USE OF SOAP BUBBLES FOR HONEY BEE POLLINATION AND INTERNATIONAL CODING FOR QUEEN’S AND THEIR IMPORTANCE

this ppt gives the information about the use of soap bubbles as alternative of pollinators and includes about the international coding of queen bee.

1. USE OF SOAP BUBBLES FOR HONEY BEE POLLINATION AND INTERNATIONAL CODING FOR QUEEN’S AND THEIR IMPORTANCE Submitted To: Dr. S. S. Shaw Professor Department of Entomology Submitted By: P.KRANTHI Ph.D. Scholar DOCTORAL SEMINAR ON

2. CONTENTS Introduction Soap bubble pollination Success story Advantages Limitations Future prospects Marking of queen honey bee International colour coding advantages Conclusion

3. USE OF SOAP BUBBLES FOR HONEY BEE POLLINATION

4. INTRODUCTION Natural and artificial flower pollination are critical processes in the life cycle of flowering plants. Pollination by bees and other insects is one of the natural and essential biological processes for about three-quarters of global crop species ( Abrol , 2012; Barth, 1991; Real, 1983 ). Pesticides, land clearing, and climate change have caused serious declines in the number of many of these living creatures ( Goulson et al., 2015 ).

5. Now a days farmers struggling with the decline in commercial honeybees and wild insect populations for pollination They are choosing alternatives like hiring other insects, pollen-spraying machines and individual pollination by paint-brush. Now a days scientists discover a new method that chemically functionalized soap bubbles exhibit effective and convenient delivery of pollen grains to the targeted flowers (Xi Yang and Eijiro Miyako , 2020)

6. HAND POLLINATION Hand pollination with a cotton swab is an effective method that has been used since ancient times as it allowed operators to apply pollen grains directly to flowers ( Abrol , 2012; Barth, 1991; Real, 1983 ) Limitation: T his method required heavy labor to manually apply the pollen grains to all flowers within a farm in a timely manner.

7. Machine pollination methods These methods such as pollen blowers, dusters, and spray dispensers have been alternatively used recently to reduce the human labor and the reliance on insect pollination ( Razeto et al., 2005; Williams et al., 2019) Limitations : The expenses incurred from these conventional machine pollination methods have largely increased owing to the cost of pollen grains. These approaches produce a large number of inefficient pollen grains, especially those scattered from machines, which are not directly targeted toward the flowers

8. POLLEN DUSTERS POLLEN DISPENSERS POLLEN BLOWERS A large number of pollen grains are easily scattered in orchards through conventional artificial pollination with a brush and a machine pressure sprayer ( Razeto et al., 2005; Williams et al., 2019 ).

9. R obotic crop pollination R obotic crop pollination has attracted significant attention because of its potential advantageous performance in terms of individual flower detection, autonomous operation ability, and utilization of biomimetic strategies ( Abutalipov et al., 2016 ; Elamvazhuthi and Berman, 2015; Pottsa et al., 2018 ). In addition, developing and designing of intelligent functional robots is attractive as an emerging technology and promising for autonomous precision robotic pollination ( Ohi et al., 2018; Strader et al., 2019).

10. Scientists at the Japan advanced institute of science and technology show that specially designed soap bubbles can deliver grains of pollen to flowering fruit trees.( Miyako et.al. 2020)

11. WHAT IS THE SOAP BUBBLE POLLINATION ? “Pollens are incorporated into soap water and releasing towards the targeted flowers in form of soap bubble by using robotic drones is called soap bubble pollination”

12. HOW IT WAS STARTED? The first tried to pollinate flowers with gel-and-horsehair coated drones in 2017 by Eijiro Miyako and other co-workers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan. They found that the machines didn’t have the delicate touch required to transfer pollen, and were sometimes destructive.

13. The scientist want to discover better method to deliver the pollens because of the limitations of the first experiment The idea for bubble-delivered pollen came to Miyako accidentally while playing with his son. "I was playing soap bubbles with my son at a park close to my home, when a soap bubble accidently hit my son's face," Miyako tells Matt McGrath at  BBC News .

14. Miyako and Xi Yang tested several kinds of soap until finding the perfect mixture 0.4 percent mix of L auramido propyl betaine- a common ingredient in baby shampoo The soap didn’t interfere with the pollen’s ability to fertilize a flower The researchers created bubbles that carried about 2,000 grains of pollen each.

15. Advantages: T he steady liquid membrane T he large surface area of soap bubbles are suitable media for delivering microscopic lightweight pollen grains for pollination T he easy degradation T he low cost of the eco-friendly ingredients of soap bubbles are attractive and unique features.

16. F lowers do not sustain substantial physical damage from directly shooting soap bubbles because soap bubbles are lightweight, soft , and highly flexible . High controllability of the directional flying of soap bubbles by bubble-making devices is useful for simply shooting soap bubbles directly onto the target flowers so as to systematically reduce the workload of thinning out superfluous f lowers.

