IL287592B2

IL287592B2 - Beehive feeder assembbly

Info

Publication number: IL287592B2
Application number: IL287592A
Authority: IL
Original assignee: Yehuda Oshry
Priority date: 2021-10-26
Filing date: 2021-10-26
Publication date: 2023-05-01
Also published as: IL287592A

Description

BEEHIVE FEEDER ASSEMBBLY TECHNICAL FIELD The presently disclosed subject matter relates to the field of beehive assemblies and, more particularly, to the field of beehive feeder assemblies.

BACKGROUND A common practice for beekeepers is to feed their bees and therefore alternative food sources are widely used in apiculture. Typically, bee colonies can be fed dry sugar, sugar water, pollen patties or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). There could be various reasons for feeding bees artificially, such as for example, when there is a risk of starvation due to lack of forage or workforce, when there is a need to give bees an artificial boost prior to spring or when all bees’ honey was taken and intended to be replaced by feeding as a honey substitute.

Feeding bees in the open can cause robber bee activity in the apiary as well as the spread of bee diseases. Robbing behavior typically involves the collection of nectar and/or honey. Honey bee workers can invade and steal nectar and/or honey from other colonies or sugar and/or corn syrup from feeders used to deliver syrup to other colonies. Accordingly, bee feeders should provide a bee colony with a safe access to their food sources without urging them to exit the hive.

Therefore, there is a growing need to provide a new beehive feeder assembly.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION The present disclosure provides, in at least one of its aspects, a beehive feeder assembly that is configured for mounting thereof on top of a beehive. The feeder assembly includes a feeder housing configured for receiving a drawer-like feeder therein. The arrangement is such that the feeder can be retracted from the feeder housing for placing one or more food sources therein and contracted back into the feeder housing for enabling bees accommodating the beehive to access the food sources.

The drawer-like feeder further includes a bee passage for allowing bees to ingress and egress the feeder.

Thus, in accordance with a first aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, there is provided a beehive feeder assembly comprising: a feeder housing comprising at least a top wall, a rear wall and two sidewalls attached along edges thereof, thereby defining an interior; and a feeder support mechanism; a drawer-like feeder comprising a feeding enclosure; the feeder being slidably supported by the feeder support mechanism and displaceable between a retracted position and a contracted position wherein the feeding enclosure is received within the feeder housing; said feeder comprising a peripheral top edge configurable for sliding in close proximity along a bottom face of the top wall of the housing; and a bee passage extending between said feeding enclosure and an exterior of the feeder.

The feeder housing can optionally further comprise a bee excluder suspended from the top wall towards the interior thereof and configured to prevent passage of bees therethrough (e.g., when the feeder is in retracted or partially retracted position).

In some cases, the bee excluder is a mesh.

The feeder housing can optionally further comprise a front wall extending between the side walls, and wherein said front wall is spaced apart from a bottom face of the top wall, giving rise to a drawer gap.

In some cases, the feeder housing is substantially rectangular.

In some cases, one or both of the feeder housing and the feeder is made of wood or plastic or combinations thereof.

In some cases, the feeder support mechanism comprises two support bars, each articulated to a respective interior face of each sidewall, thereby enabling sliding displacement of the feeder thereover between the retracted position and the contracted position.

In some cases, the support bars are disposed above a bottom edge of the side walls of the housing, thereby facilitating mounting the feeder housing on top of a beehive with at least some overlapping of side walls of the housing and side walls of a box of a beehive.

The term ‘box’ as used herein the specification and claims denotes a stackable box without top or bottom that serves as the living quarter for bee colony. One or more boxes can be mounted one on top of the other and thereby form a hive body. The box can be a deep super (e.g., deep box, brood box, etc.) that is typically used as a brood chamber wherein eggs, larvae, and pupae of the bees reside, a honey super (e.g., honey box, super box, etc.) that can be utilized by honey bees to to store pollen and/or honey therein, or any other box configured in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter.

In some cases, a distance between a top surface of the support bars and the bottom face of the top wall of the housing is substantially similar to a height of the feeder.

In some cases, the feeding enclosure is defined by a bottom wall, front wall, rear wall and two sidewalls attached along edges thereof.

