> Doug wrote:
>
> "Smoking honey bees with smoke has always been one of those myths with me...
> no one really know why or how it works, ......"
>

I was always told it had to do with the perception that the smoke caused 
the workers to engorge with honey, ready to be able to take off with the 
rest of the colony if the primordial fire is ready to burn the hive.

But research casts doubt on that - that it takes more than 30 minutes 
for the entire colony to fully engorge, so it would not be likely a 
quick response to being obliged to leave the colony suddenly.

But it still seems to work for me - calming the bees that might 
otherwise not be workable...

Nick Wallingford
Tauranga, NZ

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