Trapping cage for the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax)

Abstract

The device is a trap for yellow-legged hornets. It is placed against the hive entrance. The bees pass through it easily. The hornets readily enter the common chamber where the lack of landmarks and a privileged passage guide them towards the isolation chamber where they are retained. Multiple positioning options are available for the shield (4.6) and the blades [4.9], allowing for a more or less open entrance, chosen according to the level of activity of the bee colony as well as the position of the hive within the apiary. Removing the hornets is facilitated by the sufficient incline of the floor, which induces a slide into the lower section where access is provided. The device is assembled from panels, allowing it to be disassembled and stored flat during the off-season. Figure to be published for the summary: [Fig 4]

Description

Title of the invention: Trapping cage for the Asian hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax

[0001] The present invention relates to a beehive protection and capture device for the hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax (commonly called yellow-legged hornet, abbreviated FPJ) using a cage placed against the entrance of the hive which serves as a passage for the bees and retains the FPJs which enter it.

[0002] The invention relates to the technical field of beehive protection devices. Technical field of the invention

[0003] The European honeybee is a recent predator of the honeybee. It arrived accidentally in France in 2004 and has colonized its territory and beyond in less than 20 years. It is one of the causes of bee colony mortality through its predation and the paralysis caused by its presence in front of the hives. Previous technique

[0004] Today, beekeepers are facing significant mortality in their bee colonies, one of the main scourges being the European corn borer (ECB), a formidable bee killer. The ECB attacks bees, notably by hovering at the entrance of hives, often seizing them on their return journey, weighed down with pollen and nectar. It can also, under the benefit of low temperatures, enter hives as soon as the bees have clustered together.

[0005] The FPJ can be trapped in different ways from spring to autumn with sweet or protein baits depending on the season in boxes equipped with cones and calibrated passages which, in principle, retain only insects of its size which venture into them.

[0006] The anti-hornet tent is also a device used on the ground in front of the hive. The FPJ enters, grabs a bee and then immediately climbs up, finding itself prevented from exiting in the upper part, which is only covered with wire mesh of a section smaller than its body.

[0007] There remain the traps attached to the hives. Unlike those equipped with bait, and based on the same principle as the anti-hornet tent, the attractant is the bee colony in its hive. The European hornet is attracted by the movement of the bees and the odors they emit. It should be noted that the coexistence of traps of different types does not hinder or reduce the number of European hornets captured. a. The Japanese cage described in document 1, widely known before 1973, is still manufactured and sold today. It is a cage carried by the hive and placed against its entrance to capture Asian hornets (Vespa mandarinia) while allowing bees to pass freely. It is possible to use the cage as described for capturing the FPJ, but it is not optimized because it is designed to capture the Asian hornet (Vespa mandarinia). Figure 1 is a sketch from this scientific article showing its operation. b. The cage described in patent EP3878276A1 is more recent but operates on the same principles. The main difference lies in the complex system devised to confine the FPJ within an isolated volume and the stratagems used to keep it alive for commercial purposes.

[0008] These traps are not very effective at capturing the FPJ, which may preclude their use for protecting beehives. The device according to the invention overcomes this drawback. Technical problem

[0009] The hornet tent has no bottom. The ground is the surface that closes off the part low. The diversity of ground colours, including grass and tent fixing methods, provides visual cues for FPJs, allowing them to exit through the entrance without being captured.

[0010] When a FPJ (Flying Bee) captures a bee inside the hornet trap, it climbs near the mesh that closes off the upper section and then flies in all directions. During its exploration, it may release its prey, but more observant individuals may also find their way back to the exit in the lower section. No system is provided to guide the FPJ towards a trap.

[0011] The cage described in document 1 is equipped with one or more cones numbered 5 and visible in the drawing [Fig. 1]. The distance between these and the front part of the cage, composed of wire mesh and a separating floor, induces an additional search time by the FPJ to reach volume 6.

[0012] The carcasses of FPJ emit an unpleasant odor. The cleaning operation can be made difficult in the presence of trapped and still-living FPJs. The front-mounted cages do not allow for the partial removal of dead and dying hornets without potentially releasing active hornets.

[0013] The anti-hornet tent is not equipped with protection to prevent FPJs to enter the hive. In this case, the use of a removable hornet-proof entrance is necessary, especially when the temperature is low. The bees gather around their queen, thus abandoning the hive entrance. However, the drawback of such a reduction in the hive entrance during periods of activity is the obstruction of movement caused by the guard bees.

[0014] The adaptive behavior of the FPJ allows it to quickly thwart any trapping device whose strategy does not evolve.

[0015] The cages placed in front of the hives as described have the upper part completely or partially composed of walls allowing light to pass through. ambient. This stratagem prevents the FPJ from focusing its attention solely on the passage to the detention room.