In some cases, the feeding enclosure is liquid tight.

The feeder can optionally further comprise one or more bee feeding surfaces configured to extend above a liquid level within the feeding enclosure.

In some cases, the feeding surfaces are floating racks disposed within the feeding enclosure.

In some cases, the floating racks are made of metal, wood or plastic materials or combinations thereof.

In some cases, each floating rack is a metal, plastic or wire grid enclosed by a frame.

The feeder can optionally further comprise a handle configured to facilitate manual displacement of the feeder.

In some cases, the bee passage is formed at the rear wall of the feeder allowing passage of bees therethrough.

In some cases, the bee passage is a vertical path extending throughout a portion of the rear wall of the feeder.

In accordance with a second aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, there is provided a stackable beehive assembly comprising: a base structure configured for supporting above a ground surface and comprising a beehive access opening for enabling bees to ingress and egress therethrough; one or more stackable boxes configured for stacking one on top of the other, wherein a bottom box is mounted on the base structure; and wherein each box has an interior space for accommodating the bees; one or more feeder housings each configurable for mounting over a box, each feeder housing comprising at least a top wall, a rear wall and two sidewalls attached along edges thereof, thereby defining an interior; and a feeder support mechanism; a drawer-like feeder comprising a feeding enclosure; the feeder being slidably supported by the feeder support mechanism and displaceable between a retracted position and a contracted position wherein the feeding enclosure is received within the feeder housing; said feeder comprising a peripheral top edge configurable for sliding along a bottom face of the top wall of the housing, in close proximity therewith; and a bee passage extending between said feeding enclosure and an exterior of the feeder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figs 1A-1Bare schematic illustrations of a perspective view of exemplary stackable beehive assemblies, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter; Fig. 2is an exploded view of the exemplary stackable beehive assembly illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3Ais pictorial illustration of a bottom perspective view of an exemplary feeder housing, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter; Fig. 3Bis a pictorial illustration of a side view of an exemplary feeder support mechanism, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter; Fig. 4Ais a pictorial illustration of a top view of an exemplary drawer-like feeder, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter; Fig. 4Bis a pictorial illustration of a top view of an exemplary bee passage, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter; Fig. 4Cis a schematic illustration of a cross-section of the exemplary stackable beehive assembly illustrated in Fig. 1A; Fig. 4Dis a schematic illustration of a cross-section of an exemplary bee passage, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter; Fig. 4Eis a schematic illustration of a cross-section of yet another exemplary bee passage, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter; and Fig. 4Fis a schematic illustration of a front view of the bee passage illustrated in Fig. 4E.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the presently disclosed subject matter. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the presently disclosed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well- known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the presently disclosed subject matter.

In the figures and descriptions set forth, identical reference numerals indicate those components that are common to different embodiments or configurations. Further, it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity.

As used herein, the phrase "for example," "such as", "for instance" and variants thereof describe non-limiting embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter. Reference in the specification to "one case", "some cases", "other cases" or variants thereof means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment(s) is included in at least one embodiment of the presently disclosed subject matter. Thus, the appearance of the phrase "one case", "some cases", "other cases" or variants thereof does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment(s).

It is appreciated that, unless specifically stated otherwise, certain features of the presently disclosed subject matter, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the presently disclosed subject matter, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Bearing this in mind, attention is drawn to Fig. 1 , a schematic illustration of a perspective view of an exemplary stackable beehive assembly 100 , in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter.

The exemplary stackable beehive assembly 100(also referred to herein as "beehive") includes a base structure 102 , a stackable box 104and a beehive feeder assembly 106 .

The base structure 102includes a board 108(e.g., a substantially solid wood board, a screened board, etc.) and a plurality of rails affixed to peripheral edges of the board 108thereby forming a semi-open frame therearound. As can be seen in Fig. 2, the plurality of rails may include two side rails 110and one rail across the back 112 . Such arrangement forms a beehive access opening 114at the front of the board 108 (best seen in Fig. 1) for enabling bees to ingress and egress the beehive 100 therethrough. The base structure 102is configured for, inter alia, supporting the beehive 100above a ground surface and, in some cases, protecting the bee colony from damp ground.

