The invention belongs to human necessities, namely to care of bees, in particular to details of beehives i.e. comb hives.

The purpose of the invention is to create a pollen trap, which would be suitable for collecting of pollen in hives and by which the efficiency of collecting the pollen could be essentially improved by simultaneously essential improvement of quality of such collected pollen.

A pollen trap is disclosed in DE 203 1 1 460 Ul . Such appliance is suitable for mounting onto each existing i.e. disposable hive, namely in just in front of the inlet passage of the hive. Such pollen trap is intended for collecting of pollen, which is removed from bees prior to entering the hive. To this aim, the pollen trap is furnished with a frame i.e. a housing, which shall be water resistant and therefore made of plastics or polyurethane rather than of wood, wherein a plurality of passages is available, through which the bees may pass in both directions, namely towards the hive and also in opposite direction. The housing is furnished with an adaptor, which serves for adjusting the pollen trap to different hives, which are used in various regions worldwide. It is also proposed that said passages shall be formed of silver wire bent into a shape of a Greek letter omega, wherein the aperture of the passages shall be 3 to 10 mm, by which the bees should be prevented against damages. The pollen trap furthermore comprises a ventilating aperture, which can be closed by a slider, as well as container for collecting the pollen when removed from the bees by passing through said passages. A covering plate is placed above said passages, which prevents introduction of impurities and wax into said pollen collecting container. Moreover, the pollen trap is furnished with a lever, by which it is either open/activated or closed/deactivated upon mounting onto the hive.

Despite to previously described measures, the efficiency of such appliance in view of gaining as much as possible of pollen in a relatively short time of availability thereof in the nature is relatively low. Namely, the bees must pass through said passages in both directions, which can never be fluent and without interruptions. Besides, the bees have difficulties by finding the inlet opening, and their accomodation to the presence of the pollen trap on the hive takes relatively long time, usually several days, wherein during said accomodation the quantity of such collected pollen is pure. Similar problems may also occur in certain weather conditions, for example in wind, since the bees have difficulties to withstand the wind by waiting for the possibility of entering the hive throughout the pollen trap. Still further, quality of such collected pollen in particular in rainy period is really pure, since the rain drops can reach the pollen collecting container, and each introduction of water essentially decreases quality thereof. The present invention refers to a bee pollen trap, which is suitable for collecting of pollen in a comb hive and comprises a housing, which is via an adaptor furnished with a suitable opening connectable to each disposable comb hive, so that through said opening in said adaptor and therefore also through said pollen trap the bees are enabled to enter and to leave said comb hive, wherein a plurality of passages is arranged within said housing at appropriate distance apart from an inlet passage, which are arranged for passing the bees there-through, by which the pollen is removed from the bees and collected within a container, which is located below said passages. Said housing is furnished with a covering plate, which is located above said passages and said container, and is serving for protection of such collected pollen against intrusion of moisture and impurities.

The invention provides that said pollen trap comprises two mutually separated passages, through which the bees are enabled to move towards the hive or in opposite direction, namely an inlet passage, which extends from the inlet opening of the pollen trap through said passages for removal of pollen from the bees in the area above the pollen collecting container and continues towards the hive, as well as an outlet passage, which extends from the hive towards the outlet recess and bypasses said passages.

The invention further provides that said housing comprises at least one area, in particular an optionally removable cover consisting of water resistant material, which is arranged above said covering plate, so that said covering plate is then located within the housing below said cover and at a sufficient distance apart from said cover, so that between the cover and said covering plate a gap is formed for the purpose of passing the bees and drones there-through, which actually defines said outlet passage with said outlet recess. Consequently, said inlet passage and said outlet passage are separated from each other on the one hand by means of essentially vertical perforated wall, which is furnished with said passages for removing pollen from the bees and arranged above said pollen collecting container, and on the other hand by means of said covering plate, which extends substantially in a horizontal direction within said housing above said inlet passage closely to said perforated wall and at a sufficient distance apart from the cover of said housing.

Said perforated wall is optionally by means of a suitable actuator, which is located outside of the housing, pivotable around an axis, which extends transversally in a horizontal plane, and can also be fixed in each desired position at each desired inclination relative to said horizontal plane.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, said perforated wall is uniformly conceived and consists of a plurality of horizontal bearing members, which are equidistantly spaced apart from each other and each of them is furnished with a plurality of cantilevered protrusions, which are in a direction along each corresponding bearing member, equidistantly spaced apart from each other and are all directed in the same direction, wherein each of said cantilevered protrusions is arranged perpendicularly with respect to each belonging bearing member and extends towards each neighboring bearing member, but ends at appropriate distance apart from said neighboring bearing member and is slightly rounded on its terminal portion, so that the bees are enabled to pass through such established passages between each two neighboring protrusions on each particular bearing member as well as between each particular bearing member and each neighboring bearing member upon entering the pollen trap and prior to entering the hive. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a grid is placed below said perforated wall with said passages and above said pollen collecting container, which is adjusted to allow the pollen to pass there-through and extends above at least the majority of the silhouette of said container in the top view.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the pollen collecting container is embedded within the housing by means of guides and is consequently displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the pollen trap housing. In this, the bottom portion of said pollen collecting container is either compact and impermeable for air and moisture, or is formed as a grid with a sufficient density to enable ventilation and to prevent pollen from passing there-through.

