to support the first structure 504 and be at least partially immersed in liquid diet. In FIG. 5, the second structure 512 is a planar surface disposed between the spaced apart planar members 504 to receive liquid diet on the planar surface.

[038] The first structure 502 may be disposed at the first elevation height to receive brood deposited as an egg by a queen bee, and a second structure 512 at a second elevation height lower than the first elevation height. The first structure 502 at the first elevation height may be formed with one or more planar members 504 separated away from one another with spaces in between. The planar members 504 may be spaced apart and radially extending from a center 506 of a respective feeding cell 206 to a cell wall 508 defining the respective feeding cell 206. In the example of FIG. 5, the first structure 502 forms a rosette from a series of triangular shaped planar members 504 symmetrically extending radially outward and laterally widening from the central point 506 in a respective cell 206 to the cell wall 508 defining the respective cell feeding 206.

[039] In the example of FIG. 5, the first structure 502 in the form of a rosette 502 is at a first elevational layer of the brood platform 208 and the second structure 512 in the form of a washer 512 is formed at the second elevational layer below the first elevational layer of the rosette 502 such that the planar surfaces 504 of the triangular shaped features 504 extend over and are supported by the washer 512. At the third elevational layer 514 below the second elevational layer 512 are the slats 514 which are aligned with the channels 214 in the channel plate 212 when the larval insert 204 is positioned in the channel plate 212 to form the larval feeding assembly 202. The structure of the rosette 502 and the washer 504 form a two layer feeding pedestal structure of the brood platform 208 where a queen bee can deposit an egg. The pedestal structure has a first elevation height created by the first structure 502 above a second elevation height created by the second structure 512, where the first elevation height of the pedestal is positioned in a respective one of the feeding cells 206 to receive brood deposited as eggs by the queen, and the second the elevation height of the pedestal is positioned in the respective one of the feeding cells 206 to receive liquid diet present in the channels 212.

[040] The rosette 502 and the washer 504 are elevated surfaces such that the brood (egg and larvae) do not become fully immersed in diet flowing from the slats 514 positioned at a third elevational layer that is below the second elevational layer. The diet, may flow up from the channels 214 (FIG. 2) to the first and second elevational layer under some circumstances, such that the washer 504 may be partially or fully immersed in the diet and the rosette 502 may be contacted by the diet, however, the depth of the diet on the rosette 502 and the washer 504 may be such that the brood (egg or larvae) deposited in the feeding cell 206 has unlimited access to the diet for ad libitum feeding, but does not drown or otherwise suffocate in the diet. In other examples, shapes other than a rosette 502 and a washer 504 are possible to obtain the desired first and second elevational layers forming a feeding platform for the bee larvae.

[041] As an alternative embodiment for the brood platform 208, instead of the structural configuration depicted in Fig. 5, the brood platform 208 may be a simple microporous sheet adjacent the second end of the hexagonal feeding cells 206 and in contact with the liquid diet in the channels 212. Preferably, the microporous sheet is constructed of a non-toxic material, such as nylon. The micropores may range from about 5 microns to about 100 microns, or preferably from about 20 microns to about 50 microns, or more preferably about 30 microns. Micropores that are too small or too few may impede the flow of the liquid diet, whereas micropores that are too large or too many may allow too much flow of the liquid diet and drown or suffocate the larvae. One example of a suitable brood platform is a microporous sheet that is a nylon mesh filter screen, which is a woven mesh material of nylon 6/6, and possesses a specified mesh opening size of 31 microns. This microporous sheet is commercially available from Component Supply Company, Sparta, TN, as Part No. U-CMN-31. Microporous sheets made from different materials and allowing similar access to the liquid diet in the feed channels adjacent the microporous sheet may be used.

[042] FIG. 6 is a bottom view of an example of the larval insert 204 of FIG. 4. The larval insert 204 includes the series of slats 514 that are positioned with the respect to the channels 214 of the channel plate 212 (FIG. 2) such that slats allow larval diet to flow from the bottom of the insert up through the cell via a combination of hydrostatic forces and capillary action.