It is to be noted that, in some cases, the base structure 102can be placed on an elevated hive stand (not shown in the figures), e.g., to improve air circulation of the beehive 100and minimize the risk of a predator (e.g., ants, skunks, etc.) reaching and destroying the hive. In other cases, the plurality of rails may be sized to keep board 108 substantially above ground surface, for instance at least 18″ off the ground.

Stackable box 104 , as shown in Figs 1-2, is configured to be mounted on the base structure 102and provides an interior space for accommodating the bees. In some cases, more than one box 104can be utilized to form a beehive 100body. For example, a first bottom box can serve as a deep super and a second box, mounted thereon, can serve as a honey super, wherein both boxes form the beehive body. In such cases, each box 104is configured for stacking one on top of the other, wherein a bottom box is mounted on the base structure 102 .

Nevertheless, although merely one box 104is illustrated in the drawings, it is by no means limiting and the teachings herein can be performed utilizing any number of boxes (e.g., such as illustrated in Fig. 1B), mutatis mutandis.

Beehive feeder assembly 106configurable for mounting thereof over box 104 and includes a feeder housing 116and a drawer-like feeder 118(also referred to herein as "feeder").

The feeder housing 116is formed by a top wall 120 , a rear wall 122and two sidewalls 124attached along edges thereof, thereby defining an interior. In some cases, such as illustrated in Figs 1-2, the feeder housing 116is substantially rectangular and/or by way of non-limiting example, can be made of wood or plastic material(s) or combinations thereof.

According to certain embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter, the feeder housing 116further comprising a feeder support mechanism. Referring to Figs 3A-3B, the feeder support mechanism can include two support bars 126 , each articulated to a respective interior face of each sidewall 124of the feeder housing 116 . Such configuration enables sliding displacement of the feeder 118over the two support bars 126 , between retracted position and contracted position, as further described herein.

In some cases, the support bars 126can be disposed above a bottom edge of the side walls 124of the feeder housing 116to facilitate mounting of the feeder housing 116on top of a beehive (e.g., on top of the beehive 100body as described herein) with at least some overlapping of side walls 124of the feeder housing 116and side walls of box 104of the beehive (best seen in Fig. 1).

Additionally, or alternatively, a distance between a top surface of the support bars 126and the bottom face of the top wall 120of the feeder housing 116is substantially similar to a height of the feeder 118(e.g., the vertical length of the two sidewalls 138of the feeder 118 ).

In some cases, the feeder housing 116can further include a front wall 128 extending between side walls 124thereof. As can be seen in Fig. 2, said front wall 128 is spaced apart from a bottom face of the top wall 120of the feeder housing 116thereby giving rise to a drawer gap 130(e.g., a gap sized for receiving the drawer-like feeder 118therethrough).

It is to be noted that although merely one feeder housing 116(that is, merely one beehive feeder assembly 106 ) is illustrated in the drawings, it is by no means limiting and the teachings herein can be performed utilizing any number of beehive feeder assemblies that can be configured for stacking one on top of the other (wherein the bottom feeder assembly can be stacked on top of the box) wherein bees may move, inter alia, between the feeder assemblies, mutatis mutandis.

Referring to Fig. 2 , the feeder 118includes a feeding enclosure defined by a bottom wall 132 , front wall 134 , rear wall 136and two sidewalls 138attached along edges thereof. In some cases, the feeding enclosure is liquid tight for preventing penetration of liquid (e.g., sugar water, corn syrup, etc.) or moisture therethrough into the box 104located there beneath. In effect, the feeder 118is configured for delivering one or more food sources (e.g., dry sugar, sugar water, pollen patties, corn syrup, etc.) for bees accommodating the beehive 100 . For this purpose, the feeder 118is being slidably supported by the feeder support mechanism (e.g., supported by two support bars 126 ) and displaceable between a retracted position and a contracted position. That is, according to certain embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter, the feeder 118is configured for sliding upon two support bars 126from contracted position, wherein the feeding enclosure is received within the feeder housing 116 , to retracted position wherein the feeding enclosure or at least portion thereof is located outside the feeder housing 116 , and vice versa. Accordingly, said feeder 118includes a peripheral top edge configurable for sliding along a bottom face of the top wall 120of the feeder housing 116 , in close proximity therewith. Said peripheral top edge is formed by top faces of the front wall 134 , rear wall 136and two sidewalls 138of the feeder 118 .

