> Anyone who has had a beeyard overrun by a brush fire can attest that bees
> do
> NOT flee fire.  They stay and protect their brood as best they can, to the
> death.  The ability of over-used smoke to act as an irritant is well-known,
> and bees will, of course, move away from an irritant if they can.  Perhaps
> persistent smoke from nearby fires can be enough of an irritant to prompt a
> hive to abscond, I dunno.


I also do not know about apis mellifera absconding from persistent smoke.
But I do definitely know that apis dorsata will abscond and abandon their
brood and honey from smoking their nest.  That is how the honey hunters in
the Philippines harvest their nests.  They will not return once they have
left.
Hives of apis cerana also have to be gently smoked because they can abscond
from too much.

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