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

Capturing and breeding of wild bumblebees: 1. Construction of wasp domestication cages. 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 cages are generally bottomless, buried in the soil, and fixed with wooden stakes and wire to prevent being blown down by the wind. A large number of cruciferous plants and small shrubs are cultivated in the cages. \x0d\x0a 2. Cultivation of Wasp Feed\x0d\x0a When domesticating wasps, it is easiest to cultivate cabbage worms. The method is to crush the leaves of cruciferous plants (preferably cabbage leaves), apply the juice of the crushed leaves on a clean piece of paper, and then place the coated paper in the field. Soon, many white cabbage butterflies will rush to fly 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 cruciferous plant leaves in the beehive, allowing them to hatch and grow naturally for the wasps to prey on. \x0d\x0a 3. Making Wasp Catching Tools\x0d\x0a 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 net handle is about the same as the height of the person. 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. It is made of thick iron wire, and the two ends are folded into right angles and fixed on the net handle. The net 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. \x0d\x0a 4. How to catch wasps\x0d\x0a Wasps that are active in the wild in spring have mated before hibernation in winter. They can be tamed after being caught. The catching method is as follows. 1. If you find a wasp flying in the air, just wave the bee-catching net. After the bee enters the net, quickly throw the bottom of the net upwards, flip the bee upside down on it, and then put it in 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. \x0d\x0a V. Taming of wasps\x0d\x0a Put the captured male bees into a training cage, which contains fibrous materials such as rotten wood (for the male bees to build nests), and feed them clean water and liquid feed. The general feeding method is to soak the liquid feed into a saturated state with absorbent filter paper or absorbent cotton, and put it in 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 dish covered with absorbent filter paper and absorbent cotton. The wasps are fed with food through osmosis, which can avoid the above disadvantages. In the cage, hang empty beehives (for wasps to build nests) according to the number of captured female bees. Generally, when the temperature is constant at 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 have to bear the task of catching and feeding larvae in addition to building nests and laying eggs. 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 nest-loving and generally unwilling to leave the nest and fly out. As the bee colonies and larvae on the nest increase, there must be enough cabbage worms to ensure sufficient feed supply. If the feed is insufficient, there will be a risk of wasps eating the larvae. \x0d\x0a 6. Field release of wasps\x0d\x0a After the first generation of adult bees emerge, the beehives can be moved directly to the field. There is no need for human management or feeding. The adult bees will catch all kinds of pests for food. General management During the period of yellow-tailed brood borer, 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. \x0d\x0a VII. Wintering management of wasps\x0d\x0a In early October, take the beehives in the field into the beehive cages and feed them with lepidoptera and sugars to increase the nutrition of the bees and make them strong. 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 into the beehive cages for feeding. When the temperature is constant at above 17℃, the wasps enter the nesting state. \x0d\x0a VIII. Collection of wasp products\x0d\x0a 1. Collection of adults and larvae. For wasps that are artificially raised to control agricultural and forestry pests, it is advisable to collect them when 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 young bees are collected, scalded to death with boiling water, and dried in the sun or baked to become Chinese medicine bumblebees and bumblebee brood, 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 removed and dried in the sun to become 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 poison, first bring the beehives in the field into the beehive cage at night, and place the poison collector at the entrance of the beehive after dawn. When the wasp touches the stimulator of the poison collector, it is electrocuted and discharges the wasp venom. After collection, dissolve it in distilled water, centrifuge to remove dust, and then freeze-dry it to obtain the wasp venom dry powder, which is stored in the refrigerator. \x0d\x0a IX. Natural enemy prevention and control of medicinal wasps\x0d\x0a 1. Yellow-tailed brood borer. Yellow-tailed brood borer belongs to the Lepidoptera and 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 mates quickly 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 wasp larvae. The larvae of the yellow-tailed brood borer will pupate in about 12 days, and the second generation of yellow-tailed brood borer adults will emerge in about 11 days. The yellow-tailed brood borer has a generation of about 30 days, with a very high reproduction rate and is active at night, while 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: According to the characteristics of the yellow-tailed brood borer that is not good at flying high, the wasp hive is generally higher than the ground, and the beehive door is closed every night to prevent the yellow-tailed brood borer from entering the hive to lay eggs. The damper is opened the next morning to let the wasps go out. 2. Rats. Rats mainly harm wasps that huddle together for the winter. If there are rats in the overwintering beehive, they often eat up the overwintering huddle bees in the whole box, so prevention must be taken as soon as possible. \x0d\x0a 10. Economic value of wasps\x0d\x0a Wasp nests are traditional Chinese medicinal materials. The state purchase price is 17 yuan per kilogram. Each wasp nest is generally about 50 cm 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. \x0d\x0a 11. Precautions for breeding wasps\x0d\x0al. When collecting wasp venom, wasps are extremely violent and are most likely to sting people. It is necessary to close the beehive door at night and then put the beehive into the cage. After dawn, open the beehive door and turn on the electricity to collect venom. People must observe outside the cage. After dark in the evening, take out the collected venom, close the beehive door, and then put the beehive back into the field. \x0d\x0a 2. Two types of wasps that are not suitable for breeding. \x0d\x0a ① Golden ring wasp. This wasp is violent and often attacks humans and livestock in groups. It is extremely toxic. If it stings a buffalo, it can make the buffalo anesthetized and unable to get up. If a person accidentally pokes a golden ring wasp nest, a large group of golden ring wasps will fly over and attack, which will cause serious injuries or even death. \x0d\x0a ② Tussah silkworm wasp. This wasp specializes in preying on tussah silkworm larvae. It is a pest and is not suitable for breeding. It should be killed.