In some cases, the feeder 118can further include a handle 140configured to facilitate manual displacement of the feeder between retracted and contracted positions. By way of non-limiting example, the handle 140can be a pull handle or bar, knob handle, etc.

In some cases, such as illustrated in Figs 1-2, the feeder 118is substantially rectangular and/or by way of non-limiting example, can be made of wood or plastic material(s) or combinations thereof.

In retracted position the feeding enclosure can be accessed, e.g., by a beekeeper, for placement of one or more food sources (e.g., dry sugar, sugar water, pollen patties, corn syrup, etc.) to be consumed by bees accommodating the beehive 100 .

In order to prevent bees from leaving the beehive 100while the feeder 118is the retracted position, the feeder housing 116can further include a bee excluder (not shown in the figures). The bee excluder can be suspended from the top wall 120of the feeder housing 116towards the interior thereof and can be configured to prevent passage of bees therethrough. By way of non-limiting example, the bee excluder can be a mesh that is suspended from the top wall 120of the feeder housing 116in close proximity to a front portion thereof (that is, closer to the front wall 134of the feeder 8

Claims

1./ CLAIMS 1. A beehive feeder assembly comprising: a feeder housing configurable for mounting over a box having an interior space for accommodating bees, said feeder housing comprising at least a top wall, a rear wall and two sidewalls attached along edges thereof, thereby defining an interior; and a feeder support mechanism; a drawer-like feeder comprising a feeding enclosure; the feeder being slidably supported by the feeder support mechanism and displaceable between a retracted position and a contracted position wherein the feeding enclosure is received within the feeder housing; said feeder comprising a peripheral top edge configurable for sliding in close proximity along a bottom face of the top wall of the housing; and a bee passage extending between said feeding enclosure and an exterior of the feeder.

2. The feeder assembly of claim 1, wherein the feeder housing further comprises a bee excluder suspended from the top wall towards the interior thereof and configured to prevent passage of bees therethrough.

3. The feeder assembly of claim 2, wherein the bee excluder is a mesh.

4. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the feeder housing further comprises a front wall extending between the side walls, and wherein said front wall is spaced apart from a bottom face of the top wall, giving rise to a drawer gap.

5. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the feeder housing is rectangular.

6. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein one or both of the feeder housing and the feeder is made of wood or plastic or combinations thereof.

7. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the feeder support mechanism comprises two support bars, each articulated to a respective interior face of each sidewall, thereby enabling sliding displacement of the feeder thereover between the retracted position and the contracted position. 287592/

8. The feeder assembly of claim 7, wherein the support bars are disposed above a bottom edge of the side walls of the housing, thereby facilitating mounting the feeder housing on top of a beehive with at least some overlapping of side walls of the housing and side walls of a box of a beehive.

9. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 7 to 8, wherein a distance between a top surface of the support bars and the bottom face of the top wall of the housing is similar to a height of the feeder.

10. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the feeding enclosure is defined by a bottom wall, front wall, rear wall and two sidewalls attached along edges thereof.

11. The feeder assembly of claim 10, wherein the feeding enclosure is liquid tight.

12. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the feeder further comprises one or more bee feeding surfaces configured to extend above a liquid level within the feeding enclosure.

13. The feeder assembly of claim 12, wherein the feeding surfaces are floating racks disposed within the feeding enclosure.

14. The feeder assembly of claim 13, wherein the floating racks are made of metal, wood or plastic materials or combinations thereof.

15. The feeder assembly of claim 14, wherein each floating rack is a metal, plastic or wire grid enclosed by a frame.

16. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the feeder further comprising a handle configured to facilitate manual displacement of the feeder.

17. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the bee passage is formed at the rear wall of the feeder allowing passage of bees therethrough.

