>>So is breath really a trigger for aggressive behavior or a target when aggressive behavior is triggered by something else?

I should qualify my question more.  I use gentle breath and a finger to prompt the bees to clear an area on a frame that I wish to inspect more closely as well.  Without smoking the bees.

This works fine most of the season.  Now we are in dry August.  Bees are idle and defend against robbing by yellow jackets, bumble bees and other honey bees.  They are on guard and respond quickly.  I can still go into the hives without smoke, veil etc. but, when I have a frame up close to my face, my normal breathing will sometimes cause a bee to fly up and target my face.

I then try to hold my breath when inspecting a frame and turn my head away from the frame to breath.  It gets a bit uncomfortable and prolongs the inspection.  I suspect the bees 'sense' my stress and respond.

If I smoke the bees first, I can breath at them all I want without inducing a defensive reaction.

I speculate that bees associate my moist, warm breath with predators and get alarmed.  (I also noticed that some toothpaste brand scent makes bees more defensive...)  I would like to mask my breath with some scent/flavor that would put the bees in better disposition without having to use smoke during nectar dearth.

I find my bees reaction quite natural and believe I have rather gentle bees.  Someone once told me that robbing phacelia leaves on your hands keeps bees from stinging the hands.  I was wondering if chewing on some herb could make human breath more palatable to bees...

Waldemar















 My eyes (and
experience say the latter, especially since that seems to be the case
with other things like watchbands, wool, dark colors and the like. I
have worked bees with my black digital watch on and with dark colors (a
black knee brace while wearing shorts) with no problems until they got
riled up. So is it the same with breath?

-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and  other info ---