A device and method for improving the egg laying performance of a honeybee colony

Abstract

The application discloses a device and method for improving the egg production of a honeybee colony, wherein the lower left and right sides of the front side plate of a nest box are provided with an outer left nest door and an outer right nest door, and a fixed middle partition plate is arranged in the middle of the nest box, which divides the nest box into a left breeding area and a right breeding area; an active left partition plate is arranged in the left breeding area, which divides the left breeding area into a left queen bee breeding area and a left worker bee swimming area, and the lower part of the active left partition plate is provided with an inner left nest door; an active right partition plate is arranged in the right breeding area, which divides the right breeding area into a right queen bee breeding area and a right worker bee swimming area, and the lower part of the active right partition plate is provided with an inner right nest door, the outer left nest door is located in the left worker bee swimming area, the outer right nest door is located in the right worker bee swimming area, the top of the left queen bee breeding area is provided with an inner left cover plate, and the top of the right queen bee breeding area is provided with an inner right cover plate; a nest box is further stacked with a secondary nest box, and the lower part of the front side plate of the secondary nest box is provided with a secondary nest door. The application can realize the feeding of double queen bees in the same nest box throughout the year.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of Chinese honeybee breeding, and specifically to the field of egg-laying capacity of Chinese honeybee colonies. Background Technology

[0002] Chinese honeybee ( Apis cerana cerana The Chinese honeybee (Apis cerana), also known as the Chinese honeybee, is a unique bee germplasm resource in my country. It is characterized by its resistance to low temperatures, resistance to wasps, and ability to utilize scattered nectar and pollen sources. Its honey is rich in floral aroma and has a delicate taste, making it highly popular with consumers. However, due to its low egg-laying capacity and tendency to swarm, conventional beekeeping methods are insufficient to cultivate and maintain strong colonies. Therefore, most Chinese honeybee farmers only keep them as a sideline. To increase the reproduction rate of bee colonies, it is necessary to improve their egg-laying capacity. The main factors affecting the egg-laying capacity of a bee colony include bee breed, queen quality, queen mating quality, queen age, weather, and nectar sources. When these factors are difficult to improve, increasing the queen index (the number of queens per unit of worker bees) is currently the most effective way to increase the egg-laying capacity of a bee colony. In other words, if all the eggs laid by the queen in a bee colony are properly nursed, then as the number of eggs laid by the queen increases per unit time, the bee colony's reproduction rate will accelerate, the colony will become stronger, and the foraging bees will be raised more quickly, ultimately improving the colony's productivity and disease resistance.

[0003] Given a fixed queen bee's egg-laying capacity, the more queens laying eggs in a colony, the greater the number of eggs laid per unit time. However, in their natural state, bees are highly social insects, and two or more healthy queens cannot coexist in the same hive for an extended period. They survive and develop as a colony consisting of one queen, tens of thousands of worker bees, and thousands of drones that appear only during the breeding season. The queen bee is the only female bee in the colony with fully developed reproductive organs. Her main functions are laying eggs and maintaining colony order. Through egg laying and pheromone secretion, the queen bee directly influences the colony's reproduction and production. The queen bee will not tolerate the presence of other healthy queens in the colony; if she encounters another queen, they will fight each other until only one queen remains. Therefore, except for the alternation of mother and daughter bees, there is only one healthy queen bee in a colony. Furthermore, the queen bee's pheromone is continuously emitted by the queen, and its scent is relatively stable. Worker bees also use this scent to determine the queen's condition and thus work in an orderly manner. However, if the queen bee in the original colony is directly replaced, the bees will immediately swarm and kill her. Therefore, during queen replacement, the queen must be kept in a queen introducer for several hours until the worker bees accept her before she can be released.

[0004] In production, if double-queen colony rearing is desired, the hive must be divided into two areas where the queen bees cannot communicate with each other, but the worker bees can. This is currently the case for Western honeybees (Honeybee). Apis melliferaThe double-queen colony breeding technique of honeybees (abbreviated as Western honeybees) is very mature, and the use of double-queen colony breeding in the same box can achieve higher economic benefits in production.

[0005] In Chinese honeybee production, there are examples of establishing double-queen colony rearing directly referencing Western honeybee double-queen colony rearing techniques. A queen excluder is placed in the middle of a standard beehive, dividing the hive into two breeding zones, each with one queen. Worker bees can move freely between these zones. When the colony reaches a certain strength, a super is stacked on top of the standard beehive, separated from the super by a flat queen excluder. However, using this technique for Chinese honeybee double-queen colony rearing often results in a clustering phenomenon where the colony gravitates towards the stronger queen. Prolonged clustering can lead to the loss of a weaker queen, leaving only the stronger queen to lay eggs, thus failing to achieve the goal of double-queen reproduction in the long term. Therefore, directly referencing Western honeybee techniques for double-queen colony rearing in Chinese honeybees cannot be used for extended periods in production. The main reasons for this are as follows: First, the biological characteristics of Chinese honeybees differ from those of Western honeybees, and the composition of the most important queen pheromone—the queen mandibular gland pheromone (QMP)—is also different. The QMP of Western honeybees contains five components: trans-9-oxo-2-decenoic acid (9-ODA), trans-9-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (-9-HDA), cis-9-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (+9-HDA), methylparaben (HOB), and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylethanol (HVA). In contrast, the QMP of Chinese honeybees contains only 9-ODA, +9-HDA, -9-HDA, and HOB. The four components do not contain HVA; secondly, the interactions and social behaviors between queen bees and between worker bees and queen bees in a double-queen colony of Chinese honeybees are more complex. Chinese honeybee worker bees are very sensitive to queen pheromones. When they spend a long time on one side and suddenly move to the other side, they will sense the inconsistency in queen pheromones and may attack the queen on the other side, leading to the failure of the double-queen colony; thirdly, the beehives currently used for raising double-queen colonies are basically Langstroth standard beehives used by Western honeybees. These beehives have been very successful in raising double-queen colonies for Western honeybees, but the egg-laying capacity of Chinese honeybees is much lower than that of Western honeybees. Directly using them for the establishment of double-queen colonies of Chinese honeybees does not conform to the biological learning characteristics of Chinese honeybees.