18. The feeder assembly of claim 17, wherein the bee passage is a vertical path extending throughout a portion of the rear wall of the feeder. 287592/

19. The feeder assembly of claim 18, wherein at least portion of a first longitudinal edge of the rear wall of the feeder is lower than a second longitudinal edge thereof.

20. The feeder assembly of claim 17, wherein the bee passage is a horizontal path extending throughout a portion of the rear wall of the feeder.

21. The feeder assembly of claim 20, wherein a gap is formed between the rear wall of the feeder housing and the rear wall of the feeder when the feeder is in contracted position.

22. A stackable beehive assembly comprising: a base structure configured for supporting above a ground surface and comprising a beehive access opening for enabling bees to ingress and egress therethrough; one or more stackable boxes configured for stacking one on top of the other, wherein a bottom box is mounted on the base structure; and wherein each box has an interior space for accommodating the bees; one or more feeder housings each configurable for mounting over a box, each feeder housing comprising at least a top wall, a rear wall and two sidewalls attached along edges thereof, thereby defining an interior; and a feeder support mechanism; a drawer-like feeder comprising a feeding enclosure; the feeder being slidably supported by the feeder support mechanism and displaceable between a retracted position and a contracted position wherein the feeding enclosure is received within the feeder housing; said feeder comprising a peripheral top edge configurable for sliding along a bottom face of the top wall of the housing, in close proximity therewith; and a bee passage extending between said feeding enclosure and an exterior of the feeder.

23. The feeder assembly of claim 22, wherein the feeder housing further comprises a bee excluder suspended from the top wall towards the interior thereof and configured to prevent passage of bees therethrough.

24. The feeder assembly of claim 23, wherein the bee excluder is a mesh.

25. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein the feeder housing further comprises a front wall extending between the side walls, and wherein said front wall is spaced apart from a bottom face of the top wall, giving rise to a drawer gap. 287592/

26. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 22 to 25, wherein the feeder housing is rectangular.

27. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein one or both of the feeder housing and the feeder is made of wood or plastic or combinations thereof.

28. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 22 to 27, wherein the feeder support mechanism comprises two support bars, each articulated to a respective interior face of each sidewall, thereby enabling sliding displacement of the feeder thereover between the retracted position and the contracted position.

29. The feeder assembly of claim 28, wherein the support bars are disposed above a bottom edge of the side walls of the housing, thereby facilitating mounting the feeder housing on top of a beehive with at least some overlapping of side walls of the housing and side walls of a box of a beehive.

30. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 28 to 29, wherein a distance between a top surface of the support bars and the bottom face of the top wall of the housing is similar to a height of the feeder.

31. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 22 to 30, wherein the feeding enclosure is defined by a bottom wall, front wall, rear wall and two sidewalls attached along edges thereof.

32. The feeder assembly of claim 31, wherein the feeding enclosure is liquid tight.

33. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 22 to 32, wherein the feeder further comprises one or more bee feeding surfaces configured to extend above a liquid level within the feeding enclosure.

34. The feeder assembly of claim 33, wherein the feeding surfaces are floating racks disposed within the feeding enclosure.

35. The feeder assembly of claim 34, wherein the floating racks are made of metal, wood or plastic materials or combinations thereof. 287592/

36. The feeder assembly of claim 35, wherein each floating rack is a metal, plastic or wire grid enclosed by a frame.

37. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 22 to 36, wherein the feeder further comprising a handle configured to facilitate manual displacement of the feeder.

38. The feeder assembly of any one of claims 22 to 37, wherein the bee passage is formed at the rear wall of the feeder allowing passage of bees therethrough.

39. The feeder assembly of claim 38, wherein the bee passage is a vertical path extending throughout a portion of the rear wall of the feeder.

40. The feeder assembly of claim 39, wherein at least portion of a first longitudinal edge of the rear wall of the feeder is lower than a second longitudinal edge thereof.

41. The feeder assembly of claim 38, wherein the bee passage is a horizontal path extending throughout a portion of the rear wall of the feeder.

42. The feeder assembly of claim 41, wherein a gap is formed between the rear wall of the feeder housing and the rear wall of the feeder when the feeder is in contracted position.