>> We smoke bees so we can work colonies and smoke is CO2, just like our
breath. Shouldn't that trigger aggression? It does the opposite.

I hope you don't mean that. Smoke and animal exhalation are not the
same, and barely similar. Simply because they share one component
doesn't make them the same. Otherwise you could say that humans and oil
are the same because they are largely carbon based, and we quite
obviously are not oil.

Smoke is a distinct thing, something that over millions of years the
bees have come to associate with fire, and a potention danger that may
require vacating the home suddenly and triggers a flight preparation
response. Breath on the other hand is associated with an animal intruder
and the bees whether only slightly or agressively repsond to this
threat. The response is the same 'defense', whether it is slight and the
bees move out of the way or a severe mass attack. Obviously other stress
factor can contribute to added defensiveness such as queenlessness or
perhaps an approaching front, but the response is the same, just a
different grade of defense.

--
Scot Mc Pherson
The Mc Pherson Family Honey Farms
Bradenton, Florida USA
Davenport, Iowa USA

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