Product guide 

General Information

The design of the Beeline hives has been continuously improved based on field experience. With a self-feeding sugar system and a simple bee-lock for flight management no maintenance is required. Supplementary freeze dried pollen is available for feeding in case of delayed flowering or low pollen availability. A pollen feeding tray is built into the hive design. All hives have broods in all life stages.

Hives are produced to suit different crops and situations: for example Tomatoes, Soft Fruit, Aubergine, Melon, Courgette or Pepper. Standard hives are available with sugar and without insulation. Insulation is available on request. Triple hives and weatherproof hives are also available. Hives are supplied individually.

A pollination service is available. For hive schedules and to ensure that you make the correct choice of hive, consult your Syngenta Bioline distributor or your technical advisor.

• Code 0251-01: Standard tomato hive, 60 - 70 bees
  
• Code 0251-02: Standard soft fruit hive. 80 - 100 bees                                                       

         (Can be used as a starter hive in tomatoes and for seed crops)

• Code 0251-03: Triple Fruit Hive. 250 - 300 bees
  
• Code 0251-05: Compact Soft Fruit Hive, 30 - 40 bees
  
• Code 0251-06: Standard hive for pepper, aubergine, courgette, 80 - 100 bees

Supplementary materials:
Weatherproof hive outers, Pollen.

Pollination, bumblebees and cultivation techniques

Flowers need to be pollinated to maximize fruit quality and yield. Most tomato crops, indoor strawberries and soft fruit crops are pollinated using bumblebees because of the significant impact on yield and fruit set. Bumblebees require sugar for flight energy and feeding their colony. They require pollen as a protein source for reproduction. Since tomato flowers have little nectar, a supplement is required in the hive to maintain colony growth. The efficiency of a hive in a greenhouse depends on the successful growth of the bee colony. The ability of the bumblebee to collect and transfer pollen, and the pollen content of flowers, are affected by cultivation techniques.

The amount of water given to the plants can affect the quality of the pollen and hence the development of the hive itself. Water stress and high temperatures cause bad pollen. If the plants are watered at the wrong time and temperature is increased, the flowers may become wet with dew and the pollen becomes “sticky”. Bumblebees will lose interest in sticky pollen. Adding new hives will not improve pollination. When an extra stem is allowed to develop, there will be a short period with a lot of flowers. If bumblebees can’t keep up with the extra flowers, it is advisable to put in some extra hives. Flowers pointing to the sky, flowers with a faded yellow colour or if the pistel is outside the flower are not attractive to bumblebees. They will tend to visit optimal flowers to improve their own foraging efficiency.

Placement of hives in the greenhouse

Remove yellow hive boxes from shipping box. Leave the restraining straps in place. Keep the hives upright at all times and place them immediately in their final positions in the greenhouse. Make sure there is nothing in front of the flight hole. If the hives are centralized, do not place all the flight holes in the same direction. Never let the sun shine directly into the flight hole. Place the hives low in the crop where there is enough shadow, but not in a cold place and not high above the crop in the sun.

Wait at least 2 hours for the bees to settle down before opening the flight holes. During hot and sunny weather wait until the sun is low in the sky before opening the flight holes. Place new hives early in the morning or in the evening if possible. Avoid placing hives directly above a CO2 hose outlet, or below a dripping gutter.

Instructions for use

Useful hints for using Bumblebees

IF THE HIVE IS SHIPPED BY COURIER WE PLACE A CAP OVER THE SUGAR WATER CONTAINER OUTLET. THIS NEEDS TO BE REMOVED BEFORE OPENING THE BEE LOCK

Do not move hives after opening the bee-lock. Do not push or disturb the hive. In natural situations some hives will develop better than others anyway. Do not expect identical development of all hives. If in doubt ask an advisor to check a hive. It is not recommended to open a hive.At the end of the useful life of the colony, but not later than 10 weeks after the introduction, set the bee lock as you would do prior to applying a crop protection product. Once all the bees are in the hive close the bee lock completely and follow disposal instructions below. If you remove a hive from a pile or row, replace it with a new hive in the same spot to avoid confusion by other bees. Hives that run out of sugar water (unlikely) sometimes use other hives as a place to drink. A hive without sugar-water can still be active. The best thing is to replace the sugar-water box. Try to keep ants away from the hives by greasing the poles, or baiting. Use supplementary freeze-dried pollen at the start of the season if flowers are scarce. Some crop protection products are toxic to bumblebees, so hives should be closed and covered during application. Use the bee lock at dusk after bees have returned to the hive.

Consult your account manager or distributor for guidelines.

Storage and transport

• Transport and store at 15-18ºC in an upright position
• Hives are bulk packed in ventilated boxes
• Keep in the dark, out of direct sunlight
• Avoid disturbance and vibration
• Place in greenhouse within 18 hours of receipt
  

Do not open for 2 hours after receipt.

Advice to growers (Revised January 2009) -new revision expected in 2013

The use of bumble bees for pollination of crops in England.

Following negative press coverage UK during 2006 concerning the potential impact of commercial bumble bees on native bee populations, the producers and importers of bumble bees have discussed the issues raised with Defra, Natural England and other stakeholders.

The provisions of the Wildlife and the Countryside Act 1981 apply to the commercial bees because they are of sub-species not native to Great Britain. Section 14 of the Act makes it an offence to release, or to allow to escape, into the wild ‘any animal which is of a kind which is not ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state’ without an appropriate licence. As such, any release of the bees into the wild may be an offence under the Act. That could include a release in a greenhouse, from which the bees might easily escape.

However, licences can be granted under the Act to allow the release of non-native animals if they do not threaten native species or other interests. The producers and importers have prepared a joint application for such a licence, and this has been submitted to Natural England the licensing authority in England.

A requirement of any license is likely to be that all reasonable steps should be taken to avoid the escape of queen bumble bees and males to the wild, as these have the potential to establish or. It is known that worker bees may enter and leave glasshouses and tunnels where they are being used for pollination, but these workers do not normally have the capacity for breeding. Queen bees and males are produced towards the end of the colony life and the producers are modifying the bee locks and queen excluders fitted to hives to further reduce the possibility of queens escaping. Escapes can still occur from a damaged hive so the hive must be disposed of properly at the end of its useful life. To not do so may be an offence.

Instructions for disposing of hives

There are several simple ways in which potential escapes can be minimised:

• At the end of the useful life of the colony, but not later than 10 weeks after the introduction, set the bee lock door to collect the bees into the hive, as you would do prior to applying a crop protection product
• Once all the bees are in the hive close the bee lock completely

Then:

• Remove the sugar water pack by carefully lifting the inner hive out of the box, then lifting the sugar water pack and removing it from the box
• Take care not to open the bee lock or damage the inner hive whilst doing this
• After removing the sugar water unit, kill all remaining bumblebees in the hive by freezing the hives for 2 days at -18°C before disposing of them

Alternatively:

• Remove the sugar water and store the hives, with the bee lock closed, in (plastic)
  disposal bags
• Securely fasten the bag to prevent escape
• Store the hives in the bags for one week before disposing of them
  
  A further option is to kill the remaining bees with an approved bee and wasp nest destroyer
  
• Do not distribute the hives outside your own facilities: they must remain with the
  original grower
• The grower is responsible for the disposal process in accordance with the local laws
• Never remove the bee lock or queen excluder door, or open the lid of the inner (plastic) liner
  
  

Note:

always be careful when handling the hives for disposal. Hives with live bees must not be disposed of in skips: rough handling can damage the inner liner or cause the hive to split open, allowing queens and males to escape.