[0006] Patent number CN201410626805.7 discloses "a method for raising two queens of Chinese honeybees". In May or June, before the natural swarming occurs, a healthy bee colony is selected from a series of bee colonies to be used for queen rearing. One one-day-old larva is selected from each of the other beehives and placed in a queen rearing box for 9 days. The old queen bee and 3 to 6 worker bees from the other beehives are placed on the side comb of the beehive. After the queen cells mature, they are introduced into the original beehive. The emergence and mating of the new queen bee are observed. If the emergence and mating are normal and there is no fighting, the double queen rearing is successful. The aforementioned patent enables the co-breeding of a queen bee older than one year and a newly bred queen bee in the same hive. This is based on the natural biological learning behavior of mothers and daughters sharing the same hive. However, the patent has a drawback: it requires both a queen bee older than one year and a new queen bee to be co-breeded. This limits the technology of the breeding method. Furthermore, the egg-laying and queen pheromone secretion abilities of queen bees older than one year have already declined, making them culled queens in production. Double-queen colonies established using this method do not fully utilize the queen bee's egg-laying capacity, and the older queen bee will also die of old age. Therefore, the coexistence of double-queen colonies is not long-lasting.

[0007] Application number CN201810617289.X discloses "A method for raising two queens suitable for Chinese honeybees," including breeding preparation, first breeding, second breeding, third breeding, fourth breeding, fifth breeding, and sixth breeding. The method involves dividing the brood box into a first queen zone and a second queen zone using a queen excluder with a full frame of empty combs for the first and second breeding. During the third breeding, the queen excluder is replaced with another queen excluder with a full frame of empty combs, and then the replaced queen excluder is placed in the super. This not only divides the brood box into the first and second queen zones, but also the super is divided into a first nursery zone and a second nursery zone. Because a flat queen excluder is installed on the brood box, a double-queen rearing method is ultimately formed where worker bees can freely enter the super, but the queen cannot. However, the aforementioned patent does not specify whether the bee outlet switch on the side of the queen excluder is open. If it is not open, the two queen excluders with full frames of empty combs separate the brood box and the super into two areas where neither the queen nor the worker bees can communicate. The worker bees in each area can move up and down through the flat queen excluder, which only utilizes the mutual insulation function. The idle worker bees cannot cooperate to work together. This is the same as the feeding method of using two beehives with supers close together, or using a partition between the brood box with a super and the super to separate two areas. It does not achieve the feeding purpose of two queens in the same colony. If the queen excluder is open and contains empty frames of honeycomb, it only functions as a vertical queen excluder, dividing the hive into two areas where queens cannot pass each other but worker bees can. This is similar to the method of using a vertical queen excluder to establish a double-queen hive with two queens, referencing the double-queen colony rearing technique of Western honeybees. When the colony develops to a certain strength, bees tend to lean towards the side of the stronger queen. If this leaning continues for a long time, the other queen, who is less productive, is likely to be lost, and the goal of double-queen reproduction cannot be achieved for an extended period. Summary of the Invention

[0008] In view of this, the present invention proposes a device and method for improving the egg-laying capacity of Chinese honeybee colonies.

[0009] One objective of this invention is to provide a device that can improve the egg-laying capacity of honeybee colonies.

[0010] A device for improving the egg-laying capacity of honeybee colonies includes a brood box, characterized in that: an outer left entrance and an outer right entrance are respectively provided on the lower left and right sides of the front side panel of the brood box; a fixed middle partition is provided in the middle of the brood box, the fixed middle partition dividing the brood box into a left rearing area and a right rearing area; a movable left partition is provided in the left rearing area, the movable left partition dividing the left rearing area into a left queen bee breeding area located between the fixed middle partition and the movable left partition and a left worker bee roaming area located between the movable left partition and the left side panel, and an inner left entrance is also provided at the lower part of the movable left partition; in the right rearing area... A movable right partition is provided within the breeding area, dividing the right breeding area into a right queen bee breeding area located between the fixed middle partition and the movable right partition, and a right worker bee swimming area located between the movable right partition and the right side panel. An inner right hive entrance is also provided at the lower part of the movable right partition, and the outer left hive entrance is located in the left worker bee swimming area, while the outer right hive entrance is located in the right worker bee swimming area. An inner left cover plate is provided on the top of the left queen bee breeding area, and an inner right cover plate is provided on the top of the right queen bee breeding area. A super is also stacked on top of the brood box, and a super hive entrance is provided at the lower part of the front side panel of the super.

[0011] The widths of the left and right inner cover plates are adjustable. The left and right inner cover plates are tensioning mechanisms, including a mother plate and a daughter plate. The mother plate has opposing inner slides on both sides, and the daughter plate is located within the slides on both sides. The stretched width of the mother plate and the daughter plate is equal to or greater than half the width of the nest box.