17. Soap bubble properties: E nhancement of pollen activity E xcellent mechanical stability S uitable size and geometry of flower pistils S oftness and high flexibility to prevent damage to flowers A dhesiveness on flowers for effective pollination Simple ejection ability on a large number of soap bubbles from the devices.

18. The scientists successfully pollinated the flowers of Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta in an orchard by soap bubbles using a bubble gun, which consequently formed young pear fruits. The bubbles were just as effective as hand-pollination. 95 percentage of fruit setting. Successful story in pear orchard Successful story in pear orchard

19. SOAP BUBBLE GUN

20. Soap bubble pollination in pear

21. Effectiveness of soap bubble pollination in pear for fruit set (Xi Yang and Eijiro Miyako , 2020)

22. Consumption of pollen grains used in different types of pollination methods with a single trigger in pear orchard (Xi Yang and Eijiro Miyako , 2020)

23. Effects of different concentrations of (A) G elatine (0.0-2.0%) and (B) H ydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)(0.0-0.5 %) on promoting pollen activity. (Xi Yang and Eijiro Miyako , 2020)

24. Success story in Ligustrum japonicum The scientists also integrated soap bubbles within a drone for fully automatic pollination of L. japonicum flowers ( wax-leaf privet or Japanese privet ) This study is the first exploring the unique properties of soap bubbles as a material used for the artificial pollination of flowers using different types of bubble-making tools and an autonomous controllable drone.

25. Bubble making device

26. B ubble-making tool and an autonomous controllable drone

27. LIMITATIONS The surfactants used in this study are biocompatible , but their elimination in the environment might cause their accumulation and difficult degradation. How to overcome it : Therefore, the scientists are trying to use eco-friendlier and edible surfactants for future practical pollination.

28. Investigations of the soap bubble-mediated pollination using the automated robotic drone at field or orchard scale are also facing future challenges because the use of a prototype artificial pollinator to spray bubbles caused a lot of waste because most bubbles would miss the flower. How to overcome it : Further innovative technologies, such as state-of-the-art localization and mapping, visual perception, path planning, motion control, and manipulation techniques, would be essential for developing autonomous precision robotic pollination.

29. The scientists expect their multidisciplinary approach combining soap bubbles and drone technology to lead to innovative developments in the field of agricultural engineering and which can tackle the global issues of pollination The scientists also assume that their findings will pave the way for discovering artificial pollination methods that can address relevant global issues such as the decline in pollinator insects , the heavy labor involved in artificial pollination, and the soaring costs of pollen grains. FUTURE PROSPECTIVES

30. The findings and concepts demonstrated in this study will undoubtedly influence the design of next-generation soft-materials-based robotic technologies (Kim et al., 2013; Pfeifer et al., 2007; Rus and Tolley, 2015), including applications in agriculture, material chemistry, biomimetic science, and aviation engineering.

31. Overview of soap bubble pollination

32. International coding for queen’s honeybee and their importance

33. Introduction The international queen marking colour code was created to allow beekeepers to mark their queens using a code which all other beekeepers, wherever they were in the world, would understand. The colours are used to show which year the queen was born in, they also help to enable beekeepers to spot the queen when doing a hive inspection.

34. International colour coding for queen’s honeybee

35. International colour coding for queen’s honeybee

36. A mnemonic we can use to remember the code is “ Will – white You – yellow Raise - Red Good – Green Bees ?”- Blue

37. Uses of marking queen honeybee The queen is often the mother of all bees in a honeybee colony Queen marking makes the queen easier to find in a colony, particularly in a large populous colony, and sometimes when a queen hides The color code indicates the birth year of the queen. When an unmarked queen appears in the colony, the beekeeper knows queen replacement has occurred, which could be one of the “big four”:

38. 1) Usurpation 2) Swarming 3) Supersedure 4) Sudden death of the former queen.

39. Usurpation It is the lesser known of the four. With usurpation a summer swarm (not a reproductive swarm in the spring) enters an established colony and kills its mother queen. The usurpation queen of the swarm becomes the colony’s queen. The colony take-over can occur quickly, effectively in a day or two. That means an unmarked queen replaces the colony’s marked queen, without any queen cell construction.

40. Usurpation

41. Swarming Swarming often sees the old queen leave the beehive. If swarming occurs and queen bee leaves, we need to seek out the new queen bee and mark her.

42. Importance of marking queen bee Marking honeybee queens is an important part of apiculture. Breeding and management of a honeybee colony requires the beekeeper to be keen about the queen bee. An international code has been developed to guide the marking of queen bees. Both beginner beekeepers and experienced ones can use the code with ease.