[0016] Traps and filter boxes have in common the exit of bees through calibrated orifices too easily accessible by FPJs which capture them during the crossing of these restrictions.

[0017] The queen can lay drone eggs until summer. The calibrated anti-hornet openings do not allow the passage of their larger bodies.

[0018] Patent EP4108080A1 describes a filter box made from a set of blanks without trapping. Technical solution

[0019] The device [Fig. 2] is a cage attached to the hive [2.1]. It exploits the attraction exerted by the bee colony on the FPJs to trap them. It has a front entrance [2.3] giving access to a space common to the bees and the FPJs. This common chamber [2.5] has a rear exit [2.2] against the hive, allowing the bees to access it by passing behind a screen [2.4]. A selective passage [2.7] at the top of the common chamber leads to a second volume called the isolation chamber [2.8] where the FPJs are retained. The bees can leave the common chamber and the isolation chamber by passing through the queen excluder [2.6].

[0020] The device uses a visual trick [Fig.3]. From the outside, the FPJs and the bees see a cage entrance enlarged by the view of the bottom blades [3.1] on the edge, but once inside, the FPJs observe the blades across their width, giving the image of a closed bottom.

[0021] It is important not to let the FPJ wander too long in the common chamber of the device, otherwise it will escape through the entrance. A transparent reducing passage [2.7] located above the entrance allows the FPJ to reach the isolation chamber where it is permanently imprisoned. It is positioned against the queen excluder [2.6]. Together with the queen excluder, it forms the brightest part of the common chamber. This stratagem directs the FPJ towards the upper front part of the common chamber near the transparent reducing passage, greatly reducing its wandering.

[0022] The isolation chamber of the device has an inclined floor designed so that dead and dying FPJs slide towards a low stop, visible from above, where they can be easily removed. An angle greater than 31° is required to observe their movement.

[0023] The blocking of the hive entrance by guard bees is exacerbated by the reduction of access through the hornet-proof door. To remedy this defect, for example in patent EP4108080A1, the described filter box is equipped with grids located away from the hive entrance. The guard bees position themselves at this point and clear the passage, facilitating movement. The device uses another means to avoid Block the hive entrance. This acts as a screen. The guard bees cannot see the European hornets flying into the common chamber and consequently do not congregate at the entrance to filter their movement. This screen also serves as a hornet screen. It is placed between the screen and the hive entrance and prevents European hornets from entering when the guard bees retreat inside as soon as the temperature drops.

[0024] The device offers several cage entry forms [Fig.7]. This scalability thwarts the adaptive behavior of the FPJ with 4 possible shield positions [4.6] and 2 for each of the blades [4.9].

[0025] The common chamber of the device is of homogeneous colour, thus preventing reference points from being found, and masks are judiciously placed to attenuate ambient light and favor the passage of the FPJ into the voting booth.

[0026] The device is partially covered on the front and above by means, called masks, which keep the FPJs, flying in hover, away from the bees while they pass through the queen excluder. Nets can advantageously complement or replace the masks.

[0027] The device includes closable passages on the screen allowing free movement of drones and evacuation of waste.

[0028] The filter box described in patent EP4108080A1 can be stored flat but does not allow for the trapping of FPJs. The device is an FPJ capture system composed of a set of blanks that can be stored flat outside the trapping season.

[0029] The beehive entrance protection device, in particular used to combat predation of bees by the yellow-legged hornet, comprising a cage whose unfolded dimensions are 800mm high and 1200mm wide, i.e., that of a standard transport pallet onto which other elements are attached: - an access hatch to a retention chamber above a common room; - a hatch for extracting FPJ corpses; - a shield and three blades; - an anti-hornet privacy screen; - a queen excluder; - two upper masks and one lower mask; - a passage with a transparent constriction between the common room and the detention room; - locking keys for connecting the elements together.

[0030] The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the common chamber further comprises: - an optical decoy masking the entrance to the cage once the FPJ is inside; - a base made with tilting blades.

[0031] The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the passage with constriction is transparent and in contact with a queen grid and located between the highest part of the common chamber and the retention chamber.

[0032] The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the floor of the retention chamber is inclined by more than 31° to induce the sliding of the FPJ corpses towards an FPJ corpse extraction hatch reserved for this purpose.

[0033] The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the anti-hornet screen is a screen preventing the guard bees from monitoring the immediate surroundings, from the entrance of the hive and is equipped with a removable anti-hornet grid allowing only the movement of bees.

