Hi
 
Because we now have the capability to continuously measure bee flight in
and out of 21 hives located in Maryland, we are in the process of
examining the effects of a wide array of external stressors on honey bee
behavior.
 
We looked at smoke.  Two small (and I mean really small) puffs of smoke at
the entrance, wait 2 minutes, puff twice more and then watch the results.
 
Because the wind was blowing perpendicular to the row of hives, only one
got most of the 4 puffs of smoke, others got less than 4 puffs, and some
adjacent "unsmoked" hives got a bit of smoke drift.
 
In less than two minutes, the numbers of outgoing bees dropped off
dramatically in the "smoked" hives.  But closer examination showed the
numbers of outgoing bees decreased in all hives, even those just getting a
bit of drift.  Numbers of incoming bees, as expected, did not change much.
 
But here's the interesting part, we smoked the bees early in the afternoon
and the effect lasted through the evening - they never returned to full
activity as compared to flight for the previous or following days.  Not
surprisingly, the more smoke, the more obvious the effect.
 
Remember though, we only injected a bit of smoke.  We did not open, bang,
or handle the hives.
 
Our thought for the day.
 
Jerry J. Bromenshenk
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