I am interested in all the smoke about smoking bees.  Almost any
material (pine straw, burlap, cow chips, fat lighter pine,
cardboard) producing a cool smoke is adequate.  Some substances
produce toxic smoke--especially burlap treated for special
purposes, and tobacco.  I have used nitrous oxide on bees and this
knocks them out--this was for an experiment to try to introduce
aged virgin queens.  Smoke is used to slightly disrupt the bees
chemical communication system, especially to keep the amount of
alarm pheromone to a minimum (its smells like bananas); the key is
to slightly disrupt the system not totally destroy it which leads
to more stinging and/or total breakdown the the colony's defenses
leading to robbing.
 
The answer to whether some type of smoke or chemical has been used
on honey bees is a resounding yes.  Over the centuries every
conceivable kind of smoke (tobacco--might kill mites, but what
about nicotine, tar, etc that affects human smokers--is there any
reason to suggest this doesn't affect bees) or chemical has been
used by well-meaning beekeepers which knocked bees down, killed
them outright, damaged their nervous system, and the list goes on
and on.  Poor bees!
 
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Tom Sanford       Extension Apiculturist   University of Florida
Mailing Address:  Bldg 970, Hull Rd., Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Voice phone  904/392-1801, Ext. 143
FAX  904/392-0190
INTERNET:  [log in to unmask]
BITNET:  MTS@IFASGNV
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