[043] FIG. 7 is a plan view of an example channel plate 212. The channel plate 212 includes the channels 214 extending in parallel between a first side 702 and a second side 704 of the channel plate 212. Along each of the respective sides 702 and 704 are wells 706 in liquid communication with the channels 214. A depth of the channels 214 are sloped from the wells 706 toward the middle of the channel plate 212 from each of the opposing sides 702 and 704 such that a maximum depth 708 of each channel 214 is near the middle of the channel plate 212 and coincides with a centrally located cell 206 in the larval insert 204 such that the centrally located cell in a row of cells between the first and second sides 702 and 704 is aligned with deepest part of the channel 214 for that row. The cells 206 and the channels 212 are aligned by ledges 710 extending along the edges of the channel plate 112, which are sized to receive the flanges 402 (FIG. 4) of the larval insert 204 and align the larval insert 204 in the channel plate 212 to form the larval feeding assembly 202.

[044] The larval insert 204 (not shown) may be fixedly coupled with the channel plate 212 by friction fit using pillars (A) to form the larval feeding assembly 202. In FIG. 7, the pillars (A) are in opposing comers of the channel plate 212. FIG. 8 is closeup view of a portion of the channel plate 212 illustrated in FIG. 7. In FIG. 8 the wells 706 are shown at the end of the channels 214, and the pillars A are a pair of pillars that extend out of a selected one of the channels 214 and into one of the empty cells 408 of the larval insert 204. Pillars A extend into an empty cell 408 in the larval insert 204 and are held by friction fit in the cell 408. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the pillars (A) include sloped surfaces 714 that align with the hexagonal shape and contiguously contact the cells walls 508 (FIG. 5) of the respective cell 408. In other examples, other fastening mechanisms are possible to hold the larval insert 204 in a predetermined position in contiguous contact and alignment with the channel plate 212 to form the larval feeding assembly 202. For example, a slot and post, or some other form of fastener, clasp, latch, buckle, magnet or the like that may, or may not be in a hexagonal shape.

[045] Referring again to FIG. 7, liquid diet is deposited in wells 706 along each of the opposing sides 702 and 704 of the of the channel plate as illustrated by (B). As diet accumulates in the respective well 706, the diet flows into a corresponding channel 214 having a 2.5 degree decline (C) to the maximum channel depth 708. Other declines are possible. The diet moves down the channel 214 as a result of hydrostatic pressure and capillary action.

[046] Functionality and operation of the larval feeding assembly 202 may be described in four parts with reference to FIGs. 1-8:

[047] Part 1 : Egg Collection

[048] Overview

[049] The larval feeding assembly 202 formed by the combination of the larval insert 204 and SBS-format channel plates 212 (FIGs 2-6) facilitate the automated direct transfer of honey bee eggs to a rearing environment by integration with a queen bee egg laying and brood eclosion environment 116. An example queen bee egg laying environment is the Queen Bee Monitoring Cage System described in U.S. Patent No. 11 ,412,715 issued August 16, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[050] FIG. 9 is an example, of a portion of a queen bee egg laying and brood eclosion environment 116. In this example, a portion of the brood housing system 102 in the form of the larval feeding assembly 202 provides a substrate in the form of the larval insert 204 having the brood platforms 208 for the queen bee to lay her eggs. In the illustrated example, the larval feeding assembly 202 is installed in a housing 902 containing live bees, including a queen bee, such that the queen bee can lay eggs in the larval insert 204. Subsequent to the queen bee laying eggs, the larval feeding assembly 202 may be removed from the housing 902 and transported to the bee rearing system 100. In another example system, the part of the brood housing system 102 that is the larval insert 204 may be removed from the channel plate 212 and placed within the queen bee egg laying environment and emerging system 116. In still other examples, additional parts of the brood housing system 102 may be inserted into the housing 902, and/or added or removed from the larval feeding assembly 202. [051] Automation of the insert and removal of the larval feeding assembly 202 may be based on controller circuitry that uses egg detection, such as machine vision, to determine when eggs are present, the condition of any eggs, the emergence of new bees, and any other parameters related to the egg laying and adult bee emerging process. In addition, the transport system 106 may be used for transport of the larval feeding assembly 202, or portions thereof.