[0034] The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the interior of the common chamber is made of plastic material and of homogeneous color. Summary of the invention

[0035] The device is a trap for yellow-legged hornets. It is placed against the entrance of the hive. The bees pass through it easily. The hornets readily enter the common chamber where the lack of landmarks and a privileged passage guide them towards the isolation chamber where they are retained. The positioning options for the shield (4.6) and the blades [4.9] are numerous, allowing for a more or less open entrance, chosen according to the level of activity of the bee colony as well as the position of the hive within the apiary. Removing the hornets is facilitated by the sufficient incline of the floor, which induces a slide into the lower section where access is provided. The device is an assembly of blanks, allowing it to be disassembled and stored flat when not in use. Brief description of the drawings

[0036] The device shown in [Fig. 4] and [Fig. 5] is a cage (4.1) fixed against the entrance of the hive (4.2). It is composed of two superimposed volumes: the isolation chamber (5.2) in the upper part and the common chamber in the lower part (5.1). They are connected by a transparent constricted passage (5.3). The bottom of the rear part of the cage serves as the entrance to the hive and acts as a screen (5.5). Blades (4.9) and the screen (5.5) form the bottom of the device. The front face consists of a queen excluder in the upper part (4.3) supporting the two upper (4.4) and lower (4.5) masks and the shield (4.6). The entrance common to the bees and hornets is in the lower part (5.4). An access hatch (4.7) is located in the upper part of the isolation chamber (5.2). Anchor points (4.8) (5.6) are provided in the cage (4.1) and in the access hatch (4.7) for the possible attachment of a net to keep the FPJs away. A hatch (5.7) allows access to the corpses of the FPJ in the lower part of the voting booth (5.2). Description of the implementation methods

[0037] All the elements composing the device, apart from the strap for holding the cage on the hive and the grids, preferably come from a single sheet of extruded cellular plastic [Fig.6] with a thickness of 3.5mm and a minimum dimension of 1600x1200mm.

[0038] The first manufacturing step is to provide the partially pre-cut elements in 2 sheets of 800x1200mm. This is the standard size for freight transport pallets. The device can be delivered and stored in this state.

[0039] The main method of assembling the elements is carried out by folding, interlocking (6.2) and locking using keys (6.1).

[0040] The interior of the common chamber (5.1) is a uniform color, allowing the brighter access to the isolation room (5.2) to be distinguished using the upper masks (4.4). The queen excluder (4.3) is installed on the front of the cage using cable ties. A net (4.8) (5.6) can be hung on and under the cage using the provided anchor points. This screen complements or replaces the lower mask (4.5) and makes hunting the FPJ more difficult. The cage can be drawn on, printed on, or painted to facilitate the bees' recognition of the environment. Non-patent literature

[0041] document 1: A Bionomie Sketch of the Giant Homet, Vespa mandarinia, a Serious Pest for Japanese Apiculture” from the journal “The journal of the faculty of science Hokkaido University, volume 19, No. 1” published in 1973. Patent documents

[0042] EP3878276A1: Catching device provided on beehive.

[0043] ES-1191184_U : Modular protective hive device.

[0044] CN106035138A : Wasp-preventing device with hive entrance for bee box.

[0045] JP_6713390 : Honeybee hive protection device.

[0046] EP4108080A1 : Dispositif de protection de ruche.

Claims

Demands

1. A beehive entrance protection device (4.0), in particular used to combat bee predation by the Yellow-Legged Hornet (FLH), comprising a cage (4.1) with unfolded dimensions of 800 mm in height and 1200 mm in width, i.e., that of a standard transport pallet, onto which other elements are attached: - a hatch (4.7) providing access to a retention chamber (5.2) above a common chamber (5.1); - a hatch (5.7) for extracting FLH carcasses; - a shield (4.6) and three blades (4.9); - an anti-hornet screen (5.5); - a queen excluder (4.3); - two upper masks (4.4) and one lower mask (4.5); - a passage with transparent constriction (5.3) between the common chamber (5.1) and the retention chamber (5.2); - locking keys (6.1) of the elements together.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the common chamber (5.1) further comprises: - an optical decoy masking the entrance of the cage once the FPJ is inside; - a bottom made with tilting blades (4.9).

3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the passage with constriction (5.3) is transparent and in contact with a queen grid (4.3) and located between the highest part of the common chamber (5.1) and the retention chamber (5.2).

4. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the floor of the retention chamber (5.2) is inclined by more than 31° to induce the sliding of FPJ corpses towards a hatch (5.7) for the extraction of FPJ corpses reserved for this purpose.

5. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the anti-hornet screen (5.5) is a screen preventing guard bees from monitoring the immediate surroundings, from the entrance of the hive and is equipped with a removable anti-hornet grid (5.8) allowing only the movement of bees.

6. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the interior of the common chamber (5.1) is made of plastic material and of homogeneous color.

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