Abstract:
A nest for solitary bees may be fashioned from a rectangular solid of either a solid matrix or a number of nest elements. Each side of the nest contains a multiplicity of apertures, where each aperture provides a nesting cavity for the bees. Each aperture has an open end and a closed end. If fashioned from individual nest elements, the orientation of the apertures may be adjusted as desired, such that each element may be stacked upon an adjacent element in one of four orientations, so that the cavities of one element may be at 0°, 90°, 180° or 270° relative to an adjacent element. If desired, the aperture density of each side may be adjusted as desired. The configuration of the nesting cavities of the present invention reduces congestion at nest entrances and provides shelter to the bees from predators and the environment.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/329,667 for this invention was filed on Apr. 30, 2010, for which application this inventor claims domestic priority. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Nests for cavity-nesting bees are known in the pollination industry and in the fields of research, conservation and education. They are also used by gardeners and enthusiasts. Known nests provide axial openings into which the solitary bees may nest. The entrances to the known nests, which are commonly U-shaped or circular in cross-section, are all on a single side of the assembly. While this configuration has been generally accepted, the present inventor has discovered that this arrangement can result in congestion of the bees at the entrance to the nest openings. This congestion reduces the ability of bees to identify and navigate to their nests. It also increases the amount of time required for the bees to access the safety of the nest and thus creates a longer exposure to hazards, such as predators, pesticides, and harmful environmental conditions. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A nest for solitary bees comprises a rectangular solid comprising either a solid matrix or a number of nest elements, which are usually, but not necessarily, square. Each side of the nest contains a multiplicity of apertures, each with an open end and a closed end, where each aperture provides a nesting habitat for the bees. If fashioned from individual nest elements, the orientation of the apertures may be adjusted as desired, such that each element may be stacked upon an adjacent element in one of four orientations, so that the cavities of one element may be at 0°, 90°, 180° or 270° relative to an adjacent element. If desired, the aperture density of each side may be adjusted as desired. 
     The orientation of the apertures of embodiments of the present invention encourages bees to populate the nest more than with the known nests and allows the bees to reach the security of the interior of the nest more expeditiously than with the known nests. Two or more stacked nests may be supported within a housing unit in such a way that a passage is left between opposing faces of the stacked nests. The nest elements may be arranged so that some or all of the open ends of the cavities are within the passage between the stacked nests. This arrangement encourages bees to populate the different cavities of the nest, while also providing shelter from predators and the environment. In addition, reduction of congestion at open ends of cavities improves recognition by each nesting female bee of its selected nest cavity, which reduces or eliminates the aggressive behavior and possible injury which may occur when females dispute possession of cavities. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the nest according to the present invention, the nest having openings facing in four different directions. 
         FIG. 1A  shows a top view of the nest shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  shows an embodiment of the present invention in which stacked nesting elements are contained within a housing assembly. 
         FIG. 4  shows an embodiment of the present invention which comprises two separate nest units contained within a housing assembly. 
         FIG. 5  shows an embodiment of the present invention which comprises three separate nest units contained within a housing assembly. 
         FIG. 6  shows an embodiment of the present invention which comprises four separate nest units contained within a housing assembly. 
         FIG. 7  shows an embodiment of the present invention in which each aperture is formed by opposite facing channels in adjacent nest elements in facing contact. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     The present inventor, having found that the known nests create congestion at the entrance to the cavities has conceived a nest which not only provides the nesting cavities known in the prior art, but where embodiments of the new nest reduce bee congestion at the entrance to the cavities, and some embodiments provide additional shelter apart from the cavities themselves. The current invention provides a stacking nest for solitary bees, which is particularly useful in, but not exclusively intended for, commercial pollination of fruit and seed crops. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , embodiments of the nest  10  comprise a rectangular solid. It is to be appreciated that the term “solid” does not refer to the composition of the matrix of the apparatus, which may comprise either a unitary solid or, as discussed below, a plurality of nesting elements, but rather the term is used in a geometric sense—the nest comprises a spatial solid. The nest  10  has a top  12 , a bottom  14 , a first side  16 , a second side  18 , a third side  20  and a fourth side  22 . The first side  16  may be on the opposite side of the rectangular solid from the third side  20  and the second side  18  may be on the opposite side of the rectangular solid from the fourth side  22 . The first side  16  has a large number of apertures  24  which extend from the first side to, but not penetrating, the third side  20 . Each of the apertures  24  of the first side  16  has an axis L 1  which is normal to a plane defined by the first side. Likewise, second side  18  also has a large number of apertures  26  which extend from the second side to, but not penetrating, the fourth side  22 , where each of these apertures has an axis L 2  normal to the second side. In the same fashion, the third side  20  comprises a large number of apertures  28 , shown in hidden line, which extend from the third side to, but not penetrating, the first side  16 , where each of these apertures  28  has an axis L 3  normal to the third side. Finally, the fourth side  22  comprises a large number of apertures  30  extending from the fourth side to, but not penetrating, the second side  18 , where each of these apertures  30  has an axis L 4  normal to the fourth side. It is to be noted that for each of the axes L 1 , L 2 , L 3  and L 4 , the axes do not coincide with or bisect any of the other axes. The nest  10  may be fabricated, by way of example, from drilling or machining the cavities in a solid block, or injection molding of a block having the aperture configuration described above. 
