Parasite control beehive accessory

Abstract

A beehive accessory (1) for parasite control, comprising a frame (11) and an inner surface (12), the frame forming the stacking element of the accessory on a beehive super, and the inner surface (12) forming a habitat support for predators of bee parasites. It is particularly used to accommodate the natural habitat of pseudoscorpions for Varroa mite control.

Description

Title of the invention: Beehive accessory for parasite control

[0001] The invention relates to a beehive accessory for the control of parasites, in particular for the control of Varroa of the bee.

[0002] To combat parasites such as Varroa, which is the primary health problem in beekeeping, beekeepers primarily use chemical products.

[0003] However, in the context of sustainable development, it is desirable to use as few chemicals as possible, especially in beekeeping, since bees play an essential role in the chain of elements that constitute eco-responsible agriculture.

[0004] The invention therefore aims to provide an alternative solution to chemical products for combating parasites in a beehive, in particular against Varroa.

[0005] According to the invention, the beehive accessory for parasite control comprises a frame and an inner surface, the frame constituting the stacking element of the accessory (on an upper part of a hive body, such as a hive super), and the inner surface constituting a habitat support for predators of bee parasites, in particular for pseudoscorpions that prey on Varroa mites. The base is intended, in particular, to receive a natural bedding material such as moss.

[0006] Thus, the beehive accessory is designed to accommodate predators such as pseudoscorpions, which have their habitat directly within the hive to feed on parasites harmful to bees, while coexisting with the bees. It is no longer necessary to disperse chemicals within the hive to destroy these parasites. Furthermore, the accessory attaches directly to a beehive super and covers its entire surface, providing a substantial habitat to house a sufficient number of predators for effective predation.

[0007] Preferably, the passenger compartment is made of plastic. Preferably, the plastic material is molded and is made of polypropylene (PP) or high-density polyethylene (HDPE), including recycled plastic. The plastic material allows for the easy manufacture of all the complex-shaped passenger compartment parts in large quantities. Furthermore, the passenger compartment can be easily cleaned.

[0008] In the following description, the term "height", the qualifiers "upper", "lower", "top" and "bottom" of an element of the accessory are used in the context of a stacked installation of the accessory on a hive body.

[0009] According to one feature, the inner surface has through holes whose cross-section is smaller than the size of a bee and adapted to the size of predators of bee parasites, in particular holes having a cross-section between 4 and 10 mm (so as to allow only useful predators to pass through without the bees being able to access the housing of these predators).

[0010] According to a preferred embodiment, the beehive accessory comprises two plates facing each other, one above the other and spaced apart, preferably by at least 2 mm, each of the plates having through holes with a cross-section smaller than the size of a bee and adapted to the size of predators of bee parasites.

[0011] According to one feature, the beehive accessory is removable from the other constituent parts of a beehive such as a super and a feeder.

[0012] According to one feature, the frame includes male or female removable fixing forms (for cooperation with mutual cooperation forms of a top or bottom piece according to a stacking), in particular for fixing directly by clipping onto the bottom of a feeder.

[0013] According to one feature, the hive accessory has one or more passages, the cross-section of each of which is adapted to the passage size of a bee, the passages extending according to the thickness of the housing and having a closed peripheral wall (the bees can pass directly through the housing from the super to a feeder without accessing the inside of the hive accessory).

[0014] According to one feature, the beehive accessory is used to accommodate the natural habitat of pseudoscorpions in order to combat Varroa, the inner surface providing bedding for the pseudoscorpions.

[0015] The invention is therefore also related to a use of the aforementioned beehive accessory of the invention to accommodate the natural habitat of pseudoscorpions in order to combat Varroa, the inner surface accommodating a bedding for the pseudoscorpions.

[0016] The invention also relates to an assembly comprising a beehive accessory for parasite control as described above and a feeder arranged on said beehive accessory, preferably the beehive accessory being attached to the feeder by clipping the frame onto the underside of the feeder. The assembly is attached in particular to a so-called upper part of a beehive body, such as a super, by securing the feeder with added fastening means such as clip-on pieces and / or beehive-fixing type pieces, the beehive accessory forming the housing being sandwiched between the feeder and the super. The feeder is made of plastic and has molded shapes on its periphery, either protruding or hollow, which are used for fixing parts of the type fixed-elements.

