An apparatus and method for queen orientation mating of apis cerana cerana

Abstract

The application discloses a device and method for directional mating of Apis cerana queen bees, wherein the device for directional mating of Apis cerana queen bees comprises a light-avoiding nest box, a ventilation light-avoiding hole is arranged at the top of the light-avoiding nest box, a refrigeration and humidification mechanism is arranged at the bottom of the light-avoiding nest box, a heating mechanism is arranged around the light-avoiding nest box, and a nest door with a controllable switch is arranged at one side of the light-avoiding nest box. The method for directional mating of Apis cerana queen bees adjusts the biological clock on the basis of the directional mating device, changes the mating time of virgin queen bees and drones that want to be matched, and achieves the purpose of directional mating.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of Apis cerana breeding, and more particularly to a device and method for directional mating of Apis cerana queen bees. Background Technology

[0002] Chinese honeybee ( Apis cerana cerana The Chinese honeybee (Apis cerana) is a unique bee genetic resource in my country, having lived in the country for thousands of years. Under long-term natural ecological conditions, nine local varieties have emerged: the Northern Chinese Honeybee, the Changbai Mountain Chinese Honeybee, the Aba Chinese Honeybee, the Central China Chinese Honeybee, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau Chinese Honeybee, the South China Chinese Honeybee, the Hainan Chinese Honeybee, the Southern Yunnan Chinese Honeybee, and the Tibetan Chinese Honeybee. However, in the pursuit of production performance, beekeepers have engaged in "following the flowers to seize honey" by migrating bee colonies to different locations and buying and selling bee colonies. Long-term self-breeding and self-raising, coupled with virgin queens mating haphazardly in the air and engaging in indiscriminate mating, has led to mixed varieties and a significant degradation in production performance and resistance to adverse conditions, severely hindering the healthy and sustainable development of my country's Chinese honeybee industry.

[0003] Besides possessing rich genetic theories and selection techniques, bee breeding and preservation also require precise control of mating to develop in a direction beneficial to human needs and to modify and stabilize the genetic characteristics of bees. Queen mating control is of great significance in bee breeding, concerning the directional mating of virgin queens and breeding drones. Typically, breeding apiaries use geographical isolation mating or artificial insemination to control queen mating. Western honeybees have successfully bred several new strains and lines, such as Huafeng 213, Huafeng 414, Zhongmi No. 1, Baishan No. 5, Zhejiang Agricultural University No. 1, and the Kaqian Black Ring line, using isolation mating and artificial insemination techniques. However, the breeding and preservation of new Chinese honeybee varieties (mainly through the establishment of Chinese honeybee nature reserves) is still in its early stages, and no artificially bred new varieties have yet been approved. The reason for this is that virgin queens mate in the air, and their nuptial flight range is very wide, which is a major characteristic of bee reproductive physiology. A virgin queen bee and a drone can still meet and mate even at a distance of 12 km. Maintaining mating without other wild drones within such a large area is virtually impossible. Therefore, natural mating requires strict control to prevent the presence of other drones in the vicinity. Currently, my country has 6 million artificially raised colonies of Chinese honeybees (statistics from the end of 2016), and a large number of wild Chinese honeybees also exist outside, making this extremely difficult. The most effective method is artificial insemination of the queen bee. However, artificial insemination of Chinese honeybee queens is much more difficult than that of Western honeybees; it is a highly technical task that cannot be mastered overnight. Furthermore, the drones of native Chinese honeybees are small, sensitive, and have low sperm counts, making sperm collection difficult. Therefore, the success rate of artificial insemination is extremely low. Even if artificial insemination is successful, the wildness of the Chinese honeybees is stronger, and the queen bee has the characteristic of re-flying. It is difficult to reverse the queen bee's mating habits after artificial insemination, hindering large-scale application and thus affecting breeding and conservation processes. Therefore, it is urgent to implement mating control to provide a reliable and efficient mating method for the breeding of new Chinese honeybee varieties.

[0004] In response to the shortcomings of natural mating and artificial insemination of Chinese honeybees, the inventors, through years of production practice, have developed a device and method for directional mating between virgin queen bees and drones that they wish to mate with. This device and method enables drones and virgin queen bees to mate directionally in the air. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a device for directional mating with virgin queen bees and drones that one wishes to mate with.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention is configured as follows: a directional mating device for the queen bee of the Chinese honeybee, characterized in that it includes a light-shielding hive box, the top of which is provided with ventilation and light-shielding holes, the bottom of which is provided with a cooling and humidifying mechanism, the surrounding area of ​​which is provided with a heating mechanism, and one side of which is provided with a controllable switchable hive entrance. The light-shielding hive box includes a light-shielding box body and a hive box located within the light-shielding box body. A heating plate and a temperature detector are provided around the outside of the hive box, and a cooling component, a humidifying component, and a humidity detector are provided at the bottom of the hive box. A controllable switchable point light source is provided at the hive entrance. The hive box has a length of 20-47cm, a width of 15-45cm, and a height of 10-28cm. A honey water trough is provided inside the light-shielding hive box. Alternatively, the ventilation and light-shielding holes can also be located around the top of the light-shielding hive box.