[0012] 2. The second objective of this invention is to provide a method for improving the egg-laying capacity of honeybee colonies, comprising the following steps: Step 1: Transplanting and Cultivating Chinese Honeybees A colony of Chinese honeybees is transferred to the brood box. The brood box does not have the fixed central partition, movable left partition, movable right partition, inner left cover, and inner right cover installed, and the super is not stacked on top of the brood box. The order of the combs and the bee path of the Chinese honeybee colony are adjusted so that the comb containing eggs and larvae is located in the center of the brood box, capped combs are placed on both sides of the comb containing eggs and larvae, and honey combs are placed on both sides of the capped combs. Then, the inner cover, gauze cover, cloth cover, and large cover of the brood box are placed in sequence. The outer left and outer right entrances of the brood box are opened so that the worker bees of the Chinese honeybee colony can enter and exit normally to collect for food through the outer left and outer right entrances. Step 2: Create a double-king group Once the original Chinese honeybee colony has grown to 4 or more frames in step 1, open the brood box and install the fixed partition inside the brood box to form a left and right rearing area. Leave half of the original Chinese honeybee colony's frames in the left rearing area and the other half in the right rearing area. Leave the queen bee of the original Chinese honeybee colony in the left / right rearing area. Half a day later, hang artificially cultivated queen cells from the original Chinese honeybee colony, naturally generated queen cells from the original Chinese honeybee colony, or mature queen cells from other Chinese honeybee colonies in the right / left rearing area. Install a queen excluder on the outer left entrance / outer right entrance of the left / right breeding area. After the new queen in the right / left breeding area successfully mates and lays eggs, remove the queen excluder from the outer left / outer right entrance. The movable left partition is installed in the left breeding area to form the left queen bee breeding area and the left worker bee free-roaming area. The movable right partition is installed in the right breeding area to form the right queen bee breeding area and the right worker bee free-roaming area. All honeycombs in the left breeding area are located in the left queen bee breeding area and the side honeycombs are one single bee path away from the movable left partition. All honeycombs in the right breeding area are located in the right queen bee breeding area and the side honeycombs are one single bee path away from the movable right partition. Cover the left inner cover plate on the left queen bee breeding area, cover the right inner cover plate on the right queen bee breeding area, and cover the top of the brood box with a gauze cover, a cloth cover and a large cover, so that the left queen bee lays eggs normally in the left queen bee breeding area and the right queen bee lays eggs normally in the right queen bee breeding area. Step 3, Organize the relay box Add empty foundation frames or empty combs to the left and right queen bee breeding areas to allow the bee colonies to lay eggs until the colony strength in both areas reaches 4 combs and worker bees appear at the inner left and inner right entrances. At this point, open the brood box and remove one queenless capped comb (with bees) from the left queen bee breeding area to the left worker bee free-roaming area, and remove one queenless capped comb (with bees) from the right queen bee breeding area to the right worker bee free-roaming area. Then, add one empty foundation frame or one empty comb to the original position in each area. Cover the left queen bee breeding area with the inner left cover plate and the right queen bee breeding area with the inner right cover plate. Cover the top of the brood box with a mesh cover, stack the super on the mesh cover, and cover the super with a cloth and a large cover to allow the queen pheromones from the left and right breeding areas to mix fully in the super. Step 4: The two queens lay eggs and reproduce. Ten days later, open the main cover, cover cloth, super, mesh cover, inner left cover, and inner right cover in sequence. Lift the two queenless capped frames (including the bees) from the left queen breeding area to the left side of the super, opposite the left worker bee roaming area. Lift the two queenless capped frames (including the bees) from the right queen breeding area to the right side of the super, opposite the right worker bee roaming area. Add one empty foundation frame or one empty comb to each of the left and right queen breeding areas. Then, repeat the steps... 3. Empty frames that have emerged from the left worker bee roaming area are brought back to the left queen bee breeding area, and empty frames that have emerged from the right worker bee roaming area are brought back to the right queen bee breeding area. The left and right queen bees are allowed to lay eggs and reproduce. The left and right queen bee breeding areas are covered with the inner left cover plate and the right inner cover plate, respectively. A super is placed on the brood box, and a gauze cover, a cloth cover, and a large cover are placed on the super. One day later, the four frames of bees in the super are adjusted to move closer to the center and leave a standard bee path. The entrance of the super is then opened. Step 5: Double Queen cycle for egg laying and reproduction Nineteen days later, the honeycombs in the left and right queen bee breeding areas have completed egg laying, and the capped brood combs in the super have all emerged. Three queenless capped brood combs from each of the left and right queen bee breeding areas are moved to the center of the super, and the bee path is adjusted. Two of the four empty combs in the super are moved down to the left queen bee breeding area, and two to the right queen bee breeding area. One empty foundation frame or one empty honeycomb is added to each of the left and right queen bee breeding areas. The super is then stacked as described in step 4. Every month, swap three queenless capped combs from each of the left and right queen bee breeding areas with the empty combs in the super. One week after the swap, check the super for queen cells and remove any queen cells found.

[0013] Step 6: Overwintering Treatment When the average daytime temperature drops to 10℃, remove the super, take out the movable left and right partitions from the brood box, lift the combs from the super into the brood box, remove excess old combs and combs without honey, adjust the bee passage of the combs in the left and right rearing areas of the brood box to 13-15mm, and cover them with a gauze cover, a cloth cover, and a large cover in sequence for overwintering; after overwintering, repeat the process from step 2 to step 5 when breeding begins in the spring of the following year.

[0014] Step 7, Change King In step 5, remove the queen bee from the left queen bee breeding area / right queen bee breeding area, remove the movable left partition / movable right partition, and lift two combs (including bees) from the super to the left / right breeding area. Hang queen cells on the combs in the left / right breeding area, cover the left / right breeding area with the inner left cover / inner right cover to seal it, adjust the position of the four combs in the super to align vertically with the four combs in the right / left queen bee breeding area, close the super entrance, and install a queen excluder on the outer right / outer left entrance. After the virgin queens in the left / right breeding area mate and lay eggs, remove the queen excluder. Remove the movable right partition / movable left partition from the right / left breeding area. Take two combs (including bees) from the super and transfer them to the right / left breeding area. Shake the remaining two combs into the right / left breeding area and remove them. Remove the inner left cover / inner right cover. Cover the brood box with a mesh cover, then place the super on top of the mesh cover. Cover the super with a cloth and a large cover to allow the left and right queen pheromones to mix inside the super. One day later, install the movable left partition in the left rearing area and the movable right partition in the right rearing area. Adjust the honeycomb and bee passage so that there are 4 honeycomb and a left queen bee in the left queen bee breeding area, 2 honeycomb in the left worker bee roaming area, 4 honeycomb and a right queen bee in the right queen bee breeding area, and 2 honeycomb in the right worker bee roaming area. Cover the left queen bee breeding area with the inner left cover plate and the right queen bee breeding area with the inner right cover plate. Then, adjust the honeycomb... Cover the hive with a mesh cover, a cloth cover, and a large cover in sequence. The left and right queen bees lay eggs and reproduce normally. One day later, open the large cover, cloth cover, super, mesh cover, inner left cover, and inner right cover in sequence. Move the two frames of bees and bees from the left worker bee's free-roaming area to the upper and lower left side of the super. Move the two frames of bees and bees from the right worker bee's free-roaming area to the upper and lower right side of the super. One day later, adjust the four frames of bees in the super to move them closer to the center and leave a standard bee path. Open the super entrance. Then repeat step 5.