[0017] According to one feature, the feeder forms a tray which has a solid bottom, at least one closable bore in its bottom and at least one chimney projecting from the bottom without exceeding the height of the tray, preferably the feeder having a partition separating the tray widthwise into two spaces and having in each of the spaces a bore and a chimney, and the passages of the hive accessory cooperate with the bore(s) and the chimney(s) of the feeder when the feeder is coupled to the accessory, to form conduits with closed peripheral walls, which allows the bees to pass from the super to the feeder without having access to the pseudoscorpion habitat.

[0018] Finally, the invention relates to a beehive comprising the aforementioned beehive accessory of the invention or the aforementioned assembly of the invention.

[0019] The present invention is now described by means of purely illustrative and in no way limiting examples of the scope of the invention, and from the accompanying illustrations, in which: - [Fig.1] represents a top perspective view of a preferred example of a beehive accessory according to the invention for constituting a habitat for predators of bee parasites. - [Fig.2] represents a bottom view of the accessory of [Fig.1]. - [Fig.3] is a side view of the accessory in [Fig.1]. - [[Fig.4]] is a perspective view of a hive feeder which is stackable on the hive accessory of [Fig.1].

[0020] The beehive accessory 1 illustrated in [Fig. 1] constitutes a habitat for predators such as pseudoscorpions. It is used in particular to combat Varroa mites.

[0021] Preferably, the housing 1 is made of plastic material, such as PP or HDPE.

[0022] The housing 1 is of dimensions adapted to be stackable on an upper part of a beehive body such as a beehive super.

[0023] The cabin 1 forms a platform 10 with an area equal to that of the riser 4.

[0024] The housing 1 or the platform 10 has a solid frame 11 and an inner surface 12 with a grid to provide a multitude of through openings 13.

[0025] The inner surface 12 has a multitude of openings 13 which are through-holes depending on the thickness of the tray. Thus, the pseudoscorpions can easily pass from their housing 1 to the inside of the super 4 which is below and where the bees are located.

[0026] The entire inner surface 12 is not necessarily perforated and includes solid parts for the rigidity of the tray.

[0027] The tray 10 has an upper face 10A ([Fig. 1]) and a lower face 10B ([Fig. 2]). The upper face 10A is the face on which a natural bedding material for the pseudoscorpion, such as moss, is intended to be placed. The lower face 10B is the face intended to be opposite the honey super.

[0028] The platform 10 may consist of only one plate. However, in the preferred example of the passenger compartment 1 shown in [Fig. 1], the platform 10 comprises two plates facing each other, spaced 14A and 14B apart, referred to as the upper plate and the lower plate. The upper plate 14A corresponds to the upper face 10A of the passenger compartment and the lower plate 14B corresponds to the lower face 10B of the passenger compartment.

[0029] The upper plate 14A has through holes 13. The lower plate 14B also has through holes 13 ([Fig. 2]) for the passage of pseudoscorpions. The holes 13 in both plates 14A and 14B have a cross-section significantly smaller than the size of a bee so that it cannot enter through them, and a cross-section larger than the pseudoscorpions to allow them to pass through. In particular, the holes 13 have a cross-section between 4 mm and 10 mm.

[0030] The upper plate 14A serves as bedding for the pseudoscorpions. The spacing between the two plates is at least 2 mm, which raises the bedding above the lower face 10B of the hive body. Thus, if any elements of the bedding tend to protrude from the holes 13 through the upper plate 14A and downwards, the intervening space prevents these protruding elements from reaching the lower plate 14B, against which the bees could come into direct contact. Bees that reach the lower plate (which is in direct contact with the hive body – the super – where the bees are working) will not risk dislodging the bedding on the upper plate.

[0031] The platform 10 includes means for fixing and / or securing with an upper part such as a feeder and / or a lower part such as the super of a beehive.

[0032] The tray 10, in particular the upper plate 14A, includes removable fixing means 15 with a top piece, such as a feeder 2. The removable fixing means 15 are on the frame 11 of the upper face 10A and form, for example, male (or female) cooperation organs which are intended to cooperate by clipping with female (or male) forms 20 on the perimeter of the feeder and opposite the male forms of the tray.

[0033] Preferably, the platform 10, in particular the upper plate 14A, further includes in the corners male centering shapes 16 to position and wedge more quickly the feeder 2 which has female shapes 20' when it is stacked on the housing 1.