[052] During example operation, the larval feeding assembly 202 may be kept within the housing 902 for a predetermined time, such as up to 24 hours, allowing the queen to lay a single egg in the bottom of each cell 206 on the brood platform 208. After removal, the larval feeding assembly 202 containing the brood may be kept in an incubator under predetermined environmental conditions, such as at a temperature of 35°C and 95% relative humidity, until the eggs hatch and the larvae can be fed.

[053] Part 2: Larval Feeding

[054] Honey bee eggs hatch 72 hours after they’re laid. Although honey bee eggs are initially perpendicular to the broad platform 208 (cell bottom) after the queen finishes laying, they will fall over the last 24 hours of gestation and rest upon the first structure 504 and possibly at least partially on the second structure 512 of the cell bottom as the larva emerges. The nascent larvae must immediately be fed, or they will quickly starve. To ensure the ready availability of food, the channels 214 in the channel plate 212 are “pre-provisioned” with liquid diet. In an example, liquid diet consisting of honey bee royal jelly, yeast extract, fructose and glucose may be administered to the wells 706 of the channel plate 212. The diet flows down the channels 214 due to hydrostatic pressure and capillary action.

[055] Once the channels 214 are at least partially filled with liquid diet, the diet is pushed/drawn up into the cells 206 of the larval insert 204 through the third structure 514, such as the slats of the brood platform 208, or through the pores of the microporous sheet. However, if the egg is surrounded by excess diet, it will fail to hatch, or the larva could drown. Therefore, the volume of diet added is sufficient to ensure that the that the third structure 514, such as the slats (but not the pedestal structure that includes the first and second structures 504 and 512) in each cell 206 are submerged. Pre-provisioning and feeding may be performed manually (using a pipette) or more preferably in an automated fashion using the transport system 106 and the larval feeding system 108. After hatching, the larvae are provisioned with increasing volumes and concentrations of liquid diet via the wells 706 and channels 214, adapted from a predetermined protocol. In an example, the larvae are fed daily for eight days after hatching; at the end of this period, the larvae have grown to fill the entire cell 206 and are ready to pupate. FIG. 10 is an example of a larval feeding assembly 202 with diet and larvae that are ready for pupation.

[056] Referring to FIGs. 1 -10, the larval feeding assembly 202 allows researchers and other forms of beekeepers to collect large numbers of honey bee eggs and easily and rapidly feed them after hatching without the need for grafting. Diet is administered to a series of channels that transport food directly to the larvae, completely removing the need to feed them individually. Instead of painstakingly pipetting food to small larvae, diet may be easily and automatically deposited into the channels 214 of the channel plate 212. The larval feeding assembly 202 can be used with manual pipettes or within the automated system using the transport system 106 and the larval feeding system 108. Even when used with manual pipettes, the larval feeding assembly 202 increases the speed of the feeding process by more than 10-fold.

[057] Part 3: Pupation

[058] If the larvae are allowed to pupate in the larval feeding assembly 202, they’ll invariably perish due to one of the following: 1 ) suffocation (diet can plug their airways when they spin their cocoon), 2) consumption of waste material (they defecate immediately before pupation and can potentially consume the fecal matter), or 3) contamination (when the diet dries out it can readily grow fungus that will consume the pupae and spread). It’s therefore preferred to transfer the mature larvae to a fresh container, but they’re incredibly delicate and prone to damage and mortality from handling. Additionally, the large number of larvae being reared makes manual transfer prohibitive.

[059] Accordingly, the bee rearing system 100 is designed to provide a method of mass transfer that relies on the larvae’s instinctual urge to crawl toward their cell’s opening prior to pupation. This method involves several additional parts of the brood housing system 102.