[0007] The above-described queen-directed mating device for Chinese honeybees confines the desired virgin queen, drones, and worker bees in the darkened hive during the day, preventing the queen from flying out to mate with other drones. After 5 PM, when other non-mating drones return to the hive, a light source at the hive entrance lures the virgin queen and drones to the outside for mating. Furthermore, the temperature and humidity inside the hive can be continuously controlled via a heating plate, cooling components, and a humidifier.

[0008] The second objective of this invention is to provide a method for directional mating of a desired queen bee and drone with the aforementioned device.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention is configured as follows: a method for directional mating of the queen bee of the Chinese honeybee, employing the aforementioned device for directional mating of the queen bee of the Chinese honeybee, comprising the following steps:

[0010] Step 1: Forming a mating group

[0011] Place two broodless combs with ample nectar and pollen in the hive of the Chinese honeybee queen directional mating device, and introduce more than 3,000 worker bees that have not yet recognized the hive. Hang a queen caged in a queen cell, introduce a culled virgin queen, or hang a queen cell that has just been transferred with larvae, and arrange the hives according to the normal mating arrangement of the bee colony. After 5 days, add combs of breeding drones that are about to emerge. After another 10 days, remove the queen, virgin queen, or temporary queen cell that was imprisoned in the queen cell when the worker bees were established, and introduce a breeding queen cell about 2 hours later.

[0012] Step Two: Training to Change the Bee Colony's Biological Clock

[0013] The hive entrance of the honeybee queen direct mating device opens and closes 2 hours before dark and closes at 3 a.m. in the morning. In summer, 2 hours before dark is about 5 p.m. In spring and autumn, the time needs to be recalculated, and the time difference needs to be calculated in the east or west.

[0014] The entrance light source is set to turn on 20 minutes after the entrance opens and turn off 2 hours after the entrance opens;

[0015] The temperature inside the nest box is set as follows: 0-3 o'clock 34℃, 3-4 o'clock 33℃, 4-5 o'clock 31℃, 5-6 o'clock 29℃, 6-7 o'clock 27℃, 7-13 o'clock 25℃, 13-14 o'clock 27℃, 14-15 o'clock 29℃, 15-16 o'clock 31℃, 16-17 o'clock 33℃, 17-24 o'clock 34℃;

[0016] The relative humidity inside the nest box was set to 80% from 6 to 13:00.

[0017] Worker bees, drones, and queen bees are trained to leave the hive two hours before dark each day, or around 5 p.m. in summer. After returning to the hive, the temperature, humidity, and darkness are maintained to allow the bee colony to live quietly in the hive until the hive entrance opens the next day.

[0018] Step 3: Bee Colony Management

[0019] Two hours after the hive entrance is opened each day, the bee colony is inspected and managed. After mating, virgin queen bees are introduced into the production colony for performance testing. Queen cells or virgin queen bees are then introduced to continuously conduct directional mating of queen bees.

[0020] In step one, drone breeding begins 18 days prior to the start of the process, and queen bees are transplanted on the day of step one. The ratio of queen bees to drones in step one is at least 1:300. Every two weeks, a batch of capped worker bee brood combs and capped drone brood combs that are about to emerge are added.

[0021] Because of the adoption of the above technical solution, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0022] Current research on Apis cerana shows that during natural mating, drones migrate between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM, with the peak migration time between 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM, accounting for approximately 95% of all drones. The mating flight time of virgin queens coincides with the drone migration time, concentrated between 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM, accounting for 97% of all mating virgin queens. Therefore, this invention uses a directional mating device to alter the biological clock of desired virgin queens and drones, avoiding their migration during the aforementioned time periods. After unwanted drones from outside the hive return, the hive entrance in the directional mating device is opened. Worker bees and drones are lured outside the hive by a point light source at the entrance. First, sexually mature drones fly and gather near the mating area, forming a drone cloud. Then, the virgin queen, surrounded by worker bees, leaves the hive for directional mating. From the formation of the drone cloud to the virgin's mating flight, unwanted drones from outside the hive are completely avoided.

