Method and device for identifying different species of honeybees
First Claim
1. A method of identifying at least two different species of honeybees whose wing movements produce distinctly different distinguishing frequency bands for each said species within an acoustical signal spectra, comprising the steps of:
- detecting said acoustical signal spectra produced by said honeybees to be identified; and
analyzing said detected acoustical signal spectra simultaneously with at least two frequency responsive circuits, one of said circuits responsive to a frequency band of one of said species and a second of said circuits responsive to a frequency band of a second of said species, to determine the presence of said distinguishing frequency bands specific to the identity of a particular species as an indication of the species of said honeybees being identified.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and device have been provided for distinguishing Africanized honeybees from European honeybees. The method is based on the discovery of a distinct difference in the acoustical signatures of these two species of honeybees in flight. The European honeybee signature has a fundamental power peak in the 210 to 240 Hz range while the Africanized honeybee signature has a fundamental power peak in the 260 to 290 Hz range. The acoustic signal produced by honeybees is analyzed by means of a detecting device to quickly determine the honeybee species through the detection of the presence of frequencies in one of these distinct ranges. The device includes a microphone for acoustical signal detection which feeds the detected signal into a frequency analyzer which is designed to detect the presence of either of the known fundamental wingbeat frequencies unique to the acoustical signatures of these species as an indication of the identity of the species and indicate the species identity on a readout device.
22 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method of identifying at least two different species of honeybees whose wing movements produce distinctly different distinguishing frequency bands for each said species within an acoustical signal spectra, comprising the steps of:
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detecting said acoustical signal spectra produced by said honeybees to be identified; and analyzing said detected acoustical signal spectra simultaneously with at least two frequency responsive circuits, one of said circuits responsive to a frequency band of one of said species and a second of said circuits responsive to a frequency band of a second of said species, to determine the presence of said distinguishing frequency bands specific to the identity of a particular species as an indication of the species of said honeybees being identified. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A device for identifying at least two different species of honeybees whose wing movements produce distinctly different acoustical signal spectra, each specie of honeybee producing specific and distinct frequency bands in said signal spectra, comprising:
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an acoustical signal detecting means for detecting an acoustical signal spectra produced by at least one of said species of honeybees to be identified and generating an electrical signal at an output of said detecting means proportional to said acoustical signal spectra; and an electrical signal frequency responsive means for receiving and analyzing said electrical signal and for generating separate species identification signals in response to specific frequencies in said electrical signal within said frequency bands associated with the identity of a particular honeybee species. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of identifying different species of honeybees, each of said species having wing movements that produce detectable acoustical signal spectra with different specific distinguishing frequency bands, which comprises:
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detecting said acoustical signal spectra of said species to be identified and producing an electrical signal corresponding to said spectra; feeding said electrical signal corresponding to said spectra simultaneously into at least two frequency responsive circuits, said two frequency responsive circuits adapted to produce an output signal in response to individual of said different specific distinguishing frequency bands of said species; and determining the presence of said output signal from said frequency responsive circuits as a measure of the identity of said species of honeybees corresponding to the specific distinguishing frequency band of said frequency responsive circuits.
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13. A field survey device for identifying species of honeybees whose wing movements produce uniquely different distinguishing frequency bands in an acoustical signal spectra in a range of about 200 to about 290 Hz, which comprises:
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an acoustical detecting means for detecting an acoustical signal spectra produced by said species of honeybees to be identified and for generating an electrical signal at an output thereof proportional to said acoustical signal spectra; a plurality of tone decoders designated from a first decoder to a Nth decoder, for receiving said electrical signal proportional to said acoustical signal spectra, each of said decoders tune to be activated by the detection of different assigned frequencies in ranges from about 200 to about 290 Hz in selected progressive steps beginning with said first decoder through said Nth decoder, with each of said decoders providing an output signal when activated by said assigned frequency in said acoustical signal spectra electrical signal; and a plurality of indicator means, each of said indicator means connected to one of said plurality of decoders, whereby on output signal of a decoder activates said indicator means associated therewith to identify the presence of a species of honeybee corresponding to said assigned frequency of said activated decoder.
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Specification