[0015] In step 2, queen bees from other Chinese honeybee colonies that have already mated are directly introduced into the right / left rearing area, without the need to install queen excluders at the outer left / outer right entrance of the left / right rearing area. In step 5, during the main honey flow, 80% of the capped honey in the combs in the super is directly extracted, and the empty combs that have been extracted are returned to the super to await the next exchange.

[0016] Preferably, step 7, queen replacement, can be performed as follows: In step 5, the queen bee in the left / right rearing area is removed, and the queen bee in another Chinese honeybee colony that has completed mating is placed in a queen cage that worker bees cannot enter and then placed in the left / right rearing area where the original queen bee has been removed. Half a day later, the new queen bee is released from the queen cage, and then the step of exchanging the combs in the brood box and super box every month in step 5 is directly repeated.

[0017] Because of the adoption of the above technical solution, the present invention has the following advantages: The device and method of this invention enable year-round co-hive rearing of two queen bees; it solves the problem of queen loss caused by mutual interference in double-queen colonies; the resulting bee colonies are strong, resilient, and less prone to disease. Furthermore, because this invention allows for year-round co-hive rearing of two queens, the hive temperature is higher than that of a single-queen colony. If the winter temperature does not remain below 0°C for an extended period, the bee colony does not require additional insulation, and the hive temperature remains stable; spring-bringing colonies lay more eggs, and the colony grows rapidly.

[0018] In this invention, the left and right queen bee breeding areas are relatively independent yet concentrated. The left and right breeding areas are physically separated (by a fixed partition) but are still located within the same hive. Furthermore, the left queen pheromone from the left queen bee breeding area enters the super through the inner left entrance and the left worker bee swimming area, while the right queen pheromone from the right queen bee breeding area enters the super through the right entrance and the right worker bee swimming area. The left and right queen pheromones mix thoroughly in the super, ensuring that the worker bees in the left and right breeding areas do not interfere with each other, achieving both independence and concentration. Additionally, the comb is replaced approximately once a month, maintaining warmth and humidity, which aligns with the biological characteristics of Chinese honeybees, which prefer moist and quiet environments. After the comb replacement, there are more empty cells, shortening the path the queen bee needs to crawl when laying eggs and reducing the time spent searching for empty cells.

[0019] The device and method of this invention save the floor space required to place beehives, with one hive equivalent to two colonies.

[0020] The method of this invention allows for the storage of multiple queens for future use. If there are two queens in a colony, one queen can be removed directly from other colonies without causing queen loss or worker bees to lay eggs. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the device in Example 1; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the nest box structure in Example 1. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The embodiments of this application are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain this application, and should not be construed as limiting this application. Rather, the embodiments of this application include all variations, modifications, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

[0023] Example 1: As Figure 1 and 2 As shown, this embodiment provides a device for improving the egg-laying capacity of a Chinese honeybee colony, including a brood box 1 and a super box 2.

[0024] The front side panel of the brood box has an outer left entrance 11 and an outer right entrance 12 on its lower left and right sides, respectively. These entrances allow worker bees, drones, and the queen bee to enter and exit. A fixed partition 3 is located in the middle of the brood box, dividing it into a left rearing area and a right rearing area. The fixed partition is fixed in position but can be detachably installed into the brood box. In this embodiment, the upper parts of both the front and rear side panels of the brood box have L-shaped grooves 13, and the top ends of the comb and the fixed partition have protrusions that can be inserted into these L-shaped grooves.

[0025] Furthermore, a movable left partition 4 is provided within the left rearing area, dividing the left rearing area into a left queen bee breeding area 41 located between the fixed middle partition and the movable left partition, and a left worker bee roaming area 42 located between the movable left partition and the left side panel. An inner left entrance 43 is also provided at the lower part of the movable left partition. Similarly, a movable right partition 5 is provided within the right rearing area, dividing the right rearing area into a right queen bee breeding area 51 located between the fixed middle partition and the movable right partition, and a right worker bee roaming area 52 located between the movable right partition and the right side panel. An inner right entrance 53 is also provided at the lower part of the movable right partition. The outer left entrance is located within the left worker bee roaming area, and the outer right entrance is located within the right worker bee roaming area.

[0026] In this embodiment, the movable left partition and the movable right partition are the same as the fixed middle partition, with protrusions at both ends of their top that can be inserted into the L-shaped groove, so that the movable left partition and the movable right partition can be detachably installed into the hive box. The "movable" left partition and the "movable" right partition refer to the fact that the installation position is not fixed. The movable left partition can move left and right in the left rearing area to adjust the space of the left queen bee breeding area, and the movable right partition can move left and right in the right rearing area to adjust the space of the right queen bee breeding area.

[0027] Furthermore, an inner left cover plate 6 is provided at the top of the left queen bee breeding area, and an inner right cover plate 7 is provided at the top of the right queen bee breeding area. The widths of the left and right inner cover plates are adjustable, thus matching the left and right queen bee breeding areas that change due to the left and right movement of the movable left and right partitions.