[0023] The directional mating device in this invention is particularly suitable for altering the biological clock of mating bee colonies during directional mating of Chinese honeybees. While Western honeybees have used isolated mating and artificial insemination to cultivate new varieties, the nuptial flight range of Chinese honeybees is too wide, and the abundance of wild drones and the difficulty of artificial insemination pose significant challenges. Therefore, the directional mating device in this invention allows the desired virgin queen, drones, and worker bees to live normally within the hive during the day; the worker bees, drones, and queen are not stimulated by daytime factors such as light and temperature. If there is insufficient honey on the combs, honey water or sucrose water can be added through a honey water trough. Then, after 5 PM, a point light source at the hive entrance lures the virgin queen and drones outside the hive for their nuptial flight, thus ensuring directional mating between the virgin queen and drones.

[0024] The directional mating method in this invention is particularly suitable for Chinese honeybees. As mentioned earlier, due to the wide range of nuptial flights of Chinese honeybees and the large number of wild Chinese honeybees, the geographical isolation method used by Western honeybees (feasible only on isolated islands in large bodies of water with a radius of more than 12 kilometers and in deserts) for directional mating in mountainous areas is unreliable, and artificial insemination is not only difficult but also inefficient. However, by using the directional mating method in this invention, young worker bees that have not yet left the hive, drones that are about to emerge, and queen cells that are about to emerge are established. By training the three types of bees to engage in extra-hive activities from the very beginning, the biological clock of the Chinese honeybee colony is changed, and the nuptial flight time of the drones and queen bees avoids the nuptial flight time of wild drones, thus achieving directional mating. By programming light, temperature, and humidity, the biological clock of bee colonies undergoing targeted mating is altered to: 3-5 PM at night and after 5 PM during the day. Simultaneously, the relative humidity is increased during the day to create the illusion of rain, allowing the colonies to live quietly in a confined environment. The colonies are allowed only about two hours of nuptial flights per day, and the nectar-producing plants are staggered in their secretion times. Worker bees focus solely on welcoming and escorting the virgin queen during her nuptial flights, avoiding intensive foraging outside the hive and thus extending their lifespan. This method not only precisely achieves targeted mating but also maximizes the utilization of the colony's breeding drones, enabling continuous targeted mating with high efficiency and reliability. Attached Figure Description

[0025] The accompanying drawings of this invention are described below.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a front view of the directional mating device in Example 1;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a top view of the directional mating device in Example 1;

[0028] Figure 3 for Figure 1 AA section view;

[0029] Figure 4 for Figure 2 BB cross-sectional view. Implementation

[0030] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Any improvements or substitutions based on the basic spirit of these embodiments shall still fall within the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

[0031] Example 1: As Figure 1-4 As shown, this embodiment provides a directional mating device for the queen bee of the Chinese honeybee, including a light-proof hive box. The top of the light-proof hive box is provided with a ventilation and light-proof hole, the bottom of the light-proof hive box is provided with a cooling mechanism and a humidifying mechanism, the four sides of the light-proof hive box are provided with a heating mechanism, and one side of the light-proof hive box is provided with a controllable opening and closing hive door.

[0032] The light-proof hive box includes a light-proof box body 1 and a hive box 2 located inside the light-proof box body. The light-proof box body is opaque. The hive box can be an existing movable-frame beehive, with a length of 20-47cm, a width of 15-45cm, and a height of 10-28cm. A common size is selected based on currently used movable-frame beehives: a length of 44cm, a width of 40cm, and a height of 25cm. Since the movable-frame beehive itself is breathable, ventilation and light-proof holes 3 are provided on the top or all four sides of the light-proof box body. These ventilation and light-proof holes can be covered with black cloth, achieving both light protection and ventilation. The tops of both the light-proof box body and the hive box are movable and openable. The front and rear side panels of the hive box have 1cm wide and high recessed grooves 4 for placing combs, allowing for easy placement of combs into the hive box and adjustment of bee paths between combs.

[0033] Furthermore, a cooling component 5, a humidifying component, and a temperature and humidity detector are installed at the bottom of the nest box, i.e., on the bottom plate of the light-proof box. A heating plate 6 and a temperature detector are installed around the nest box. The heating plate, cooling component, and humidifying component are used to ensure the temperature and humidity inside the nest box, and the temperature and humidity detectors are used to detect and control the temperature inside the nest box in real time.

[0034] Furthermore, the movable-frame beehive originally has a hive entrance 7, and a hive entrance is also provided in the same position on the light-proof box body. A tube passage can be provided between the two entrances to prevent bees from flying into the gap between the two boxes. The hive entrance can be manually operated or electrically operated, and can be opened and closed at fixed times every day by setting a program.