     Alternatively, an embodiment of nest  10  may comprise a stack of nest elements  50  which may be square in plan view, thereby enabling nest elements  50  to be stacked such that open ends of the apertures  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30  may face in any one of four directions. The density of nest entrances perceived by a nest-seeking bee is reduced to 25% of that which the bee would perceive if all open ends of the apertures were facing in the same direction. Each nest element  50  may engage with adjacent nest elements  50  by means of rebate  51  which is fashioned around the upper perimeter of each nest element  50  which engages in recess (not illustrated) in the underside of adjacent nest element. Alternative means of engagement may be utilized. In this and subsequent examples, the number of nest elements  50  in a stack may be varied dependent on the number of bees to be accommodated on a defined area of a specific crop. It is to be appreciated that the basis nest unit described above is utilized in the following described embodiments of the invention, whether the nest  10  comprises a solid structure or a plurality of nest elements  50 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the components of a nest  10  fabricated from individual nest elements  50  are shown in the process of assembly. Nest  10  comprises a number of nest elements  50  stacked with open ends of apertures  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30  facing in four different directions, showing the orientation of axes L 1 , L 2 , L 3  and L 4 . The stack of nest elements is supported by hanger  54  which passes through the centre of each nest element  50  and includes support  56  illustrated here as a hook, but which may alternatively comprise a carabiner clamp, cable tie, ring, string, flexible wire or other method of hanging or supporting nest  52  in a tree or from an agricultural structure. In  FIG. 2  a nut or clamp  55  is shown as an example of a method of securing hanger  54 . Other support mechanisms may be utilized. For example,  FIG. 3  illustrates a stack of nest elements  50  supported in a housing  58 . In this embodiment of the nest  10 ′, nest elements  50  are inserted into housing  58  by passing them through an opening  60 . Alternatively one part of housing  58  such as cover  61  may be removable to allow nest elements  50  to be located within housing  58 , or housing  58  may be assembled around nest elements  50 . 
       FIGS. 2 and 3  illustrate embodiments of a nest  10  comprising nest elements  50  with U-shaped apertures  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30  as described above, but the current invention is equally applicable for nests comprising apertures of different cross-section, whether formed by the engagement of corresponding grooves on upper and lower surfaces of adjacent elements, or by the engagement of a grooved surface with a planar surface, or by each aperture being fully contained within an individual nest element  50 . The nest arrangement is also suitable for nest elements of any material and any method of manufacture. When fabricated from nest elements  50 , the density of apertures  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30  for each of the four sides of the nest  10  is adjustable. 
     The dimensions of each nest element  50  may vary with the species of solitary bee it is intended for; preferred dimensions are 100 mm to 200 mm square, more preferably 125 to 160 mm square. The preferred diameter of circular cavities (or the mean diameter of non-circular cavities) is 6 mm to 10 mm, more preferably 8 mm to 9 mm. 
     It may be desirable to provide additional navigation cues to bees by applying different colors or patterns to nest elements  50 , for example by using different colors of plastic in a molding process, or applying paint or other pigments to nest elements  50  and/or housing  58  during or after manufacture. 
     It may be advantageous to provide shade or protection to the open ends of apertures  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30 . In addition to making the nests more attractive to bees in some circumstances, it provides protection against agrochemical sprays, particularly fungicides, which are commonly and in some cases repeatedly sprayed during bloom when the bees are active. A further advantage of providing shade or protection is that it prevents predatory animals, particularly birds, catching nesting female bees at their most vulnerable, i.e., when stationary or slow-moving at the entrance to their nests. 
     A further embodiment of the stacking nest for solitary bees is shown in  FIG. 4 ; a nest  70  provides shade conditions for some or all of the open ends of apertures  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30 . Two nest units  72   a , 72   b , which may either be solid units as described above, or which may be nest units comprising nest elements  50 , are held in alignment by base  75  and cover  76 . Optional support  56  is provided for hanging nest  70  in a tree or agricultural structure. The passage  74  formed between stacks  72   a , 72   b  provides a protected and shady environment at the open ends of at least some of the apertures  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30 . If desired, nest components  50  may be aligned and assembled so that all open ends of the apertures are within passage  74 . 
     The preferred distance between opposing faces of stacks of nest elements  50  which form passage  74  is 25 mm to 100 mm, more preferably 50 mm to 75 mm. 
       FIG. 5  shows an embodiment of a nest  80  in which three nest units  72   a , 72   b , 72   c , which may be either solid units as described above, or which each comprise stacks of nest elements  50  are supported and held in alignment by base  75  and cover  76  in such a way that two passages  74   a , 74   b  are formed. 
       FIG. 6  shows a nest  90  comprising nest units  72   a , 72   b , 72   c , 72   d , which may be either solid units as described above, or which comprise stacks of nest elements  50 . Referring to  FIG. 6 , base  75  and cover  76  support and hold in alignment solid nests or stacks  72   a , 72   b , 72   c , 72   d  of nest elements  50 . Two intersecting protected and shaded passages  74   a  and  74   b  are formed. In this and in previous examples, the user may choose to stack nest elements  50  so that open ends of all apertures  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30  are within passages  74   a ,  74   b , or alternatively at least some of the open ends of the apertures face outwards. Optional support  56  is provided for hanging nest assembly  70  in a tree or agricultural structure. 
     While the above is a description of various embodiments of the present invention, further modifications may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus the scope of the invention should not be limited according to these factors, but according to the following appended claims.