A method for collecting drone larvae or pupae by cutting the wax cover outside the beehive

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of beekeeping technology, and in particular to a method for collecting drone larvae or pupae without cutting the wax cover outside the beehive. The method comprises the following steps: (1) cultivating drone larvae; (2) transferring the obtained larval combs or capped combs into a constant temperature and humidity chamber for cultivation, controlling the temperature to 37±0.5°C and the relative humidity to 75%±5%, and placing a tray under the drone comb to receive the drone larvae that have drilled out of the nest cells; (3) directly harvesting the drone larvae that have drilled out of the nest cells on the tray, or harvesting the pupae after the larvae and the tray are placed in a constant temperature and humidity chamber for cultivation; the harvested large drone larvae or pupae are immediately frozen and stored. The method utilizes the large drone larvae that leave the bee colony and drill out of the nest cells under high temperature stress to produce drone larvae and pupae, and can complete production and harvesting in about 12 days, thereby realizing the recycling of drone combs, shortening the production cycle, reducing labor costs, and improving the quality and production efficiency of drone pupae.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of beekeeping, in particular to a method for collecting drone larvae or pupae by using a wax cover outside a beehive without cutting. Background Art

[0002] Drone larvae (pupae) are a common food. They are grown from unfertilized eggs laid by queen bees. Their nutritional value is so high that no other insect food can compare with them. They are not only a rare delicacy, but also a good beauty and health product. There are more than 8 million bee colonies in my country, and 90,000 tons of drone larvae (pupae) can be collected every year. The output value of each ton of drone larvae (pupae) is 5 times that of honey, which is equivalent to adding 450,000 tons of honey output value to the beekeeping industry every year, which is a considerable fortune.

[0003] There are two existing methods for producing drone pupae: one is to make a drone comb into three sections of pupae combs; put it into three groups to let the queen bee lay eggs for 24 hours, and then take it out to form a complete frame of drone egg combs and put it into the breeding group. Another method is to put the drone comb into a frame-type queen bee egg-laying controller where worker bees can enter and exit freely but queen bees cannot enter and exit, let the queen bee lay eggs for 36 hours, and then take it out and put it into the breeding group. When the drone pupae combs are brought back from the apiary, they should be put into the freezer for 30 to 60 minutes to facilitate the cutting of the capping room. When cutting the cap, place the pupae combs horizontally, and knock the frame beams with a wooden stick to make the pupae slide to the bottom of the room, which is conducive to cutting. Commercial drone pupae should maintain individual integrity, so they should be cut in small pieces when cutting the pupae combs. However, this method of collecting drone pupae by cutting the wax cap is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and it is easy to cut off the heads of the pupae, affecting the commercial rate. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for collecting drone larvae or pupae by using a wax cover outside a beehive without cutting.

[0005] The present invention is achieved in that:

[0006] A method for collecting drone larvae or pupae by cutting the wax cover outside a beehive, comprising the following steps:

[0007] (1) Breeding of drone larvae;

[0008] Specifically, the repaired drone honeycomb is inserted into the strong colony, and the queen bee is allowed to lay eggs on the drone honeycomb using a queen bee egg-laying limiter or a frame-type queen plate. After 24 to 70 hours (depending on whether the honeycomb is full of eggs), the drone honeycomb full of eggs is lifted to the super box for incubation;

[0009] The strong colony here refers to a colony with more than 15 bee frames, which is strong and dense, with healthy worker bees, no larval diseases and bee mites, preferably swarming fever, rich nectar and pollen source plant resources, and sufficient feed in the nest;

[0010] (2) The obtained larval combs and / or capped combs are transferred to a constant temperature and humidity chamber for cultivation, the temperature is controlled at 37±0.5°C, the relative humidity is controlled at 75%±5%, and a tray is placed under the drone combs to receive the drone larvae that have drilled out of the nest cells;

[0011] In the constant temperature and humidity equipment, the drone larvae drill out of the nest cells and fall into the tray within 1-2 days. At this time, the empty honeycombs can be transferred to the bee colony for the next round of drone pupae production.

[0012] (3) Directly harvest the drone larvae that have emerged from the nest cells on the tray, or place the larvae and the tray in a constant temperature and humidity chamber (controlled temperature 34±0.5℃, relative humidity 75%±5%) for incubation and then harvest the pupae; the harvested drone larvae or pupae are immediately frozen for storage.

