Do bees realy gorge on honey when smoked?

[bobba]

I have heard many times that bees think a fire is coming, so start stuffing themselves in case evacuation is necessary.

But I dont think I have observed this behavior. Sometimes if a bit of brace comb breaks or I damage a frame and spill a little dash of honey, I see the bees attending to it. But I dont think I have seen them actively plundering the stores to stock up in case of evacuation.

My neighbor has smokey leaf fires that burn for hours close to my hives. Sometimes they fill my garden with a haze of smoke, she only started doing this after I got my bees, I was concerned the first few times, but she has done it loads of times now and its never been a problem. There have even been a few smoldering heaps that are still smoking and putting a haze around my hives or sending wafts in their direction the next day. And the bees just seem to go about business as usual.

The fire coming, quickly eat lots of honey theory sounded like a good explanation. But it just doesn't mach what I see.

I dont know why or how smoke works on bees. But to me it just seem to bother them.. After getting smoked they just want to get away from it why thy gather their scenes. But a bit haze in the air or some smoke wafting from the fire is not concentrated enough to even bother them.

But the fire theory still sounds so good, I still want to blieve it in spite of my observations.

Maybe a bigger fire putting heat onto the hives would provoke an evacuation?

So what do others think?

 

[Erichalfbee]

It’s inaccurate in my opinion. I hardly use smoke. If I do it’s to clear lugs. The bees just move away. What I do see is lots of bees head down in honey when I lift a frame out. That’s very common

 

[Finman]

I have smoked bees 60 years, and it has worked as it should work.

Fire theory is good. There are many more worse theories in smoking bees.

 

[Antipodes]

I have smoked bees 60 years, and it has worked as it should work.

Fire theory is good. There are many more worse theories in smoking bees.

The bees burn to death in their hives if a forest fire comes along.

 

[Antipodes]

I have heard many times that bees think a fire is coming, so start stuffing themselves in case evacuation is necessary.

But I dont think I have observed this behavior. Sometimes if a bit of brace comb breaks or I damage a frame and spill a little dash of honey, I see the bees attending to it. But I dont think I have seen them actively plundering the stores to stock up in case of evacuation.

My neighbor has smokey leaf fires that burn for hours close to my hives. Sometimes they fill my garden with a haze of smoke, she only started doing this after I got my bees, I was concerned the first few times, but she has done it loads of times now and its never been a problem. There have even been a few smoldering heaps that are still smoking and putting a haze around my hives or sending wafts in their direction the next day. And the bees just seem to go about business as usual.

The fire coming, quickly eat lots of honey theory sounded like a good explanation. But it just doesn't mach what I see.

I dont know why or how smoke works on bees. But to me it just seem to bother them.. After getting smoked they just want to get away from it why thy gather their scenes. But a bit haze in the air or some smoke wafting from the fire is not concentrated enough to even bother them.

But the fire theory still sounds so good, I still want to blieve it in spite of my observations.

Maybe a bigger fire putting heat onto the hives would provoke an evacuation?

So what do others think?

Yes, they gorge on honey without the smoke. Once you lift the lid.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I tend to agree that as soon as you start to pull frames out without using smoke they will have heads down in frames,
I very rarely use smoke, bees tend to be calmer not so iratic on the frame beneficial when finding queen's.
I light smoker but like dani will only use it to move bees from the top bars or edges of boxes.

 

[rampino]

I think that the smoke masks the attack pheromone. That’s the most logical explanation. That’s why a quick puff of smoke in the entrance is useful before opening up, it probably confuses the guard bees. As Curly green fingers has said, also good for moving the bees away from the tops of the frames and the lugs, before you lift the frames out.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I think it's another one for the beekeeping book of myth and magic.
I seldom use smoke and yet always witness bees with their heads in combs. For one thing unlike the common belief of 'the busy little bee' bees often take naps during the day, and how do they do it? by stuffing their heads in an empty cell and taking forty winks.
Smoke does have it's uses in beekeeping, handy for moving bees out of the way and it can calm them down sometimes, but I doubt it has anything to do with gorging on honey. If that was the case, with the way African beekeepers pour gouts of smoke into their hives, when they open up, all they would find would be cells jammed with bees firmly wedged head first and precious little honey left.

 

[Murox]

............. and depending on the source of the smoke material I have noticed that some hives just seem to go berserk with the use of smoke. Mostly I use either nothing at all or a fine mist from a water sprayer bottle. Using nothing at all certainly taught me how to move frames about with care and respect.

 

[mbc]

Smoke works, the reason it works is almost certainly that it distracts the bees from their defensive intent.
I agree the forest fire/gorging on honey, difficult to sting with a full belly theory isn't quite what we observe, but the reason why smoke distracts the bees so effectively could be some deep seated "memory" of fire being triggered

 

[Sanntos]

Besides the alarm pheromone hiding thing, smoke tells them, and especially the queen, to take care and move out of the clumsy beekeepers way. Was it MP who said something like "It's rude to open a hive without smoke"?

