At 07:55 PM 11/26/1999 -0500, David Eyre wrote:

>I have never tried this as an idea, but have recently been testing a
>new product we've been asked to add to our product line which might
>be better than wintergreen.
>        It's called Liquid Smoke. This stuff is really interesting, as you
>can spray it on yourself. It might be better if I explain.
>        Sold as a concentrate, mixed with water 1oz to 15ozs water in a
>spray bottle, and used instead of a smoker! A quick spritz across the
>entrance and the bees run in, unlike smoke it doesn't disipate so
>quickly, so the hive is contolled longer, another spritz across the
>frame tops and away you go.

This past season I tried once, and only once, a supposedly wonderful smoke
substitute, that may or may not be similar to what David describes, called
Fabi-Spray.  It was horrible, for the following reason.

There seem to be three levels of awareness on the part of the bees to intrusion:

  1.  Awareness of the keeper's presence in the hive that does not seem to
be alarm.
      In this awareness the bees can be herded upon the frames with tiny
wisps of         smoke, puffs of breath, and with the fingers.  The bees
continue their tasks,       dances are uninterrupted, and the queen
continues to lay on a frame held in       the hand.

  2.  Alarm, accompanied by at least a tiny transient whiff of the banana
oil smell.       The bees eat honey, and are less responsive to being herded.

  3.  Defeat, accompanied by a very indistinct smell vaguely reminiscent of
tom-cat       urine.  The bees are very quiet but essentially immobile and
impossible to       herd.

The problem with the Fabi-Spray was that no matter how little was sprayed,
the bees went immediately to the third level, which precluded convenient
manipulation.  I reserve the third level for emergencies, such as having
quickly to cut supersedure cells and to install a new queen on a cold,
sleety day, with worse weather coming, to minimize loss of brood.

What level of awareness does Liquid Smoke induce?  Are there other products
that  easily maintain the first level of awareness and capable of being
administered delicately enough to facilitate moving the bees about precisely
at will?

Bill Morong