[0028] In this embodiment, the left inner cover plate and the right inner cover plate are a tensioning mechanism, including a mother plate 61 and a daughter plate 71. The mother plate has opposing inner slides 62 on both sides, and the daughter plate is located in the slides on both sides. The stretched width of the mother plate and the daughter plate is equal to or greater than half the width of the nest box.

[0029] A super box 2 is stacked on top of the nest box, and a super box entrance 21 is provided on the lower part of the front side panel of the super box. Of course, L-shaped grooves are provided on the upper parts of both the front and rear side panels of the super box, and the super box needs to be covered with a mesh cover, a cloth cover, and a large cover 8 to achieve closure; this is a conventional arrangement in the art. This embodiment... Figure 1 The L-shaped groove of the relay box, the yarn cover, and the covering cloth are not shown in the figure.

[0030] Example 2: This example provides a method for improving the egg-laying capacity of a Chinese honeybee colony, using the apparatus of Example 1, and includes the following steps: Step 1: Transplanting and raising Chinese honeybees A colony of Chinese honeybees is transferred to the brood box. The brood box does not have the fixed central partition, movable left partition, movable right partition, inner left cover, and inner right cover installed, and the super is not stacked on top of the brood box. The order of the combs and the bee path of the Chinese honeybee colony are adjusted so that the comb containing eggs and larvae is located in the center of the brood box, capped combs are placed on both sides of the comb containing eggs and larvae, and honey combs are placed on both sides of the capped combs. Then, the inner cover, gauze cover, cloth cover, and large cover of the brood box are placed in sequence. The outer left and outer right entrances of the brood box are opened so that the worker bees of the Chinese honeybee colony can enter and exit normally to collect for food through the outer left and outer right entrances. The inner cover of the brood box in this step can be a different cover, or you can directly use the inner left cover and the inner right cover. You only need to cover part of the honeycomb of the bee colony. The purpose of covering the inner cover of the brood box is to prevent the bee colony from building extra combs upwards when it is taking in a lot of honey, which would make the gauze cover connected together and inconvenient to manage.

[0031] Step 2: Create a double-king group Once the original Chinese honeybee colony has grown to 4 or more frames in step 1, open the brood box and install the fixed partition inside to form a left and right rearing area. Leave half of the original Chinese honeybee colony's frames in the left rearing area and the other half in the right rearing area. Leave the queen bee of the original Chinese honeybee colony in either the left or right rearing area (this rearing area is called the old queen area). Half a day later, hang queen cells artificially cultivated within the original Chinese honeybee colony, naturally generated queen cells within the original Chinese honeybee colony, or mature queen cells from other Chinese honeybee colonies in either the right or left rearing area (this rearing area is called the new queen area). In this embodiment, the left rearing area is taken as the old queen colony and the right rearing area is taken as the new queen colony for illustration. That is, the queen of the original Chinese honeybee colony stays in the left rearing area and the queen cell is hung in the right rearing area. A queen excluder is installed on the outer left entrance of the left rearing area. After the new queen in the right rearing area successfully mates and lays eggs, the queen excluder on the outer left entrance is removed. The movable left partition is installed in the left breeding area to form the left queen bee breeding area and the left worker bee free-roaming area. The movable right partition is installed in the right breeding area to form the right queen bee breeding area and the right worker bee free-roaming area. All honeycombs in the left breeding area are located in the left queen bee breeding area and the side honeycombs are one single bee path away from the movable left partition. All honeycombs in the right breeding area are located in the right queen bee breeding area and the side honeycombs are one single bee path away from the movable right partition. Cover the left inner cover plate on the left queen bee breeding area, cover the right inner cover plate on the right queen bee breeding area, and cover the top of the brood box with a gauze cover, a cloth cover and a large cover, so that the left queen bee lays eggs normally in the left queen bee breeding area and the right queen bee lays eggs normally in the right queen bee breeding area. In this embodiment, a single-cell path is 6-8mm, and the standard double-cell path in the middle is 8-12mm.

[0032] Alternatively, as another implementation method in this embodiment, queen bees from other honeybee colonies that have already mated can be directly introduced into the right rearing area, without the need to install a queen excluder at the outer left entrance of the left rearing area. The queen bees from other honeybee colonies that have already mated can be confined in a queen cage in the right rearing area for half a day and then released. Afterward, the movable left and right partitions can be directly installed.

[0033] Step 3, Organize the relay box Add empty foundation frames or empty combs to the left and right queen bee breeding areas to allow the bee colonies to lay eggs until the colony strength in both areas reaches 4 combs and a large number of free-roaming worker bees appear at the inner left and inner right entrances. At this point, open the brood box and remove one queenless capped comb (with bees) from the left queen bee breeding area to the left free-roaming worker bee area, and remove one queenless capped comb (with bees) from the right queen bee breeding area to the right free-roaming worker bee area. Then, add one empty foundation frame or one empty comb to the original position in each area. Cover the left queen bee breeding area with the inner left cover plate and the right queen bee breeding area with the inner right cover plate. Cover the top of the brood box with a mesh cover, stack the super on the mesh cover, and cover the super with a cloth and a large cover to allow the queen pheromones from the left and right breeding areas to mix fully in the super. In this step, if the colony strength in the right queen bee breeding area has not yet reached the required level, the left queen bee breeding area can be operated first, or the brood combs in the left queen bee breeding area can be swapped with the empty combs in the right queen bee breeding area. The operation can be carried out simultaneously after the colony strength on both sides reaches 4 combs.