[0035] In another embodiment of this invention, a controllable point light source is provided at the hive entrance. The light source induces the virgin queen bee and drones to leave the hive. Of course, a point light source can also be omitted, and natural light can be used to lure the virgin queen bee and drones out.

[0036] As another embodiment of this invention, the light-proof nest box is equipped with a honey water trough 8. When there is insufficient honey on the comb, honey water or sucrose water can be added to the honey water trough.

[0037] It should be noted that the timed activation of the nest entrance and point light source via a switch in this embodiment is a mature existing electronic control technology, and the specific principles and solutions will not be elaborated here. Furthermore, the heating plate, cooling component, and humidifying component are all existing technologies and can be purchased commercially. The temperature and humidity detectors are temperature sensing devices, and the humidity detectors are humidity sensing devices; the temperature and humidity are adjusted for each time period through program settings, and this technology is also existing. It will not be elaborated upon here.

[0038] Example 2: This example provides a method for directional mating of the queen bee of the Chinese honeybee, using the device for directional mating of the queen bee of the Chinese honeybee described in Example 1, including the following steps:

[0039] Step 1: Forming a mating group

[0040] Eighteen days before establishing the mating colony, begin raising breeding drones. On the day the mating colony is established, transfer larvae to raise a breeding queen bee, ensuring the ratio of queen bees to drones is at least 1:300. On the day the mating colony is established, place two broodless combs with ample nectar and pollen in the hive of the honeybee queen-oriented mating device. Introduce over 3000 worker bees that have not yet recognized the hive. Attach a queen bee imprisoned in a queen cage, introduce a culled virgin queen, or attach a queen cell with recently transferred larvae, and arrange the hive according to normal mating procedures. Five days later, add combs of soon-to-emerge breeding drones. Ten days after that, remove the queen bee, virgin queen, or temporary queen cell that was imprisoned in the queen cage during worker colony establishment. Approximately two hours later, introduce a breeding queen cell.

[0041] In this embodiment, it is best to organize a certain number of queen bees to mate simultaneously, as this will increase the success rate. If there is insufficient honey on the comb, supplement with honey water (3:2) or sucrose water (1:1) in the honey water trough.

[0042] Step Two: Training to Change the Bee Colony's Biological Clock

[0043] The program controls the hive entrance to open 2 hours before dark each day and close at 3 AM the following morning. The hive entrance light source is set to turn on 20 minutes after the entrance opens and turn off 2 hours later. Temperature settings for the directional mating device: 0-3 AM 34℃, 3-4 AM 33℃, 4-5 AM 31℃, 5-6 AM 29℃, 6-7 AM 27℃, 7-1 PM 25℃, 1 PM-2 PM 27℃, 2 PM-3 PM 29℃, 3 PM-4 PM 31℃, 4 PM-5 PM 33℃, 5 PM-12 AM 34℃. 34-35℃ is the ideal temperature for feeding the honeybee larvae. Relative humidity setting for the directional mating device: 6-1 PM 80%.

[0044] By altering the biological clocks of worker bees, drones, and queen bees, the bees are trained to leave the hive for production, daily life, and nuptial flights two hours before dark each afternoon. After returning to the hive at night, the pre-programmed temperature, humidity, and darkness are maintained, allowing the bee colony to live quietly inside the hive until the hive entrance opens the following afternoon.

[0045] Step 3: Bee Colony Management

[0046] Two hours after the bees emerge from the hive each day, the colony should be inspected and managed. After mating, virgin queen bees can be introduced into production colonies for performance testing. Queen cells or virgin queens can also be introduced into these colonies for continuous targeted queen mating. To maximize the use of the colony's breeding drones, a batch of nearly hatched capped worker bee brood combs and nearly hatched capped breeding drone brood combs can be added every two weeks, allowing the colony to undergo multiple rounds of targeted queen mating.

[0047] The directional mating method in this embodiment is conducted in the summer in the southwest region, where it gets dark around 7 PM each day. Therefore, in step two, the program controls the hive entrance to open at 5 PM daily, and in step three, the bee colony is checked and managed after 7 PM daily. The point light source is turned on at 5:20 PM and turned off at 7 PM daily.