[060] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a pupal comb 1102 and a pupal scaffold 1104. The pupal comb 1102 and the pupal scaffold 1104 may be parts/pieces of the brood housing system 102, which may be added and removed within the automated bee rearing system 100, such as by the transport system 106 or the larval feeding system 108, during automated management of brood being raised. The pupal comb 1102 includes pupal cells 1106 in a hexagonal sheet structure. Each of the pupal cells 1106 have a first open end 1108 and a second open end 1110. The pupal cells 1106 are sized and dimensioned so that the larvae can crawl in. The pupal scaffold 1104 includes a plurality of base endcaps 1116 disposed on a planar surface 1118 of the pupal scaffold 1104 in a pattern that matches the pupal cells 1106 and columns 1120 extending away from the planar surface 1118.

[061] During example operation, the pupal comb 1102 may be placed on top of the pupation scaffold 1104, and fixed in place by two hexagonal pillars 1120. The pupal scaffold 1104 includes the base endcaps 1116 as an array of raised hexagonal features to seal off the pupal comb 1102 and prevent liquid and contaminants from being transferred between pupal cells 1106. Once the pupal comb 1102 is attached to the pupal scaffold 1104, the larval insert 204 may be cleaned of excess diet after feeding, inverted, and placed on top of the pupal comb 1102, where it may be locked in place by the two pillars 1120. The pillars 1120 may be received and engaged in apertures 408 (FIG. 4) formed in the larval insert 204. Over a predetermined period, such as the next 24 hours, the larvae may crawl from the larval insert 204 into the pupal comb 1102 and begin to pupate.

[062] As illustrated by arrow 1122, the pupal comb 1102 is removably engageable with the pupal scaffold 1104 by the columns 1120 extending through the pupal comb such that the pupal cells 1106 are contiguously align with the base endcaps 1116 and form an enclosed bottom of the pupal cells 1106. The columns 1120 may extend through column apertures 1126 in the pupal comb 1102 and be held by friction fit, glue, welding, magnets, or some other fastening mechanism. Alternatively, or in addition, the columns 1120 may extend through pupal cells 1106 in the pupal comb 1102 and be held.

[063] FIG. 12 is a side view of an example of the pupal comb 1102, the pupal scaffold 1104 and the larval insert 204. In FIG. 12, the pupal comb 1102 and the pupal scaffold 1104 are not contiguously aligned for illustrative purposes. The larval insert 204, which includes larvae that are about to pupate, is separated from the channel plate 212 such that the brood platforms 208 are no longer positioned in the channels 214 after the larvae have finished feeding. The larval insert 204 may be cleaned of excess diet, and then inverted and placed onto the pupal comb 1102. Separation of the larval insert 204 from the channel plate 212, cleaning of the larval insert 204 and inverted placement of the larval insert 204 on the pupal comb 1102 may be performed by the transport system 106. Alternatively, or in addition, one or more parts of this processes may be performed manually, or with the larval feeding system 108, or some combination thereof. The larval insert 204 may be contiguously aligned with the pupal comb 1102.

[064] The pupal comb 1102 may be removably engaged with the larval insert 204 by the columns 1120 extending through the larval insert 204 such that the feeding cells 206 align with the pupal cells 1106 on a side of the pupal cells 1106 opposite the pupal scaffold 1104. In examples, the columns 1120 may be received and engaged in apertures 408 (FIG. 4) formed in the larval insert 204. Alternatively, or in addition, the columns 1120 may be received and engaged in feeder cells 206 in the larval insert 204. During operation, the pupal comb 1102, the pupal scaffold 1104 and the larval insert 204 should be contiguously aligned to ensure that the pupal cells 1106, the base endcaps 1116 and the larval insert 204 are flush and aligned since misalignment may result in larval mortality as the larva may become stuck in transit.

