Beekeepers smell

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i wonder how the bees are going to react to the beefy smell of cows. id love to save a bit of cash by using my milking overalls as a bee suit but i wonder how the girls will react.
i know the wife doesn't seem to appreciate it like i do;)
 
Yuck! Ref! That's a lot more disgusting than Starsky and Hutch. Cow overalls stink like greasy babysick.
 
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I was advised never to eat a banana just before opening a hive - never have, so cannot confirm reaction - maybe if I am bored next summer -will try :smilielol5:
Apparently the bees alarm pheromone smells like the synthetic banana flavourings that abound in lot's of confectioneries :).
Also if you detect the scent of bananas whilst manipulating a colony , it maybe wise to close them up ?

John
 
I am off to find some stuff on isopentenyl,juicy fruit chewing gum and bees.

Found it:

Alarm pheromone

Two main alarm pheromones have been identified in honeybee workers. One is released by the Koschevnikov gland, near the sting shaft, and consists of more than 40 chemical compounds, including isopentyl acetate.

Alarm pheromones are released when a bee stings another animal, and attract other bees to the location and causes the other bees to behave defensively, i.e. sting or charge.

Wrigley's juicy fruit flavour chewing gum.

Banana is one crucial flavor among many others. It is likely, however, that the chemical used for flavoring is isopentenyl acetate, a carboxylic ester.
 
Not sure i can cope with anymore of this thread, too many bad images, Beef, Sweat, Brut, Old Spice, flares, Admin.

Ladies and Gentlemen i give you :

village_people.jpg


Admin's the one in the Leather.
 
During Queen marking earlier in the year we used the paint supplied by Swienty, The bees attacked the brush and the bottle, (one flew directly into the bottle).
On returning a frame plus newly marked Queen into a nuc, the bees pounced on her :(.
A few days later I transferred nuc into a full sized brood box; thankfully she had survived her ordeal :). The said paint stank of peardrops .Back to the tippex for me .

John
 
I know that some paints have isopentyl acetate as the solvent.
 
This season My bees balled a newly marked queen. I broke up the ball with water spray and rescued her. I let her dry off and re-introduced her without any problem.
Moral of the story - Make sure the paint is dry (and therefore all solvent evaporated) before replacing the queen.
Mike
 
Hi Admin,

I know you have looked up about pheromones and isopentyl acetate as being an alarm pheromone. You also mentioned that the Koschevnikov gland, is also mentiond under the same banner.

I would dispute this information about the Koschevnikov gland being a gland that is classed as an alarm pheromone.
My reasons are:

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The K gland is used as a come and join us, this is where we live look at the bees when colleting a swarm and transfere to a Nuc.

As for the alrm pheromone from the saft of the sting, this does as youmentioned cause an immediate response because of the isopentyl acetate.

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