CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How to breed and capture wild bumblebees?

Capturing and breeding wild bumblebees:

1. Construction of wasp training cage

Generally, wasp domestication cages are made of wooden frames, with nylon mesh on the top and sides, and a thickened nylon zipper opening on one side of the cage (for management personnel to enter and exit). The cage is usually bottomless, buried in the soil, and fixed with wooden stakes and wire to prevent it from being blown down by the wind. A large number of cruciferous plants and small bushes are cultivated in the cage.

2. Cultivation of Wasp Feed

Generally, when training wasps, it is easiest to cultivate cabbage worms. The method is to mash the leaves of cruciferous plants (cabbage leaves are best), apply the mashed leaf juice on a clean piece of paper, and then place the coated paper in the field. Soon many white cabbage butterflies will rush over and quickly land on the paper to lay eggs. When a certain number of eggs are laid, the paper can be taken to the leaves of cruciferous plants in the beehive, allowed to hatch and grow naturally, and provided for the wasps to prey on.

3. Making of Wasp Catching Tools

To capture wild female bees for domestication, you can use a homemade bee-catching net. The net consists of a handle, a net ring, and a net bag. The length of the handle is about the same as your height, and you can use a bamboo pole or a wooden stick with a diameter of 2 cm. The diameter of the net ring is 35 cm, and it is made of thick iron wire, with both ends folded into right angles and fixed on the handle. The handle is made of dark nylon gauze, and the length of the net bag is about twice the diameter of the net ring. If it is convenient, you can also go directly to the fishing gear store to buy a landing net and replace the nylon gauze.

4. How to catch wasps

Wasps that are active in the wild in spring have all mated before hibernating in winter. They can be tamed by catching them. The catching method is as follows. 1. If you find a wasp flying in the air, just wave the bee-catching net. After the wasp enters the net, quickly swing the bottom of the net upwards, flip the wasp upside down, and then put it into the taming cage and let it fly out by itself. 2. If you see a wasp on a flower, you should walk over gently and startle it. When the wasp flies up, wave the bee net violently, and you can accurately catch the wasp in the net. This operation can avoid damage to the flowers. 3. If you encounter a wasp landing on a plant with thorns, you must wait until the wasp flies up before catching it, otherwise the thorns on the plant will tear the bee net.

5. Taming of Wasps

The captured drones are placed in a training cage, which contains fibrous materials such as rotten wood (for drones to build nests), and clean water and liquid feed. The general feeding method is to soak the liquid feed into absorbent filter paper or absorbent cotton until it is saturated, and then put it into a glass container for feeding. The disadvantages of this feeding method are: it is very easy to evaporate, dry, contaminate, and mold. The most ideal method is to first put water and liquid feed into a bottle, and then invert the bottle in a glass container covered with absorbent filter paper and absorbent cotton. The wasps are fed by osmosis to avoid the above disadvantages. In the cage, according to the number of captured female bees, hang empty beehives (for wasps to build nests). Generally, when the temperature is constant above 17℃, wasps begin to fly into the empty beehives hanging in the training cage to build nests and lay eggs. At this time, the female bees not only build nests and lay eggs, but also have to bear the task of catching and feeding larvae. After the larvae become pupae, they can emerge as bees in about 15 days. The first generation of adult bees will be responsible for building nests and feeding larvae. The original male bees only bear the task of laying eggs. At this time, the wasps are very attached to the nest and are generally unwilling to leave the nest and fly out. As the bee colonies and larvae on the nest continue to increase, there must be enough cabbage worms to ensure adequate feed supply. If the feed is insufficient, there will be a danger of wasps eating the larvae.

6. Wild-Raising Wasps

When the first generation of adult bees emerge, the beehives can be moved directly to the field. They do not need to be managed by humans or fed with any feed. The adult bees will catch all kinds of pests for food. General Management During the period of yellow-tailed brood borer outbreak, pay attention to closing the door of the beehive at night to prevent yellow-tailed brood borer from entering the hive to lay eggs at night and harm the wasp larvae.

7. Overwintering Management of Wasps

In early October, bring the beehives from the field into the beehive cages and feed them with lepidopteran insects and sugars to increase the nutrition of the bees and replenish their physical strength. When the temperature drops below 6℃, the wasps will enter the beehives and huddle together to hibernate, not eating or moving. At this time, the beehives should be placed in a dry and ventilated empty room. When the temperature rises above 6℃, the wasps begin to disperse. When the temperature is constant at above 13℃, the wasps begin to go out one after another. At this time, they should be put in the beehive cages and fed. When the temperature is constant at above 17℃, the wasps start to build nests.