[065] Inversion of the larval insert 204 places the open end 216 of respective feeding cells 206 in alignment with the first open end 1108 of the pupal cells 1106, and the brood platform 208 spaced away from the pupal comb 1102. This configuration encourages the larvae to migrate to the pupal comb 1102. In an example, after the inverted larval insert 204 is fixedly and contiguously coupled with the pupal comb 1102 the larvae will migrate over a predetermined time period, such as in the next 24 hours, into the pupal comb 1102 and begin to pupate. After migration is complete, the larval insert 204 may be removed. In the automated system, determination of completion of the larvae migration may also be determined by visual inspection using machine learning, by sensors or any other detection method.

[066] FIG. 13 is a side view of an example of the pupal comb 1102, the pupal scaffold 1104 and a pupal cover 1302. The pupal cover 1302 may be another part/piece of the brood housing system 102, which may be added and removed within the automated bee rearing system 100, such as by the transport system 106 or the larval feeding system 108, during automated management of brood being raised. The pupal cover 1302 includes cover endcaps 1304 disposed on a planar surface 1306 of the pupal cover 1302. The cover endcaps 1304 may be arranged on the planar surface 1306 in a pattern that matches the pupal cells 1106. After migration, the larval insert 204 is removed, such as by the transport system 106, and the pupal cover 1302 is used to seal the first open end 1108 of the pupal cells 1106. The pupal cover 1302 may be removably engageable in contiguous contact with the pupal comb 1102 by the columns 1120 extending through the pupal cover 1302 such that the cover endcaps 1304 align with the pupal cells 1106 on a side of the pupal cells 1106 opposite the pupal scaffold 1104. The columns 1120 may extend through column apertures in the planar surface 1306 of the pupal cover 1302 and be held by friction fit, glue, welding, magnets, or some other fastening mechanism.

[067] As the larvae pupate, they must be transferred to a new container, clean of diet. Normally this is done by manually removing each larvae and placing it in a new cell (still another time- consuming and delicate process). To enable the mass transfer of the larvae to a new container, we take advantage of the larvae’s natural behavior. When ready to pupate, larvae will instinctually move to the end of their cell and spin a cocoon. However, the larvae do not stop moving toward the end of the cell until they encounter a solid surface, such as a wax cap placed by the adult bees. In the bee rearing system 100, the pupal comb 1102 in conjunction with the pupal scaffold provides an equivalent to the “wax cap.”

[068] The pupal structure (the pupal comb 1102, the pupa scaffold 1104 and the pupal cover 1302) containing the pupa may be transferred by, for example, the transport system 106 to the queen egg laying and brood emerging environment 116, or the incubator 104 for the final stages of the development. The brood may remain in the pupa structure formed by the combination of the pupal comb 1102, the pupal scaffold 1104 and the pupal cover 1302 as the brood metamorphose into adults, and then emerge from their cells into a caged environment (such as 902) with a ready supply of food.

[069] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an example of the larval feeding system 106 and a channel plate 212. The larval feeding system 106 includes a linear actuator 1404, a feeding table 1406 and a diet supply bridge 1408. The linear actuator 1402 may be any form of precision actuator capable of moving the feeding table 1406 into a series of predetermined positions with respect to the diet supply bridge 1408. In the illustrated example, the linear actuator 1404 is a servo motor 1410 with a threaded screw shaft 1412, however, in other examples, other forms of actuators are possible. [070] The feeding table 1406 includes a moveable table 1414 sized to receive the channel plate 212. It should be noted that in FIG. 14, the larval insert 204 has been omitted for purposes of explanation and clarity. In addition, the feeding table 1406 includes a bin 1416 for capturing purge fluids during an automated cleaning cycle. The feeding table 1406 is fixed coupled to the linear actuator 1404 such that energization of the linear actuator 1404 moves the feeding table 1406. Controller circuitry may control automated energization of the linear actuator 1404 to sequentially position the wells 706 of the channel plate 212 under the diet supply bridge 1408.

[071] The diet supply bridge 1408 may include syringe needles 1418 vertically suspended above the feeding table 1406 and laterally positioned along the width of the bridge 1408 to align the syringe needles 1418 with the wells 706 of the channel plate 212

[072] During operation, the linear actuator 1404 may sequentially move the feeding table 1406 into a series of predetermined incremental positions with respect to the syringes 1418 on the diet supply bridge 1408 such that the wells 706 are positioned below the pair of syringe needles 1418. Additionally or alternatively, the diet supply bridge may include multiple needles, pairs of needles, and/or pumps.

