What do you all think about this?
 
Forwarded message:
> Date: 20 Apr 94 12:38:14 EDT
> From: Bill Otto <[log in to unmask]>
> To: Adam Finkelstein <[log in to unmask]>
> Cc: Marla Spivak <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Apiary Disaster
>
>       Well, Monday was certainly a day to be remembered. I was doing my spring
> cleaning on my colonies, & much to my surprise I discovered a hive that was
> loaded with brood like I usually see in late May. I felt a swarm may start from
> this hive very soon, so I split it right then & there. 1 box of brood/honey per
> colony. 4 hours later, the local fire marshal called me to tell me there had
> been a grass fire & I had lost some hives. At first, when I realized I had left
> my smoker at the apiary, I was worried I had started the fire. I was very
> relieved to see my smoker sitting there, clean & intact. I was very sorry to see
> that my new split, along with two other hives, had been reduced to two blackened
> cinder blocks & a burnt rock (that had been on the top). A fourth hive survived
> in box only. The colony died of smoke inhalation.
>       One  question that is running through my mind is, how fast can bees
> evacuate a colony & would they. I use a smoker, so do you think this would do
> something to change their behavior so when disaster strikes like this, they stay
> put instead of getting out since every other time smoke entered the hive, it was
> just me poking around ?  I'm wondering if we set our girls up for doom when this
> type of thing occurs by using smoke. Could make an interesting study paper, no ?
 
Adam
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Adam Finkelstein  VDACS Apiary Inspector 116 Reservoir St Harrisonburg VA 22801
703-433-1006 (V)   703-434-5607 (Fax)   703-564-4394 (Pager)
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