[0048] On the evening of August 9, 2023, ten colonies each were established as experimental groups: one with over 3000 worker bees that had not yet left the hive and another with over 300 drone pupae about to emerge. A discarded queen confined in a queen cage was added to each colony. The colonies were fed using the device described in Example 1, with daily light-protection and programmed temperature and humidity control. The colonies were then confined until 5 PM each day before being opened to allow flight. On the evening of August 17, 2023, a queen cell was added to replace the discarded queen in the queen cage. On the evening of August 20, 2023, ten control groups were established: one with over 3000 worker bees, over 300 drones, and one virgin queen, with the same hive food as the previous ten colonies. In the pilot hive rearing, the bee colonies were directly confined and opened for mating after 5 PM daily. Both the experimental and control groups were checked nightly. In the experimental group, 7 colonies successfully mated between August 26th and September 3rd, and were then introduced into new queen cells for continued mating. On September 4th, 3 queens that had not yet mated were replaced with new queen cells. On September 5th, the experimental group colonies were supplemented with worker bees and drone pupae that were about to emerge. By the evening of September 10th, another 6 queens had mated. In the control group, 5 colonies suffered heat exhaustion on August 23rd, 2 colonies on August 26th, and 2 colonies on September 1st. The remaining colonies were supplemented with worker bees and drone pupae that were about to emerge on September 5th. By September 14th, 2 colonies had successfully mated. Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that various changes in form and detail can be made without departing from the scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of queenright mating of Apis cerana cerana, the method comprising: The application relates to a device for directional mating of Chinese bee queens, which comprises a light-proof nest box, the top of the light-proof nest box is provided with a ventilated light-proof hole, the bottom of the light-proof nest box is provided with a refrigeration and humidification mechanism, the periphery of the light-proof nest box is provided with a heating mechanism, and one side of the light-proof nest box is provided with a nest door with a controllable switch; the light-proof nest box comprises a light-proof box body and a nest box in the light-proof box body; the outer periphery of the nest box is provided with a heating plate and a temperature detector, the bottom of the nest box is provided with a refrigeration assembly, a humidification assembly and a humidity detector; a controllable switch point light source is arranged at the nest door; the nest box has a length of 20-47 cm, a width of 15-45 cm and a height of 10-28 cm; a honey water tank is arranged in the light-proof nest box. The application further comprises the following steps: Step one: mating group establishment Two parentless spermatheca with sufficient honey powder are placed in the nest box of the device for directional mating of Chinese bee queens, more than 3000 worker bees without nest recognition flight are induced, a queen caged in a queen cage or a queen or queen stand of a discarded virgin queen or a queen just after swarming is induced, and the device for directional mating of Chinese bee queens is arranged according to normal mating of a bee colony; after 5 days, a fast swarming spermatheca of a breeding drone is added; after another 10 days, the queen caged in the queen cage or the virgin queen or the queen stand of the worker bees during group establishment is disposed, and a queen stand of a breeding drone is induced after 2 hours; Step two: biological clock change training of a bee colony The nest door of the device for directional mating of Chinese bee queens is controlled to be opened before 2 hours of darkness and closed at 3 o'clock in the morning every day; The nest door point light source is set to be turned on 20 minutes after the nest door is opened and turned off 2 hours after the nest door is opened; The temperature in the nest box is set to be 34 DEG C at 0-3 o'clock, 33 DEG C at 3-4 o'clock, 31 DEG C at 4-5 o'clock, 29 DEG C at 5-6 o'clock, 27 DEG C at 6-7 o'clock, 25 DEG C at 7-13 o'clock, 27 DEG C at 13-14 o'clock, 29 DEG C at 14-15 o'clock, 31 DEG C at 15-16 o'clock, 33 DEG C at 16-17 o'clock, and 34 DEG C at 17-24 o'clock; The relative humidity in the nest box is set to be 80% by the humidification assembly at 6-13 o'clock every day, and no control is made at other times; The worker bees, drones and queens are trained to go out of the nest 2 hours before darkness every day, and the set temperature, humidity and dark environment are kept after returning to the nest, so that the bee colony lives quietly in the nest box until the nest door is opened the next day; Step three: management of a bee colony The bee colony is checked and managed after the nest door is opened for 2 hours every day, the virgin queen after mating is induced into a production colony to determine the performance, and the directional mating of the queen is continuously carried out by inducing the queen stand or the virgin queen.

2. The method of queen mating Apis cerana directed breeding according to claim 1 wherein: The breeding drones are cultivated 18 days before step one, and the breeding queen is cultivated when step one starts.

3. The method of queen mating Apis cerana cerana as claimed in claim 1 wherein: The number ratio of the queen to the drone is more than 1:300 in step one, and the number of the mating groups is not less than 5.

4. The method of queen mating Apis cerana directed breeding of claim 1 wherein: The fast swarming capped worker bee larvae spermatheca of more than 2000 and the fast swarming capped breeding drone spermatheca of more than 300 are supplemented once every half a month.

Images