[073] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of another example of the larval feeding system 106. In this example, pumps in the form of peristaltic pumps transfer liquid diet from reservoirs to the needles 1118. The liquid diet may be deposited along the sides of the feeding table 1406 so the diet can flow into the wells 706 and through the channels of the channel plate 212. The larval feeding system 108 may be controlled by controller circuitry that includes a custom printed circuit board. The controller circuitry may control the linear actuator 1402, the feeding table 1406 and control one or more valves such as solenoid valves, that may operate as a series of pinch valves, to switch between dietary fluid treatments. In other examples, the valves may also control a flow rate or quantity of the fluid diet being supplied through the needles 1418. [074] FIG. 16 is a schematic of an example of controller circuitry for the larval feeding system 108. The controller circuitry may include a power switch, a DC motor control circuit, a valve control circuit, a linear actuator control circuit, a communication port and an input/output section. The input/output section may supply and receive power and control signals related to the larval feeding system 108. In other examples, the controller circuitry may also include manipulation control circuitry such as robotics to manipulate pieces and parts of the larval feeding system 108. In addition, the controller circuitry may include cleaning and purging functionality that controls cleaning and reconfiguration of the larval feeding system 108. For example, the controller circuitry may control the linear actuator 1402 to move the needles over the bin such that the needles 1418 and various tubing and conduit may be put through a purge cycle using, for example, hot water or disinfectant between diet feeding cycles.

[075] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of an examplary bee rearing system 100. The bee rearing system may include an incubator 104, a transport system 106 in the form of a robotic arm, and the larval feeding system 108 in a separate housing. In this example, the bee rearing system also includes a protective screen 190 to avoid contaminants being introduced in the bee rearing system 100 and prevent collisions between a robotic arm and human researcher or beekeeper.

[076] FIG. 18 is an example operational flow diagram of an automated bee rearing system.

[077] The methods, devices, processing, circuitry, and logic described above may be implemented in many different ways and in many different combinations of hardware and software. For example, all or parts of the implementations may be circuitry that includes an instruction processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), microcontroller, or a microprocessor; or as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA); or as circuitry that includes discrete logic or other circuit components, including analog circuit components, digital circuit components or both; or any combination thereof. The circuitry may include discrete interconnected hardware components or may be combined on a single integrated circuit die, distributed among multiple integrated circuit dies, or implemented in a Multiple Chip Module (MCM) of multiple integrated circuit dies in a common package, as examples.

[078] Accordingly, the circuitry may store or access instructions for execution, or may implement its functionality in hardware alone. The instructions may be stored in a tangible storage medium that is other than a transitory signal, such as a flash memory, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM); or on a magnetic or optical disc, such as a Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CDROM), Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or other magnetic or optical disk; or in or on another machine-readable medium. A product, such as a computer program product, may include a storage medium and instructions stored in or on the medium, and the instructions when executed by the circuitry in a device may cause the device to implement any of the processing described above or illustrated in the drawings.

[079] The implementations may be distributed. For instance, the circuitry may include multiple distinct system components, such as multiple processors and memories, and may span multiple distributed processing systems. Parameters, databases, and other data structures may be separately stored and managed, may be incorporated into a single memory or database, may be logically and physically organized in many different ways, and may be implemented in many different ways. Example implementations include linked lists, program variables, hash tables, arrays, records (e.g., database records), objects, and implicit storage mechanisms. Instructions may form parts (e.g., subroutines or other code sections) of a single program, may form multiple separate programs, may be distributed across multiple memories and processors, and may be implemented in many different ways. Example implementations include stand-alone programs, and as part of a library, such as a shared library like a Dynamic Link Library (DLL). The library, for example, may contain shared data and one or more shared programs that include instructions that perform any of the processing described above or illustrated in the drawings, when executed by the circuitry.