On the other hand, a flight board is mounted within the housing just below and just in front of the inlet passage, and is adjusted for enabling the bees to land prior to entering the pollen trap and rotatable around the transversal horizontal geometric axis with the possibility of fixation in each appropriately inclined position relative to the horizontal plane by means of a suitable actuator, which is located outside of the housing. It is in particular preferred, if said flight board is furnished with at least one throughout passage, which is located adjacent to said axis and the inlet passage and allows to the bees to pass there-trough from the bottom side of the flight board to the top side thereof.

In accordance with a still further aspect of the invention, the outlet passage is on the side facing towards the opening of the adaptor completed with a further, at least partially widened passage. According to a further embodiment of the invention, an additional wall' is placed within said additional widened passage adjacent to the pollen collecting container, and is pivotable around the transversal horizontal geometric axis with the possibility of fixation in each desired inclination relative to the horizontal plane by means of a suitable actuator, which is located outside of the housing.

The invention will be described on the basis of embodiments, which are shown in the attached drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a pollen trap in position, in which it is placed to each existing i.e. each disposable bee hive;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section along the plane A - A according to Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a rear view along the arrow B according to Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section along the plane C - C according to Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 presents a further embodiment of the pollen trap shown in a cross-section along the said plane A - A according to Fig. 1 ; and

Fig. 6 is a partial presentation of alternative embodiment of perforated wall, through which the bees are passing in the pollen trap according to the invention.

A bee pollen trap (Fig. 1) comprises an essentially box-shaped housing 1, which is by means of a suitable adaptor 2 optionally attached to each disposable cornb hive, which is not shown in the drawing. The adaptor 2 is furnished with an opening 20, the position and shape of which are adjusted to each disposable comb hive, to which the adaptor is attached. The bee pollen trap is namely just an optional accessory, which can be optionally attached to the comb hive in particular during a time period, in which the pollen produced by certain plant varieties is available, wherein surmounting of the pollen trap neither requires any amendments of the comb hive nor has any impact to activities performed therein.

Said housing 1 is adjusted to receive a container 3 for collecting said pollen, which is located in the bottom area of said housing 1. In the shown embodiment, said container 3 is by means of guides 12 on the housing 1 displaceable in the longitudinal direction of said housing 3 i.e. towards the comb hive or in the opposite direction. The container 3 consists of a frame 30 and a bottom portion 31, which is optionally due to enabling air circulation formed as a grid, the density of which is sufficient to prevent the pollen from passing there-through (Fig. 2), or in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention the bottom portion 31 said bottom portion 31 ' is compact, which prevents the stored pollen to come in contact with the moisture air i.e. the moisture, which prevents the pollen from infection with fungi.

A grid 4 is arranged above said pollen collecting container 3, and its pattern is adjusted to dimensions of pollen, so that the pollen can pass through said grid 4, but not also the impurities like wax, larvae or the like. With regard to position of mounting the pollen trap, said grid 4 is arranged at least approximately in the horizontal plane and extends essentially above the complete pollen collecting container 3.

A vertical perforated wall 5 is arranged above said grid 4 with regard to position of mounting the pollen trap, which is furnished with a plurality of passages 50, which are for example formed as circular throughout bores having a diameter, which enable bees to pass through said wall 5 towards the hive (regarding Fig. 2 from the left towards the right), wherein said passages 50 are also sufficiently narrow that the pollen is removed from the bees during passing there-through, wherein said pollen is then collected within the container 3, which is located below the grid 4.

A covering plate 6 is arranged above said grid 4 at a sufficient distance there-from, and extends above the perforated wall 5, so that an inlet passage 7 is formed between said grid 4 and said covering plate 6, through which the bees can pass when entering the pollen trap through the inlet opening 70 and moving towards said perforated wall 5.

Said covering plate 6 is arranged within the housing 1 and at a suitable distance there-from, so that an outlet passage 8 with an outlet recess 80 is formed between the housing and the covering plate 6 in the area above said inlet passage 7 and inlet opening 70.

In the shown embodiment the housing is furnished with an optionally removable cover 13, which is located above said covering plate 6 and is preferably made of a water resistant material. The height of said outlet passage is sufficient to allow the bees and drones to leave the hive and pass throughout the pollen trap and moreover also removal dead bees from the hive. Said covering plate 6 serves for preventing the wax particles and other impurities resulting from the hive to fall into the pollen collecting container 3.

