Any 'proper' beekeeper would know that this has already, categorically, been proven to be a myth, smoke, in many cases has been proven to wind up bees rather than placate them,rarely using smoke, I observed as many bees with heads in cells whether smoke is used or not (a lot of them, it now transpires are just catching a sneaky nap) having worked with African bees, where decades of well meaning teachers (usually with bits of paper proving they are 'experts') from over here have drummed in the myth that pouring gouts of smoke at bees is de rigeur, I can attest that the opposite is true - which is probably why everyone bangs on about scuttellata being such an 'agressive' bee.
Smoke is good: another 'fact' that was drummed into me during my courses (and lighting a smoker is part of the basic examination). In practice, I've found that sometimes (not always)the smoker has good effectiveness at driving bees down into the hive after it has gone out. Has anyone any knowledge of a purpose made dry blower?
A common practice in South America with Africanised bees is to calm them by creating a complete area of smoke around the apiary, waiting for it to clear and then using smokers as normal. They swear that this makes the bees less dangerous. A myth is an oft-repeated statement which may, or may not, be true. This makes one suspect that a long time ago some people found smoking to help in work with bees (smoking a sting does help disguise the scent). They passed on the idea. It may be that smoking is helpful for some in some places and at some times, but a controlled experiment I haven't found. Forest fires are classical, 'think of an explanation; OK, sounds good; repeat as fact. Common.