[0034] Step 4: The two queens lay eggs and reproduce. Ten days later, the newly added frames had mostly laid their eggs. Open the main cover, cover cloth, super, gauze cover, inner left cover, and inner right cover in sequence. Remove the two queenless capped frames (including the bees) from the left queen breeding area and move them, along with the bees, to the left side of the super, opposite the left worker bee roaming area. Remove the two queenless capped frames (including the bees) from the right queen breeding area and move them, along with the bees, to the right side of the super, opposite the right worker bee roaming area. Add one empty foundation frame or one empty [unclear text] to each of the left and right queen breeding areas. Next, remove the empty frames that have emerged from the left worker bee roaming area in step 3 and return them to the left queen bee breeding area. Remove the empty frames that have emerged from the right worker bee roaming area and return them to the right queen bee breeding area. Allow the left and right queen bees to lay eggs and reproduce. Cover the left and right queen bee breeding areas with the inner left cover plate and the inner right cover plate, respectively. Place a super on top of the brood box and cover the super with a gauze cover, a cloth cover, and a large cover. One day later, adjust the four frames of bees in the super to move closer to the center and leave a standard bee path. Open the super entrance. Step 5: Double Queen cycle for egg laying and reproduction Nineteen days later, the honeycombs in the left and right queen bee breeding areas have finished laying eggs, and the capped brood combs in the super have all emerged. Three queenless capped brood combs from each of the left and right queen bee breeding areas are moved to the center of the super, and the bee path is adjusted. Two of the four empty combs in the super are moved down to the left queen bee breeding area, and two to the right queen bee breeding area. One empty foundation frame or one empty honeycomb is added to each of the left and right queen bee breeding areas. The super is then stacked as described in step 4, i.e., first, the left and right inner covers are placed on the left and right queen bee breeding areas, then the super is placed on top of the brood box. Finally, a gauze cover, a cloth cover, and a large cover are placed on top of the super.

[0035] Each month, swap three queenless capped brood combs from both the left and right queen bee breeding areas with empty brood combs in the super. Specifically, swap three of the six empty brood combs in the super with the three queenless capped brood combs from the left queen bee breeding area, and swap the other three empty brood combs with the three queenless capped brood combs from the right queen bee breeding area. One week after the swap, check the super for queen cells; remove any found. During the main honey flow, directly harvest 80% of the capped honey from the brood combs in the super, and return the empty combs to the super to await the next swap.

[0036] Step 6: Overwintering Treatment When the average daytime temperature drops to 10℃, remove the super, take out the movable left and right partitions from the brood box, lift the combs from the super into the brood box, remove excess old combs and combs without honey, adjust the bee passage of the combs in the left and right rearing areas of the brood box to 13-15mm, and cover them with a gauze cover, a cloth cover, and a large cover in sequence for overwintering; after overwintering, repeat the process from step 2 to step 5 when breeding begins in the spring of the following year.

[0037] If the local temperature does not remain below 0°C, the nest box can overwinter without insulation; if the local temperature remains below 0°C for an extended period, the nest box can be simply wrapped for overwintering.

[0038] Step 7, Change King In step 5, remove the queen bee from the left queen bee breeding area / right queen bee breeding area, remove the movable left partition / movable right partition, and lift two combs (including bees) from the super to the left / right breeding area. Hang queen cells on the combs in the left / right breeding area, cover the left / right breeding area with the inner left cover / inner right cover to seal it, adjust the position of the four combs in the super to align vertically with the four combs in the right / left queen bee breeding area, close the super entrance, and install a queen excluder on the outer right / outer left entrance. After the virgin queens in the left / right breeding area mate and lay eggs, remove the queen excluder. Remove the movable right partition / movable left partition from the right / left breeding area. Take two combs (including bees) from the super and transfer them to the right / left breeding area. Shake the remaining two combs into the right / left breeding area and remove them. Remove the inner left cover / inner right cover. Cover the brood box with a mesh cover, then place the super on top of the mesh cover. Cover the super with a cloth and a large cover to allow the left and right queen pheromones to mix inside the super. One day later, install the movable left partition in the left rearing area and the movable right partition in the right rearing area. Adjust the honeycomb and bee passage so that there are 4 honeycomb and a left queen bee in the left queen bee breeding area, 2 honeycomb in the left worker bee roaming area, 4 honeycomb and a right queen bee in the right queen bee breeding area, and 2 honeycomb in the right worker bee roaming area. Cover the left queen bee breeding area with the inner left cover plate and the right queen bee breeding area with the inner right cover plate. Then, adjust the honeycomb... Cover the hive with a mesh cover, a cloth cover, and a large cover in sequence. The left and right queen bees lay eggs and reproduce normally. One day later, open the large cover, cloth cover, super, mesh cover, inner left cover, and inner right cover in sequence. Move the two frames of bees and bees from the left worker bee's free-roaming area to the upper and lower left side of the super. Move the two frames of bees and bees from the right worker bee's free-roaming area to the upper and lower right side of the super. One day later, adjust the four frames of bees in the super to move them closer to the center and leave a standard bee path. Open the super entrance. Then repeat step 5.

[0039] When both the left and right breeding areas need to be replaced, if the method of hanging the king platform in step 7 is used to replace the king, the left and right breeding areas cannot be replaced at the same time. The replacement can only be done on one side first, and then the replacement can begin on the other side.

[0040] As another implementation method in this embodiment, step 7 is as follows: a queen bee that has already mated in another Chinese honeybee colony is used to replace the queen bee. The queen bee in the left or right breeding area is removed, and the new queen bee is placed in the left or right breeding area in a queen cage that worker bees cannot enter. The new queen bee is released from the queen cage after half a day.

[0041] If using a queen bee from another bee colony that has already mated, the queen can be replaced simultaneously in both the left and right rearing areas. This method does not require adjusting the combs. After replacing the queen, simply repeat step 5, which involves exchanging combs between the brood box and the super box monthly.

