Hi All

Ruth said...

> Nor have I seen any evidence that suffices to preclude the
> possibility that the bees were simply passively sucked in
> once they got close enough.

A little extra information for Ruth (who is not in a position to make these
observations for herself).

A smoker that is alight, but not actively having it's bellows operated, has
a hot fire in a canister that has a small air inlet near it's base and a
tapered nozzle at its top.

The inlet hole is small in comparison to the outlet hole, but there is a
very small through draught that flows from bottom to top, driven by the
rising heat from the glowing embers.

There is no inrush of air at the outlet nozzle in this circumstance, and
very little in the way of warm air/smoke coming out either.

Even a smoker that is being actively pulsed will have very little suction
occurring at the outlet nozzle as the bellows are actually seperated from
the combustion chamber and fresh air gets into the bellows directly from the
atmosphere.

So I'm sorry Ruth, but your logic does not hang together as there is no
sucking at the nozzle of a stationary smoker a bee cannot be passively
sucked in to it.

I prefer to base science on observation and reapeatable facts, rather than
play with words and concepts.

As regards you "seeing the evidence", I can only suggest that you have a
look at some 'real live bees' and 'real live beekeeping practices'. You
would then be in a position to see these things for yourself.

Best Regards & 73s, Dave Cushman... G8MZY
Beekeeping and Bee Breeding Website
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman

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