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Date: | Sat, 28 Sep 1996 15:54:57 -0700 |
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Joel Govostes wrote:
>Gloves - use them or don't? I must admit that I do, regularly. Shame on
>me. About the only situations when I don't are when I am working on weak
>colonies or nuc's.
>
>I'm not sure when I started using them again on a regular basis. I do know
>that I still get stung. ..... When you are restricted to working bees only at
>certain times, and you can't control the weather, gloves can make otherwise
>unmanageable manipulations "do-able." And you don't end up with propolis
>all over your fingers. You can often work a little faster as well.
>
>Beyond that, gloves will hang on to the venom-scent and I'm convinced this
>can get otherwise-agreeable bees riled. ......
******
I virtually never use gloves. If one does not have much hair on the
hands, attacking bees almost always alight but do not grip hard. Also, I
feel Joel is correct, "...gloves will hang on to the venom-scent..." For
instance, a beekeeper helped me once on my research project, at which time
we found the bees especially testy. Then I asked him about the strong odor
on his gloves, to which he responded that he used them when applying
BEE-GO. Benzaldehyde in small doses certainly does not placate bees!
One way around odor retention on gloves is to use disposable surgical
gloves for fine work (as I have posted on this net before). They cost only
a couple of cents apiece. The bees don't seem to be able to get a good
enough grip on the latex to push their stingers through and into the skin.
******
I ALWAYS remove my watch (and any shiny objects) before working bees.
If one looks at a Casio watch from a bee's perspective, for instance, one
may recognize a little black head with two shiny bright eyes --- a likely
predator. No wonder so many people get stung in the area near the watch!
And, of course, watch bands concentrate sweat odor.
Adrian
Adrian M. Wenner (805) 893-2838 (UCSB office)
Ecol., Evol., & Marine Biology (805) 893-8062 (UCSB FAX)
Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara (805) 963-8508 (home office & FAX)
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
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