[080] In some examples, each unit, subunit, and/or module of the system may include a logical component. Each logical component may be hardware or a combination of hardware and software. For example, each logical component may include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a digital logic circuit, an analog circuit, a combination of discrete circuits, gates, or any other type of hardware or combination thereof. Alternatively or in addition, each logical component may include memory hardware, such as a portion of the memory, for example, that comprises instructions executable with the processor or other processors to implement one or more of the features of the logical components. When any one of the logical components includes the portion of the memory that comprises instructions executable with the processor, the logical component may or may not include the processor. In some examples, each logical components may just be the portion of the memory or other physical memory that comprises instructions executable with the processor or other processor to implement the features of the corresponding logical component without the logical component including any other hardware. Because each logical component includes at least some hardware even when the included hardware comprises software, each logical component may be interchangeably referred to as a hardware logical component.

[081] A second action may be said to be "in response to" a first action independent of whether the second action results directly or indirectly from the first action. The second action may occur at a substantially later time than the first action and still be in response to the first action. Similarly, the second action may be said to be in response to the first action even if intervening actions take place between the first action and the second action, and even if one or more of the intervening actions directly cause the second action to be performed. For example, a second action may be in response to a first action if the first action sets a flag and a third action later initiates the second action whenever the flag is set.

[082] To clarify the use of and to hereby provide notice to the public, the phrases "at least one of <A>, <B>, ... and <N>" or "at least one of <A>, <B>, ... <N>, or combinations thereof" or "<A>, <B>, ... and/or <N>" are defined by the Applicant in the broadest sense, superseding any other implied definitions hereinbefore or hereinafter unless expressly asserted by the Applicant to the contrary, to mean one or more elements selected from the group comprising A, B, ... and N. In other words, the phrases mean any combination of one or more of the elements A, B, ... or N including any one element alone or the one element in combination with one or more of the other elements which may also include, in combination, additional elements not listed.

[083] While various embodiments have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments described herein are examples, not the only possible embodiments and implementations.

Claims

Claims What is claimed is:

1 . A system for bee rearing comprising: a larval feeding assembly including a channel plate comprising a plurality of channels extending between opposite sides of the channel plate; and a larval insert comprising a plurality of feeding cells in a hexagonal sheet structure, each of the feeding cells having an opening at a first end opposite the channels and a brood platform positioned at a second end nearest the channels; wherein the larval insert is removably positioned on the channel plate to align the brood platform of each of the feeding cells with the channels.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the channel plate further comprises a plurality of wells positioned along the opposite sides of the channel plate, each of the wells in liquid communication with a respective channel among the plurality of channels, each of the wells being a receiver port for receipt of a liquid diet that flows into the respective channel from the wells.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the channels are sloped toward a center of the channel plate such that a liquid diet introduced to the channels flows by gravimetric force and capillary force into the brood platform of the larval insert.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the channel plate includes a column extending obliquely away from a respective one of the channels to contiguously engage the larval insert to form the larval feeding assembly.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the brood platform is in liquid communication with a respective channel such that liquid diet in the respective channel enters the brood platform.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the brood platform comprises a first structure at a first elevation height to receive brood deposited as an egg by a queen bee, and a second structure at a second elevation height lower than the first elevation height, the second structure positioned to support the first structure and be at least partially immersed in the liquid diet.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the brood platform comprises a third structure at a third elevation height lower than the second elevation height, the third structure being a strut extending along the respective channel to support the first and second structures.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first structure comprises a plurality of planar members that are spaced apart and radially extending from a center of a respective feeding cell to a cell wall defining the respective feeding cell.

9. The system of claim 8, where the second structure is a planar surface disposed between the spaced apart planar members to receive liquid diet on the planar surface.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the brood platform includes a pedestal structure having a first elevation height above a second elevation height, wherein the first elevation height of the pedestal is positioned in a respective one of the feeding cells to receive brood deposited as eggs by a queen bee, and the second elevation height of the pedestal is positioned in the respective one of the feeding cells to receive liquid diet present in the channels.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the brood platform comprises a microporous sheet.