[0042] The device and method in this embodiment enable year-round co-hive rearing of two queen bees in the same hive; it solves the problem of queen loss due to mutual interference in double-queen colonies; the resulting bee colonies are strong, resilient, and less prone to disease. Furthermore, because this invention enables year-round co-hive rearing of two queens, the hive temperature is higher than that of a single-queen colony, eliminating the need for additional insulation in winter and ensuring stable hive temperature; spring-breeding colonies lay more eggs and grow rapidly. The rearing areas are relatively independent and concentrated; the left and right rearing areas are physically separated but still concentrated within the same hive. The left queen pheromone from the left queen's breeding area enters the super through the inner left entrance and the left worker bee swimming area, while the right queen pheromone from the right queen's breeding area enters the super through the right entrance and the right worker bee swimming area. The left and right queen pheromones mix thoroughly in the super, ensuring that worker bees in the left and right rearing areas do not interfere with each other, achieving both independence and concentration. Furthermore, the comb replacement and management are carried out approximately once a month, maintaining warmth and moisture, which aligns with the biological characteristics of Chinese honeybees, which prefer warm and quiet environments. After the comb replacement, there are more empty cells, shortening the path the queen needs to crawl when laying eggs and reducing the time the queen spends searching for empty cells. Moreover, the device and method in this embodiment saves the floor space required for placing beehives, with one hive equivalent to two colonies. This method also allows for the storage of extra queens for future needs; if two queens exist in one colony, one queen can be removed directly from other colonies without causing queen loss or worker bee egg-laying.

[0043] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions 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 to it without departing from the scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A device for improving the egg-laying capacity of a Chinese honeybee colony, comprising a brood box, characterized in that: The lower left and right sides of the front side panel of the nest box are respectively provided with an outer left nest entrance and an outer right nest entrance. A fixed middle partition is provided in the middle of the nest box, which divides the nest box into a left breeding area and a right breeding area. A movable left partition is provided in the left rearing area, dividing the left rearing area into a left queen bee breeding area located between the fixed middle partition and the movable left partition, and a left worker bee free-roaming area located between the movable left partition and the left side panel. An inner left hive entrance is also provided at the lower part of the movable left partition. A movable right partition is provided in the right rearing area, dividing the right rearing area into a right queen bee breeding area located between the fixed middle partition and the movable right partition, and a right worker bee free-roaming area located between the movable right partition and the right side panel. An inner right hive entrance is also provided at the lower part of the movable right partition. The outer left hive entrance is located in the left worker bee free-roaming area, and the outer right hive entrance is located in the right worker bee free-roaming area. An inner left cover plate is provided on the top of the left queen bee breeding area, and an inner right cover plate is provided on the top of the right queen bee breeding area; a super is also stacked on top of the brood box, and a super entrance is provided on the lower part of the front side panel of the super. The widths of the left inner cover plate and the right inner cover plate are adjustable; the left inner cover plate and the right inner cover plate are tensioning mechanisms, including a mother plate and a daughter plate, with opposing inner slides on both sides of the mother plate, and the daughter plate located on both sides of the inner slides, and the stretched width of the mother plate and the daughter plate is equal to or greater than half the width of the nest box. The left queen pheromone in the left queen bee breeding area enters the super through the inner left hive entrance and the left worker bee swimming area, and the right queen pheromone in the right queen bee breeding area enters the super through the right hive entrance and the right worker bee swimming area. The left queen pheromone and the right queen pheromone mix in the super, and the fixed partition prevents the queen bee and worker bees in the left queen bee breeding area and the right queen bee breeding area from communicating with each other.

2. A method for improving the egg-laying capacity of a Chinese honeybee colony, using the apparatus described in claim 1, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: Transplanting and Cultivating Chinese Honeybees A colony of Chinese honeybees is transferred to the brood box. The brood box does not have the fixed central partition, movable left partition, movable right partition, inner left cover, and inner right cover installed, and the super is not stacked on top of the brood box. The order of the combs and the bee path of the Chinese honeybee colony are adjusted so that the comb containing eggs and larvae is located in the center of the brood box, capped combs are placed on both sides of the comb containing eggs and larvae, and honey combs are placed on both sides of the capped combs. Then, the inner cover, gauze cover, cloth cover, and large cover of the brood box are placed in sequence. The outer left and outer right entrances of the brood box are opened so that the worker bees of the Chinese honeybee colony can enter and exit normally to collect for food through the outer left and outer right entrances. Step 2: Create a double-king group Once the original Chinese honeybee colony has grown to 4 or more frames in step 1, open the brood box and install the fixed partition inside the brood box to form a left and right rearing area. Leave half of the original Chinese honeybee colony's frames in the left rearing area and the other half in the right rearing area. Leave the queen bee of the original Chinese honeybee colony in the left / right rearing area. Half a day later, hang artificially cultivated queen cells from the original Chinese honeybee colony, naturally generated queen cells from the original Chinese honeybee colony, or mature queen cells from other Chinese honeybee colonies in the right / left rearing area. Install a queen excluder on the outer left entrance / outer right entrance of the left / right breeding area. After the new queen in the right / left breeding area successfully mates and lays eggs, remove the queen excluder from the outer left / outer right entrance. The movable left partition is installed in the left breeding area to form the left queen bee breeding area and the left worker bee free-roaming area. The movable right partition is installed in the right breeding area to form the right queen bee breeding area and the right worker bee free-roaming area. All honeycombs in the left breeding area are located in the left queen bee breeding area and the side honeycombs are one single bee path away from the movable left partition. All honeycombs in the right breeding area are located in the right queen bee breeding area and the side honeycombs are one single bee path away from the movable right partition. Cover the left inner cover plate on the left queen bee breeding area, cover the right inner cover plate on the right queen bee breeding area, and cover the top of the brood box with a gauze cover, a cloth cover and a large cover, so that the left queen bee lays eggs normally in the left queen bee breeding area and the right queen bee lays eggs normally in the right queen bee breeding area. Step 3, Organize the relay box Add empty foundation frames or empty combs to the left and right queen bee breeding areas to allow the bee colonies to lay eggs until the colony strength in both areas reaches 4 combs and worker bees appear at the inner left and inner right entrances. At this point, open the brood box and move one queenless capped comb (with bees) from the left queen bee breeding area to the left worker bee free-roaming area, and move one queenless capped comb (with bees) from the right queen bee breeding area to the right worker bee free-roaming area. Then, add one empty foundation frame or one empty comb to the original position in each area. Cover the left queen bee breeding area with the inner left cover plate and the right queen bee breeding area with the inner right cover plate. Cover the top of the brood box with a mesh cover, stack the super on the mesh cover, and cover the super with a cloth and a large cover to allow the queen pheromones from the left and right breeding areas to mix fully in the super. Step 4: The two queens lay eggs and reproduce. Ten days later, open the main cover, cover cloth, super, mesh cover, inner left cover, and inner right cover in sequence. Lift the two queenless capped frames (including the bees) from the left queen breeding area to the left side of the super, opposite the left worker bee roaming area. Lift the two queenless capped frames (including the bees) from the right queen breeding area to the right side of the super, opposite the right worker bee roaming area. Add one empty foundation frame or one empty comb to each of the left and right queen breeding areas. Then, repeat the steps...