[0013] The present invention has the following advantages: the method utilizes the older larvae of drone bees to leave the bee colony and drill out of the nest cells under high temperature stress to produce drone larvae and pupae. Compared with the traditional production method of drone larvae and pupae, in which the honeycomb has a use period of about 20 days, the honeycomb of the present invention can complete production and harvesting in about 12 days, thereby realizing the recycling of drone honeycombs, shortening the production cycle, reducing labor costs, and improving the quality of drone pupae and production efficiency.

[0014] (1) The temperature of the constant temperature and humidity chamber is controlled at 37±0.5°C and the relative humidity is 75%±5%. 37°C is higher than the optimal development temperature of bees, 35°C, to stimulate the large larvae of drone bees to drill out of the nest cells. Moreover, the stress of 37°C for 24 hours will not cause damage or death to the large larvae of drone bees, so that the larvae can leave the nest cells in advance and in a concentrated manner, avoiding the need to cut the wax cap when harvesting drone pupae. Compared with the traditional technology of harvesting drone pupae by cutting the wax cap, the present invention reduces the damage rate of drone pupae and also avoids the mixing of wax residue into bee pupae.

[0015] (2) High temperature stress is used to promote the large larvae of drone bees to leave the drone comb in advance and in a concentrated manner. Compared with the traditional method, the present invention shortens the occupation time of the drone comb and improves the utilization efficiency of the drone comb.

[0016] (3) The present invention can complete production and harvesting in about 12 days. The large drone larvae do not spin silk and make cocoons in the nest cells, and the nest cell space is not reduced, thus realizing the recycling of drone honeycombs. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Example 1

[0018] A method for collecting drone larvae or pupae by cutting the wax cover outside a beehive, comprising the following steps:

[0019] (1) During the spring breeding period of honey bees, select a strong colony of more than 15 bee frames with strong and dense colonies, healthy worker bees, no larval diseases and bee mites, preferably swarming fever, rich nectar and pollen source plant resources, and sufficient feed in the nest;

[0020] (2) Place the repaired drone comb in the bee colony and clean it for 12 hours, then place it in the queen egg-laying device, and catch the queen bee on the drone comb in the queen egg-laying device; insert the queen egg-laying device and the drone comb together into the middle of the strong colony, and let the queen bee lay eggs for 48 hours; if the eggs laid on the drone comb reach more than 80%, the marked drone egg comb can be lifted into the super box to allow it to continue to develop;

[0021] (3) The developmental period of drone eggs and uncapped larvae is 3 days and 7 days respectively. After 9 days, some uncapped and capped combs are transferred to a constant temperature and humidity device (temperature controlled at 37±0.5℃, relative humidity 75%±5%) for incubation for 24 hours, and a tray is placed under the drone comb to receive the drone larvae that have drilled out of the nest cell.

[0022] (4) The empty drone comb in the constant temperature and humidity chamber 1 can repeat the above production;

[0023] (5) The drone larvae that have emerged from the nest cell can be harvested directly, or the tray together with the large drone larvae can be transferred to a constant temperature box (controlled temperature 34 ± 0.5 ° C, relative humidity 75% ± 5%) to continue to develop until the appropriate drone pupae age before harvesting;

[0024] (6) After being harvested, the large drone larvae or drone pupae are immediately placed in a -20°C freezer for preservation.

[0025] Comparative Example 1

[0026] (1) During the spring breeding period of honey bees, select a strong colony of more than 15 bee frames with strong and dense colonies, healthy worker bees, no larval diseases and bee mites, preferably swarming fever, rich nectar and pollen source plant resources, and sufficient feed in the nest;

[0027] (2) Place the repaired drone comb in the bee colony and clean it for 12 hours, then place it in the queen egg-laying device, and catch the queen bee on the drone comb in the queen egg-laying device; insert the queen egg-laying device and the drone comb together into the middle of the strong colony, and let the queen bee lay eggs for 48 hours; if the eggs laid on the drone comb reach more than 80%, the marked drone egg comb can be lifted into the super box to allow it to continue to develop;

[0028] (3) The developmental period of drone eggs and uncapped larvae is 3 days and 7 days respectively. After 10 days, some uncapped and capped combs are transferred to a constant temperature and humidity device, the temperature is controlled at 35°C, the relative humidity is controlled at 65%±5%, and a tray is placed under each larval comb to receive the fallen drone larvae;

[0029] (4) The drone larvae that have emerged from the nest cell can be harvested directly, or the tray together with the large drone larvae can be transferred to the constant temperature box II (controlled temperature 34 ± 0.5 ° C, relative humidity 75% ± 5%) to continue to develop until the appropriate drone pupae age before harvesting;

[0030] (5) After being harvested, the large drone larvae or drone pupae are immediately placed in a -20°C freezer for preservation.