 

[Finman]

Yes, they gorge on honey without the smoke. Once you lift the lid.

So bees do when they become nervous.

 

[Finman]

Was it MP who said something like "It's rude to open a hive without smoke"?

You cannot know, what is bees' opinion when you open the cover. I do not understand what is so fine if you do not use smoker. But every day must be something miracle in beekeeping and you must learn every day something new.

When I put back the boxes and the cover, usually I must push back bees, that they will not be crushed.

 

[The Poot]

I find it slightly amusing that on threads about smoker fuel, lots of folks state what they use, going into raptures about orange peel and lavender, but ”I rarely use the smoker” is almost universally trotted out too!
My bees would soon get through their stores if the forest fire theory was true, as my wood burner smoke often blows in their direction.
My bees know there’s not a forest for miles, they’re smart.

 

[victor meldrew]

I have smoked bees 60 years, and it has worked as it should work.

Fire theory is good. There are many more worse theories in smoking bees.

Bees react to smoke by filling up on honey !
not an opinion but fact !
smoke a colony , remove the crown board 3 mins later . You will see rows of bums as bees fill up on honey !
thousands of beekeepers witness this on a daily basis . Simples !

 

[Antipodes]

I have heard many times that bees think a fire is coming, so start stuffing themselves in case evacuation is necessary.

But I dont think I have observed this behavior. Sometimes if a bit of brace comb breaks or I damage a frame and spill a little dash of honey, I see the bees attending to it. But I dont think I have seen them actively plundering the stores to stock up in case of evacuation.

My neighbor has smokey leaf fires that burn for hours close to my hives. Sometimes they fill my garden with a haze of smoke, she only started doing this after I got my bees, I was concerned the first few times, but she has done it loads of times now and its never been a problem. There have even been a few smoldering heaps that are still smoking and putting a haze around my hives or sending wafts in their direction the next day. And the bees just seem to go about business as usual.

The fire coming, quickly eat lots of honey theory sounded like a good explanation. But it just doesn't mach what I see.

I dont know why or how smoke works on bees. But to me it just seem to bother them.. After getting smoked they just want to get away from it why thy gather their scenes. But a bit haze in the air or some smoke wafting from the fire is not concentrated enough to even bother them.

But the fire theory still sounds so good, I still want to blieve it in spite of my observations.

Maybe a bigger fire putting heat onto the hives would provoke an evacuation?

So what do others think?

I can't see that the evacuation theory makes sense. As a superorganism, bees won't leave without the queen in a fire. She is unlikely to be able to fly unless slimmed down for swarming and if a bunch of bees leave without the queen the colony is doomed. Victor Meldrew, if you don't smoke the colony and open the lid, don't you see the same thing?
A better theory on why bees gobble the honey once the lid is opened might be that they wan't to get as much of the honey saved before the bear that just broke their home apart gets it. Some bees try to kill the bear, whilst others try to save the honey. Once the bear is finished or has too many stings, the colony can rebuild better (with the queen still there or some brood and bees to make a new queen).

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

smoke a colony , remove the crown board 3 mins later . You will see rows of bums as bees fill up on honey

Never seen that, just a myth based belief

 

[Finman]

Bees react to smoke by filling up on honey !
not an opinion but fact !
smoke a colony , remove the crown board 3 mins later . You will see rows of bums as bees fill up on honey !
thousands of beekeepers witness this on a daily basis . Simples !

With black bee mongrels 40 years ago, it was important to wait several minutes after smoking, that bees fill them with honey. And it was usual, that you put smoke to entarance too. Then third trick was to keep a dirty clothe above frames, that you may minimize the attacks of bees.

When I look videos, all those tricks are used nowadays even if guys say that they use T shirt and seldom use their smokers.

I just do not believe what guys are talking here.

And the smoker must be the best £ 80 and seldom use it. Best smoker but carbage incinerator.

Difficult to know what is just talk and what is reality.

 

[JamezF]

Bees react to smoke by filling up on honey !
not an opinion but fact !
smoke a colony , remove the crown board 3 mins later . You will see rows of bums as bees fill up on honey !
thousands of beekeepers witness this on a daily basis . Simples !

But surely there are many reasons why bees might be head-first down a cell? There are quite a few house bee tasks that cannot be done otherwise. Or perhaps they're just hungry. So how can one separate those cases from any that might specifically be due to the use of smoke?

I have often wondered if the reaction of the bees to my smoking of the hive before opening it isn't more along the lines of "Look sharp girls! That nobber's going to take the roof off again!"

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

But surely there are many reasons why bees might be head-first down a cell

As I said earlier, housekeeping bees (and others) often take a little power nap during the day - they do this head first in an convenient vacant cell.