[0034] Furthermore, the housing 1, in particular the platform 10, comprises one, preferably two spaced pairs of passages 17 and 18 which are open at each of their upper and lower ends and which extend according to the thickness of the plate. The passages 17 and 18 are arranged so as to be opposite bores 21 and chimneys 22 of the feeder 2 when the feeder 2 is stacked on the platform 10.

[0035] When the feeder 2 is stacked on the tray 10, the passages 17 and 18 are butted up to the bores 21 and chimneys 22. The passages 17 and 18 form cylinders with a closed peripheral wall according to the thickness of the tray, in particular between the two lower plates 14B and upper plate 14A so that the bee passes through these passages through the housing 1 from the super 4 directly to the feeder 2 without having access to the inside of the tray 10, i.e. without having access to the housing of the pseudoscorpions.

[0036] As shown in [Fig. 4], the feeder 2 forms a tray with a surface area equivalent to that of the riser 4 and the housing 1, and has a stackable frame. The feeder 2 has, in a solid base 23, at least one bore 21, preferably including a breakable cover. When the cover is removed and the bore 21 is not in use, said bore 21 can be closed by a plug. The bore 21 passes through the base of the tray and opens on the underside of the feeder opposite the opening 17 of the housing 1 in the installed position. The bore 21 is thus accessible to the bees from inside the super 4. If the feeding product is solid, it will be deposited on the bottom 23 and the bees will pass through the bore 17. Advantageously, the feeder 2 also includes the chimney 22 forming a conduit through the bottom 23 and rising in height relative to the bottom 23 without exceeding the height of the tray.Chimney 22 provides another passage for the bees; this chimney allows a liquid product to be deposited in the bottom 23 of the feeder, the bore 21 having to be previously sealed with a plug. When the feeder product is solid, a cap closes chimney 22, while the bees pass through bore 21. Preferably, the feeder 2 has a partition 24 to create two feeding compartments 24A and 24B, each containing a closable bore 21 and a chimney 22, thus allowing two colonies to be fed when the hive is divided into two nucs. In particular, each of the compartments 24A and 24B can hold three liters of liquid feed.

Claims

Demands

1. A beehive accessory (1) for controlling parasites comprising a frame (11) and an inner surface (12), the frame constituting the stacking element of the accessory, and the inner surface (12) constituting a habitat support for predators of bee parasites, in particular for pseudoscorpions that prey on Varroa.

2. A beehive accessory for controlling parasites according to claim 1, characterized in that the inner surface (12) has through holes (13) whose cross-section is less than the size of a bee and adapted to the size of predators of bee parasites, in particular the holes having a cross-section between 4 and 10 mm.

3. A beehive accessory for controlling parasites according to claim 2, characterized in that it comprises two plates (14A, 14B) facing each other one above the other and spaced apart, preferably by at least 2 mm, each of the plates having through holes (13) of a cross-section smaller than the size of a bee and adapted to the size of predators of bee parasites.

4. A beehive accessory for controlling parasites according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the frame (11) has male (15) or female removable attachment forms, in particular for attaching directly by clipping onto the underside of a feeder (8).

5. A beehive accessory for controlling parasites according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises one or more passages (17, 18) the cross-section of each of which is adapted to the passage size of a bee, the passages extending according to the thickness of the housing and having a closed peripheral wall.

6. A beehive accessory for controlling parasites according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made of plastic, preferably manufactured by molding and preferably is made of PP or HDPE, including recycled plastic material.

7. A beehive accessory for pest control according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is used to accommodate the natural habitat of pseudoscorpions of in order to combat Varroa, the inner surface (12) accommodates a bedding for pseudoscorpions.

8. Assembly comprising a beehive accessory (1) for controlling parasites according to any one of the preceding claims and a feeder (2) which is arranged on said beehive accessory, preferably the beehive accessory being attached to the feeder by clipping the frame (11) onto the underside of the feeder.

9. Assembly according to the preceding claim and according to claim 5, characterized in that the feeder (2) forms a tray which has a solid bottom (23), at least one bore (21) which can be closed at its bottom and at least one chimney (22) projecting from the bottom (23) without exceeding the height of the tray, preferably the feeder having a partition (23) separating the tray in the width direction into two spaces (24A, 24B) and having in each of the spaces a bore (21) and a chimney (22), and in that the passages (17, 18) cooperate with the bore(s) (21) and the chimney(s) (22) of the feeder (2) when the feeder is coupled to the accessory (1), to constitute conduits with a closed peripheral wall.

10. Hive comprising an accessory according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or comprising an assembly according to claim 8 or 9.