3. Empty frames that have emerged from the left worker bee roaming area are brought back to the left queen bee breeding area, and empty frames that have emerged from the right worker bee roaming area are brought back to the right queen bee breeding area. The left and right queen bees are allowed to lay eggs and reproduce. The left and right queen bee breeding areas are covered with the inner left cover plate and the right inner cover plate, respectively. A super is placed on the brood box, and a gauze cover, a cloth cover, and a large cover are placed on the super. One day later, the four frames of bees in the super are adjusted to move closer to the center and leave a standard bee path. The entrance of the super is then opened. Step 5: Double Queen cycle for egg laying and reproduction Nineteen days later, the honeycombs in the left and right queen bee breeding areas have completed egg laying, and the capped brood combs in the super have all emerged. Three queenless capped brood combs from each of the left and right queen bee breeding areas are moved to the center of the super, and the bee path is adjusted. Two of the four empty combs in the super are moved down to the left queen bee breeding area, and two to the right queen bee breeding area. One empty foundation frame or one empty honeycomb is added to each of the left and right queen bee breeding areas. The super is then stacked as described in step 4. Every month, swap three queenless capped combs from each of the left and right queen bee breeding areas with the empty combs in the super. One week after the swap, check the super for queen cells and remove any queen cells found.

3. The method for improving the egg-laying capacity of honeybee colonies as described in claim 2, characterized in that: In step 2, queen bees that have mated with other Chinese honeybee colonies are directly introduced into the right / left breeding area, and there is no need to install queen excluders at the outer left / outer right entrance of the left / right breeding area.

4. The method for improving the egg-laying capacity of a Chinese honeybee colony as described in claim 2, characterized in that: In step 5, during the peak honey flow, 80% of the capped honey in the combs in the super is directly extracted, and the empty combs that have been extracted are returned to the super to await the next exchange.

5. The method for improving the egg-laying capacity of a Chinese honeybee colony as described in claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes step 6, overwintering treatment. When the average daytime temperature drops to 10℃, remove the super, take out the movable left and right partitions from the brood box, lift the combs from the super into the brood box, remove excess old combs and combs without honey, adjust the bee passage of the combs in the left and right rearing areas of the brood box to 13-15mm, and cover them with a gauze cover, a cloth cover, and a large cover in sequence for overwintering; after overwintering, repeat the process from step 2 to step 5 when breeding begins in the spring of the following year.

6. The method for improving the egg-laying capacity of a Chinese honeybee colony as described in claim 2 or 5, characterized in that: It also includes step 7, changing the king. In step 5, remove the queen bee from the left queen bee breeding area / right queen bee breeding area, remove the movable left partition / movable right partition, and lift two combs (including bees) from the super to the left / right breeding area. Hang queen cells on the combs in the left / right breeding area, cover the left / right breeding area with the inner left cover / inner right cover to seal it, adjust the position of the four combs in the super to align vertically with the four combs in the right / left queen bee breeding area, close the super entrance, and install a queen excluder on the outer right / outer left entrance. After the virgin queens in the left / right breeding area mate and lay eggs, remove the queen excluder. Remove the movable right partition / movable left partition from the right / left breeding area. Take two combs (including bees) from the super and transfer them to the right / left breeding area. Shake the remaining two combs into the right / left breeding area and remove them. Remove the inner left cover / inner right cover. Cover the brood box with a mesh cover, then place the super on top of the mesh cover. Cover the super with a cloth and a large cover to allow the left and right queen pheromones to mix inside the super. One day later, install the movable left partition in the left rearing area and the movable right partition in the right rearing area. Adjust the honeycomb and bee passage so that there are 4 honeycomb and a left queen bee in the left queen bee breeding area, 2 honeycomb in the left worker bee roaming area, 4 honeycomb and a right queen bee in the right queen bee breeding area, and 2 honeycomb in the right worker bee roaming area. Cover the left queen bee breeding area with the inner left cover plate and the right queen bee breeding area with the inner right cover plate. Then... Cover the hive box with a mesh cover, a cloth cover, and a large cover in sequence. The left and right queen bees lay eggs and reproduce normally. One day later, open the large cover, cloth cover, super, mesh cover, inner left cover, and inner right cover in sequence. Move the two frames of bees and the two frames in the left worker bee swimming area to the upper and lower positions on the left side of the super. Move the two frames of bees and the two frames in the right worker bee swimming area to the upper and lower positions on the right side of the super. One day later, adjust the four frames of bees in the super to move them closer to the center and leave a standard bee path. Open the hive entrance of the super. Then repeat step 5.

7. The method for improving the egg-laying capacity of a Chinese honeybee colony as described in claim 2 or 5, characterized in that: It also includes step 7, changing the king. In step 5, the queen bee in the left / right breeding area is removed, and the queen bee in other Chinese honeybee colonies that has completed mating is placed in a queen cage that worker bees cannot enter and then placed in the left / right breeding area where the original queen bee has been removed. Half a day later, the new queen bee is released from the queen cage. After that, the step of exchanging the combs in the brood box and super box every month in step 5 is directly repeated.

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