12. The system of claim 1 , further comprising: a pupal comb comprising a plurality of pupal cells in the hexagonal sheet structure; and a pupal scaffold comprising a plurality of base endcaps disposed on a planar surface of the pupal scaffold in a pattern that matches the pupal cells and a plurality of columns extending away from the planar surface through the pupal comb to align respective endcaps with respective pupal cells and contiguously couple the pupal comb and the pupal scaffold.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the pupal comb is removably engageable with the pupal scaffold by the columns extending through the pupal comb such that the pupal cells align contiguously with the base endcaps and form an enclosed bottom of the pupal cells.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the pupal scaffold and pupal comb are removably engageable with the larval insert by the columns extending through the pupal comb and larval insert such that the feeding cells align with the pupal cells on a side of the pupal cells opposite the pupal scaffold.

15. The system of claim 12, further comprising a pupal cover having the plurality of cover endcaps disposed on a planar surface of the pupal cover in the pattern that matches the pupal cells, the pupal cover removably engageable with the pupal scaffold and pupal comb by the columns extending through the pupal cover such that the cover endcaps align with the pupal cells on a side of the pupal cells opposite the pupal scaffold.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the columns extend through a respective feeding cell included among the feeding cells and a respective pupal cell among the respective pupal cells.

17. A system for bee rearing comprising: a linear actuator; a feeding table coupled with the linear actuator and sized to receive a channel plate having a plurality of channels; a feeding bridge comprising a syringe needle in fluid communication with diet fluid; and controller circuitry configured to control the linear actuator to sequentially advance the feeding table under the feeding bridge and direct the syringe needle to discharge fluid diet into the channels of the channel plate.

18. A system for bee rearing comprising: a brood housing system comprising a hexagonal sheet structure to hold brood; an incubator sized to hold at least a part of the brood housing system and configured to control and maintain predetermined environmental conditions for incubation of brood contained in the brood housing system; a larval feeding system to supply a food source to the brood housing system; and a transport system to selectively transport the brood housing system between the incubator and the larval feeding system.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the brood housing system comprises a larval feeding assembly including a channel plate comprising a plurality of channels extending between opposite sides of the channel plate and a larval insert comprising a plurality of feeding cells in a hexagonal sheet structure, each of the feeding cells having an opening at a first end opposite the channels and a brood platform positioned at a second end nearest the channels, wherein the larval feeding assembly is removably positioned on the channel plate to align the brood platform of each of the feeding cells with the channels.

20. A method of bee rearing comprising: receiving, on a plurality of brood platforms in a larval insert, respective brood deposited by a queen bee; positioning the larval insert on a channel plate to form a larval feeding assembly; mounting the larval feeding assembly on a larval feeding system, and sequentially injecting, with the larval feeding system, liquid diet into channels of the channel plate to flow the liquid diet to the brood platforms to feed the respective brood.

21 . The method of claim 20, further comprising: repeatedly transferring the larval feeding assembly between the larval feeding system and an incubator according to a predetermined schedule.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising: removing the larval insert from the channel plate; contiguously aligning the larval insert with a pupal comb.

23. The method of claim 21 , wherein the larval insert includes a plurality of feeding cells in a hexagonal sheet structure, and the pupal comb includes a plurality of pupal cells in the hexagonal sheet structure, and contiguously aligning the larval insert with a pupal comb comprises aligning the feeding cells and the pupal cells to transfer the brood from the feeding cells to the pupal cells.

24. The method of claim 21 , wherein contiguously aligning the larval insert with a pupal comb comprises contiguously aligning a pupal scaffold with a first side of the pupal comb, and contiguously aligning the larval insert with a second side of the pupal comb, the first side and the second side being opposite sides of the pupal comb.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the pupal scaffold includes a plurality of base endcaps disposed on a planar surface of the pupal cover in a pattern that matches pupal cells and a column extending away from planar surface.