Confused about how smoke affects bees

[eri]

My observations are that the bees roar for a second after the first puff of smoke into the entrance, and they will move off the top of the frames towards the interior when smoked from the top, and they don't roar again. The traffic in an out of the entrance seems to remain about the same before and after smoking.

After my first few hive inspections, I found that an an initial puff at the entrance, a puff under the outer cover, and maybe a puff to move the bees down from the frames I wanted to pull out was all it took. I find I'm using less smoke each subsequent time I inspect the hive. All is well with the method, but I don't understand how it works.

I've read that: 1) smoke is an alarm signal for approaching fire, so bees gorge themselves with honey and calm down and 2) smoke masks an alarm pheromone, so the bees calm down: puff some on a sting.

This seems to be a contradiction. Can someone explain? If smoke = alarm it seems to me the bees would flee. In what self-preservation scenario would bees hunker down in the hive with fire approaching? If smoke = alarm suppressant, again, how would that serve the bees?

Does 'calm' mean too full to fly or too fooled to attack or something else I've missed entirely?

  -- Curious new beekeeper in NC

[Rex]

From what I understand, the smoke does all of what you say.  The bees gorge themselves on honey in preparation for having to possibly relocate their home and they try to take all their sweet booty with them.  It also makes them sluggish after filling up on all that honey.  After the initial smoke alarm is over, they go back to business as usual.

The smoke itself also masks the smell of the alarm pheremone that a bee produces when it stings.

[Greg Peck]

You can over smoke the bees and they will leave the hive. I have used this a time or two to get the remaining bees out of a deep I was removing when I was in a hurry. I took it off the hive and smoked it a lot all the bees stated taking off out of the deep. There was not a whole lot in there but they did leave. So my guess would be that once the smoke got to thick like the fire was getting very close to the hive, the bees would actually take off. A few puffs that clears out a a few seconds is just like a fire drill.

I normally have a smoker handy but I dont use it all that often. If the bees seem to be getting a little aggravated then I lite it up and give them a little.  Just a few puffs is all it takes dont over do it.

[Two Bees]

From George Imirie's "Pink Pages":

From Day One, bees have lived in a hollow tree in the woods. Often a lightning strike sets a woods on fire. Bees smell the smoke and not wanting to be burned to death, they prepare to fly away to some new home if necessary. However, there are no restaurants along the way for them to get lunch "on the road", so they carry their own provisions to their new home; and hence they go to the honey stored in their own hive and GORGE themselves with honey. Now I ask you, "How do you feel after a big Thanksgiving Day dinner?" You don't want to "run any races", but you would rather snooze in a big chair while watching a football game on TV. This is the case with a bee that has their honey stomach filled with honey - They are not very active and are much more placid.

A SMART man uses this to his advantage when working bees. You approach the colony that you want to inspect, and blow several whiffs of smoke directly into every entrance that the bees may have into the hive. NOW, YOU DO SOMETHING EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR MOST BEEKEEPERS - YOU GO AWAY, HAVE A COKE, WATCH THE BIRDS, OR LOOK FOR 4 LEAF CLOVERS FOR AT LEAST 60 SECONDS, BUT 2 MINUTES IS BETTER. When you return to the hive, you carefully blow a tiny whiff of smoke in the entrance, remove the inner cover, allow a whiff of smoke to drift across the bees on top of the frames and began frame removal for inspection. T00 MUCH SMOKE FORCES BEES TO FLY INTO THE AIR, AND THEY ARE MAD, SO THEY MIGHT STING YOU.

Use just a little smoke often to keep them quiet and placid; and use nice, COOL, white, smoke, not hot, blue smoke with flames that BURN the bees and MAKE THEM STING.

[qa33010]

I did this today, for the first time made myself wait, and it worked great.  The only problem I had was the largest hive top cracked really hard as did the inner cover when I opened them.  Man were they unhappy.  They stayed with me until I opened the next hive and until I walked out of the back yard, about seven feet away.  Then they all went back home.  I used to smoke them way too much and usually, now, just go with smoker handy.  I figured today I would try it this way. 

[eri]

OK, thanks. This is making much more sense to me now. Too much smoke or heat will prompt them -- resentfully -- to give up sports for survival, just a little coolish smoke will keep them on the couch :-)

Yes, it is hard to wait, but I've been trying. It's also HOT wearing gloves, veil and bee jacket in the middle of day. My first sting was just under my left eye while overconfidently installing the package bees without a veil. Worn one from that moment on. I figure it is better at this point in my inexperience not to be distracted by stings on my hands, and the thought of getting stung IN the eye will probably keep that veil on for a good long while.

  -- eri

[Michael Bush]

>I find I'm using less smoke each subsequent time I inspect the hive.

You are learning the correct method.  Keep listening to the bees.

>All is well with the method, but I don't understand how it works.

I've watched bees with and without smoke and they engorge on honey either way when you open up the hive.  The smoke does nothing to encourage or discourage this that I can tell.  It does seem to interfere with their getting defensive and I think that's just because it interferes with their ability to smell the alarm pheromone.

Waiting at least a FULL 60 seconds after putting a puff of smoke in the bottom and maybe one in the inner cover hole is the correct method.  It makes a world of difference over putting a puff in and immediately opening the hive.  Or, worse, a LOT of puffs in the door and then opening the hive.

[tillie]

I do like everyone is saying - puff at the door (usually that's all I do), wait a bit (water the mint plants behind the hives) and then open the hives.  Most of the time I set my smoker down and don't use it again.

One of my swarm hives is mean - they sting me every time I go in the hive.  I keep the smoker with me and I do smoke myself (blow smoke around me) when they are attacking me and often smoke the tops of the frames to get them to go away.  On all of my other hives I only smoke a "Hello" at the front door.

Linda T in Atlanta