43. The significance of marking honeybee queens, is that it helps beekeepers find the queen bees easily and quickly. Even then, we do not have to see the queen every time on a beehive inspection. We can deduce her presence using other signs in the beehive, such as the presence of freshly laid eggs. Honeybee queen marking also aids with  record keeping .

44. How to Mark the Queen Marking a honeybee queen is done using one of two methods. U se of a harmless dye to mark her in color 2) U se small convex discs u sing color A code has been developed for use these colours . It is internationally used by all beekeepers to mark their queen bees. Tiny discs with identification numbers or code can be used to mark queen bees. They are also called  opalithplattchen (bee tags)

45. Sidenote: The use of the tiny convex discs is not very popular. They often slip off the queen bee and undo all the work we had done identifying and marking the queen bee. The discs are however great for when we have many queen bees born and used on honeybee colonies in the same year. They can be used alongside color code marking of queen bees.

46. Hardware we used to mark a queen Many experienced beekeepers mark a queen by holding onto her legs with one hand and quickly dabbing the paint with the other hand. It looks easy and takes only a moment. But unfortunately that method does not work for all . We like to have lots of hardware not to protect us from the bee, but to protect the bee from us . we are absolutely paranoid about injuring a queen and so we take lots of precautions to prevent that. Below is the hardware we use.

47. Q ueen catcher

48. Q ueen catcher It is plastic, extremely light weight, and it has slots just wide enough for workers to pass through. W e just squeeze the handle, put the catcher over the queen and surrounding workers, then allow it to close. The bottom is cut away so we won’t injure the queen’s legs, and as we lift the catcher away from the frame, the workers flow through the slots like water. We are left with just the queen.

49. plastic tube with mesh sponge-covered plunger Queen marking tool

50. Q ueen marking tool Once we are captured the queen, we drop her into the plastic tube and insert the sponge-covered plunger part way. Then we hold the tube so the mesh end is up and the stick end is down—the way we would hold a popsicle. Once the queen is sitting on the sponge with her back toward the mesh cover, we slowly push the plunger until the queen is captured between mesh and sponge. Squeeze just enough to hold her still—and no more. The sponge will give and keep her from getting squished . Now we are ready for paint.

51. Q ueen marking pen

52. Q ueen marking pen It is made with quick-drying enamel paint in an easy-to-use pen-like dispenser. Dab the  proper color  on the queen and let it dry for a minute or so. It is very important that paint be applied only to the top center of the thorax. Paint in any other area could injure the queen. If the exact spot is not lined up in the mesh, just lower the plunger, let her take a few steps, then try again.

53. Queen muff

54. Queen muff This mesh muff has elastic arm holes and plenty of workspace inside. To use it, put everything we will need inside the muff—queen in her cage or queen catcher, marking tool, enamel pen—then slide the ends over the arms until it is tight. Once inside, if the queen should get away, she can’t go far. This is much better than having her fly into a nearby tree or get loose in our house.

55. MARKING OF QUEEN HONEYBEE

56. Identifying the Queen for Marking From among thousands of bees, locating that one bee is not easy. So to find the queen bee, some behavioral and physical characteristics are used to the advantage of the beekeeper. It is very likely that the queen bee of our colony is in the brood area. In Langstroth beehives, this is usually the lower sections of the beehive .

57. A honey bee queen’s abdomen is longer that the abdomen of worker bees and male drone bees. The wings on her back cover a very small section of her distended abdomen. She may also have darker coloration than other bees in the colony.

58. Safety During Honeybee Queen Marking Honeybees are defensive insects by nature . Worker bee sting: It is barbed and not usually used to sting repeatedly. Queen bee sting: she carries a stinger with no barbs, so she can therefore sting you repeatedly. Handling the queen without sting protection is therefore not advisable.

59. During marking of the queen bee, we need to open up the hive. Finding the queen bee may take some time too. Honeybees with a hive that is being disturbed can turn aggressive towards us. We should wear a  beekeeping suit  for our safety to avoid from the stinging of bees.

60. A means of calming the bees down should be brought to the queen marking exercise. A  smoker is the standard equipment   to use. It releases a puff of smoke into the beehive. Smoke triggers honeybees to gorge on honey. While they are doing that, we have fewer of them paying attention to our intrusion into the beehive. If using a smoker, make sure it is ready to go if needed.

61. Other methods of calming bees Spraying them with some sugar water is used by some beekeepers. It makes them get grooming themselves and each other. L imitation: The sugar water has the potential to attract bacteria and fungi into the beehive.

62. 2) Cautiously use the water in a fine spray or mist. Limitation: Overusing water in the beehive can leave the beehive too humid and unsuitable for use by honeybees.

63. CONCLUSION

64. World without bees……. “If the bees disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more four years to live. No more pollination , no more plants, no more animals, no more man” - Albert Einstein

65. Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything George Bernard shaw