Also the previously mentioned perforated wall 5, the grid 4 and said pollen collecting container 3 are arranged at suitable distance apart from the housing 1 , so that on that side of the pollen trap, which is facing towards the hive, between them and the housing 1 there is a passage 9, by which in the area between the hive and the pollen trap the opening 20 of the adaptor 2 is connected with the outlet recess 80. The invention moreover preferably provides that said perforated wall 5 is by means of appropriate actuator 501, which is located outside of the housing 1, rotatable around the axis 500, which extends transversally in the horizontal plane of the housing 1.

As mentioned, said perforated wall 5 as shown in Fig. 1 is furnished with passages 50 in the form of round throughout bores. In the practice, a risk of damages on bee wings by passing through such passages 50 may persist, so that the invention provides a further embodiment of said perforated wall 5, which is presented in Fig. 6.

In accordance with said embodiment as shown in Fig. 6, said perforated wall 5 is also uniform, but is however formed of a sequence of horizontal bearing members 51, 51 ', ^' 51 ", which are equidistantly spaced apart from each other, and each of them is furnished with a plurality of cantilevered protrusions 52, 52', 52", which are equidistantly spaced apart from each other along each belonging bearing member 51, 5 , 51 " and extend in the same direction with respect to each other. Each of said cantilevered protrusions 52, 52', 52" on each corresponding horizontal bearing members 51, 51 ', 51 " extends perpendicularly with regard to each corresponding horizontal bearing member 51, 51 ', 51 " and extends towards each neighboring bearing member 51, 51 ', 51 ", but has a slightly rounded terminal portion, which is sufficiently spaced apart from each neighboring bearing member 51, 5 , 51 ". Consequently, the bees are enabled to pass between each two neighboring protrusions 52, 52', 52" on each corresponding bearing member 51, 5 , 51 " and between each two neighboring bearing members 51, 5 , 51 " upon entering the pollen trap and prior to entering the hive, by which any damage of bee wings is absolutely excluded. Moreover, a flight board 1 1 is mounted within the housing 1 adjacent to the inlet passage 7, and is adapted to be pivoted around the horizontal axis 10 and fixed in each appropriate position relative to the horizontal plane. Said flight board 11 is furnished with several throughout passages 1 11, which are located in the area of said inlet passage 7 and through which the bees are able to pass when trying to enter the inlet passage 7 from the area below said flight board 1 1, and to continue moving along the pollen trap through the perforated wall 5 and then towards the hive. Said flight board 1 1 can be pivoted relative to the horizontal plane, by which appropriate angle can be adjusted, which enable landing of bees in each particular weather conditions, and also unhindered draining of water.

Thanks to such described concept of the pollen trap, the bees very quickly become familiar with a path of returning back to the hive, starting from the flight board 1 1 and through a pretty comfortable inlet passage 7 towards the perforated wall 5 and through the passages 50 therein, which is then followed by passing the passage 9 and optionally, either by continuing through the opening 20 in the adaptor 2 towards the hive, or by returning through the outlet passage 8 back to the outside. By passing the passages 50, the majority of pollen is removed from each bee, which by falling down passes the grid 4 and remains deposited in the pollen collecting container 3.

In this, it is quite important that each bee, when moving throughout a particular passage 50, is not hindered by other bees, which left the hive and move in opposite direction. When leaving the hive, the bees exit through the opening 20 in the adaptor and unhindered continue moving along the pollen trap through at least partially widened passage 9 and then through the outlet passage 8 towards the outlet recess 80, where they can fly away. Drones, when leaving the hive, can move along the same direction.

Moreover, such concept of the pollen trap even in rainy weather prevents the pollen collected in the container to come in contact with moisture, since only the flight board 1 1 and the water resistant cover 13 on the housing 1 are exposed to the rain.

Such pollen trap enables air circulation throughout the passages 7, 8 and 9, as well as through the grid 4, and optionally through the grid 31, which leads both to improved aeration and air conditioning of the hive as such and also to permanent drying of moisture, which might be introduced into the pollen trap by the bees.

Whenever the pollen trap and the belonging hive are located in the area of relatively high temperature differences, then the embodiment according to Fig. 5 is preferred. In such case, the pollen collecting container 3 is furnished with a non- perforated bottom wall 3 , and moreover, an additional wall 91 is arranged in the area of said widened passage 9 closely to the pollen collecting container 3. Said additional wall 91 is serving as barrier between the pollen collecting container 3 and the adaptor 2 and the hive, and is by means of a suitable actuator 911, which is located outside from the housing 1, pivotable around the transversal horizontal geometric axis 910 with the possibility of fixation thereof in each desired position relative to the horizontal plane. Said embodiment is in particular preferred, when due to relative high temperature difference between the interior of the hive and the atmosphere temperature i.e. temperature within the pollen trap, the moisture from the air could condensate within the pollen collecting container 3, which could lead to infection with fungi.