8. Wasp product collection

1. Collection of adults and larvae. For wasps that are artificially raised for the prevention and control of agricultural and forestry pests, it is advisable to collect them when the pest control is about to end. Generally, the collection is carried out in October when the beacon boxes are taken back from the fields to the beehives, and it can ensure that there are enough female bees in the next year. Then the excess adult bees and larvae are collected, scalded to death with boiling water, and dried in the sun or baked to become the Chinese medicine bumblebees and bumblebee eggs, which are placed in dry porcelain or jars for preservation. 2. Collection of honeycombs. Collection of honeycombs is relatively convenient and easy. Collection should be carried out when wasps gather together for wintering. The honeycombs in the beehives are picked off and dried in the sun to become the Chinese medicine dew beehives. 3. Collection of wasp venom. Wasp venom is a kind of venom stored in the venom sac of the bee. It is a highly complex mixture of pharmacological and biochemical activities and can be obtained by electrical stimulation. Before collecting the venom, first move the beehives in the field into beehives at night, and place the venom collector at the entrance of the beehive after daybreak. When the wasps touch the stimulator of the venom collector, they are electrocuted and release venom. After collection, dissolve it in distilled water, centrifuge to remove dust, and then freeze-dry to obtain venom dry powder, which is then stored in a refrigerator.

IX. Control of natural enemies of medicinal hornbeam

1. Yellow-tailed brood borer. Yellow-tailed brood borer belongs to the order Lepidoptera and the family Pyralidae. The first generation of adults occurs in mid-to-late May. The adult body is 7.5 mm long and has a wingspan of about 17 mm. The male moth is slightly smaller than the female moth. After the adult emerges, it quickly mates and flies to the wasp nest at night to lay eggs. The adult moth dies after 3 days. The yellow-tailed brood borer eggs hatch into larvae in about 5 days. They are grayish white and move flexibly in the hive, eating the wasp larvae. The larvae of the yellow-tailed brood borer pupate in about 12 days, and the second generation of yellow-tailed brood borer adults emerge after about 11 days of pupal stage. The yellow-tailed brood borer has a generation of about 30 days, with a very high reproduction rate and is active at night. The wasps are active during the day and rest on the nest at night, allowing the yellow-tailed brood borer to lay eggs in the hive. It can be seen that once the yellow-tailed brood borer invades the hive, it is very likely that a large number of hives will be in danger of destruction. Prevention and control methods: Based on the characteristics of yellow-tailed brood borer that it is not good at flying high, the beehive of wasps is generally placed a little higher from the ground and the beehive door is closed every night to prevent yellow-tailed brood borer from entering the beehive to lay eggs. The damper is opened the next morning to let the wasps go out. 2. Mice. Mice mainly harm wasps that hibernate in groups. If there are mice in the overwintering beehive, they often eat up the overwintering bees in the whole box, so prevention must be taken as soon as possible.

10. The economic value of wasps

Wasp nests are traditional Chinese medicinal materials. The state purchase price is 17 yuan per kilogram. Each wasp nest is generally about 50 centimeters in diameter. It is not a problem for an ordinary worker to raise thousands of wasp nests. On average, 250 grams of wasp nests can be collected from each nest, and the economic benefits are considerable. In recent years, domestic and foreign reports have shown that wasp venom has anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-radiation effects, which has attracted the attention of the medical community. In the world's largest toxin company, Sigma, the price of one ounce of wasp venom is as high as about 30 US dollars. Wasps are natural enemies of agricultural and forestry pests and can be used for biological control to eliminate pests. In grain, cotton and cash crop fields, raising a certain amount of wasps can save the cost of pesticides for pest control, increase production and increase income. Raising wasps in vegetable gardens can reduce the pollution of pesticides to vegetables.

11. Precautions for breeding wasps

l. When collecting wasp venom, wasps are very aggressive and are most likely to sting. You must close the beehive door at night and then put the beehive into the cage. After dawn, open the beehive door and turn on the power to collect venom. People must observe outside the beehive. After dark, take out the collected venom, close the beehive door, and then put the beehive back into the field.

2. Two types of wasps that are not suitable for breeding.

① Golden-ringed hornets. This hornet is very aggressive and often attacks humans and livestock in groups. It is extremely poisonous and can cause a buffalo to become paralyzed and unable to get up from its sting. If a person accidentally pokes a golden-ringed hornet's nest, a large group of golden-ringed hornets will fly over and attack, causing serious injuries or even death.

② Tussah wasp. This wasp specializes in preying on tussah silkworm larvae and is a pest. It is not suitable for breeding and should be killed.