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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
allen dick <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 7 Sep 2003 15:49:39 -0600
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> If Dave has ever seen angry bees flying to just any
> other dark spot, or any other dark spot the size of a human eye, I
> would like to hear about it.

Well, there's the answer.  Bees just naturally fly or walk confidently
into holes.  Holes have familarity and deep meaning to bees, as do
cracks, since they can often represent the entrance to a colony.

That predilection for entering small round holes is a demonstrable fact.
Observant beekeepers know this, and  many drill 3/4 or 1" auger holes in
all brood boxes, or even supers to augment the lower slit-shaped
entrance.  I can attest that my bees do much better on account of that
little trick.  (See archives).

For one thing, bees orient better to holes than most cracks -- which is
what bottom entrances are -- and thus auger holes can drastically reduce
drifting, especially in early spring, or if the boxes vary in colour.
(FWIW, It is interesting to see what happens when a box is accidentally
turned around, front to back, and the hole is hidden.  Bees then examine
all dark spots, or pile up where the hole was, expecting to find an
entrance).

Anyhow, the smoker entrance is just another hole -- but perhaps one with
detectable inner warmth and familiar smell, accompanied by the
attractive shape.   Bees enter such holes with confidence.  I don't know
how bees perceive the smoker hole -- their senses differ from ours  --
but I suspect that shape, smell, and warmth convince the bee to 'come on
in' with full confidence.

Ooops!

allen
http://www.honeybeeworld.com

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