Greetings

Adrian posted some interesting observations on the action of smoke and other
strong chemicals on bees. I hope someday someone will adequately explain the
mechanisms involved. I certainly do *not* buy the suggestion that bees, when
smoked, "think" their hive is on fire and are filling up on honey before
leaving.

Furthermore, I too have used strong odors as smoke substitutes, specifically
pepperment oil mixed with water in a mister. It's OK. Unfortunately, I never
found anything that works as well as the good ole bee smoker.

Finally, I suppose it is one of those things where you don't really need to
know *why* it works, to use it. I will say, though, I wouldn't want to have
to work bees on a regular basis without a smoker in good working order and a
supply of dry fuel.

pb

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
BEE-L has no "Frequently Asked Questions",
but any topic can be reviewed by searching
the  archives.  The archives are the FAQ!
BEE-L archives can be searched at:
 http://listserv.albany.edu:8080/cgi-bin/wa?S1=bee-l
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::