[0031] Comparative Example 2

[0032] Using traditional production methods:

[0033] (1) Inserting drone combs into the production bee colony, and feeding the colony with sugar water as a reward, so that the worker bees build honeycombs on the drone combs, and obtain empty drone combs;

[0034] (2) Insert the empty drone comb into the bottom box of the production colony, allow the queen bee to lay eggs on the comb for 72 hours, and then transfer the comb to the super box of the bee colony to continue incubation for 19 to 20 days to obtain the drone pupae harvest period;

[0035] (3) Lay the lid of the drone pupae comb upward and tap it to vibrate it. Then cut open the lid, invert it and shake out the pupae. Quick-freeze it at -20℃ for 6h and then collect it to obtain the drone pupae.

[0036] Results and Analysis

[0037] 1. Production of drone pupae

[0038] Under the condition of normal production of drone pupae, the average yield of drone pupae produced in Comparative Example 2 was 327.4 g, and the complete rate of drone pupae was 60%, while the average yield of drone pupae produced in Example 1 was 469.3 g, and the complete rate of drone pupae was 95%. It can be seen that the drone pupae yield of Example 1 was 43.34% higher than that of Comparative Example 2. The use of a constant temperature box to produce drone pupae can reduce the production pressure of the bee colony, thereby significantly increasing the yield of drone pupae.

[0039] 2. Amount of drone pupae drilled out

[0040] Under normal production conditions of drone pupae, the natural drilling rate of drone pupae in comparative example 1 is 50%, and the natural drilling rate of drone pupae in embodiment 1 is 80%, and the natural drilling rate of drone pupae in embodiment 1 is increased by 30%. The characteristic that drone pupae are easy to naturally detach from the nest cell at a temperature of 37°C and a relative humidity of RH75%±5% is utilized to reduce the damage to drone pupae caused by manual cutting of the cap, thereby significantly improving the yield rate of drone pupae.

[0041] Although the specific implementation modes of the present invention are described above, those skilled in the art should understand that the specific implementation modes described are only illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Equivalent modifications and changes made by those skilled in the art in accordance with the spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for collecting drone larvae or pupae by cutting the wax cover outside a beehive, characterized in that: The steps include: (1) During the spring breeding period of honey bees, select strong colonies with more than 15 bee frames, strong and dense colonies, healthy worker bees, no larval diseases and bee mites, no swarming fever, rich honey and pollen source plant resources, and sufficient feed in the nest; (2) Place the repaired drone comb into the bee colony and clean it for 12 hours, then place it in the queen egg-laying device and catch the queen bee on the drone comb in the queen egg-laying device; insert the queen egg-laying device and the drone comb together into the middle of the strong colony and let the queen bee lay eggs for 48 hours; if the eggs laid on the drone comb reach more than 80%, the marked drone egg comb can be lifted into the super box to allow it to continue to develop; (3) The developmental period of drone eggs and uncapped larvae is 3 days and 7 days respectively. After 9 days, some uncapped and capped combs are transferred to a constant temperature and humidity device, where the temperature is controlled at 37±0.5℃ and the relative humidity is 75%±5% for 24 hours. A tray is placed under the drone comb to receive the drone larvae that have drilled out of the nest cell. (4) Repeat the above production with the empty drone comb in the constant temperature and humidity chamber; (5) The drone larvae that have emerged from the nest can be harvested directly, or the tray together with the large drone larvae can be transferred to a constant temperature box with a controlled temperature of 34±0.5℃ and a relative humidity of 75%±5% to continue to develop until they reach the appropriate age of drone pupae before being harvested; (6) After harvesting, the large drone larvae or drone pupae should be immediately placed in a -20℃ freezer to keep them fresh.