pear drops smell

[village girl]

Hi i remember being told something about the smell of pear drops from a hive. I picked up a swarm and got a strong smell of pear drops and still can smell it when i open the hive. Thear are no local sweetie shops can some one remind me what it signifies please

 

[Dishmop]

Not something I have heard of..

 

[MartinL]

Acetone smells of pear-drops but I doubt your bees are removing their nail-varnish after a night out!
Must be something else, I'd like to know too?

 

[ratcatcher]

maybe a bee has a sweet tooth

 

[Teemore]

I sense a pear drop smell when I encounter defensive bees that are trying to sting. It could be their alarm pheromone or sting pheromone that I am picking up.

 

[BeeJayBee]

It's the smell of their alarm pheromone.

More here http://www.ncl.ac.uk/chemistry/outreach/chemistrytrail/12isoamylacetate/

 

[derekm]

banana smell is bee mandible venom. N heptanone

 

[beeno]

Hi all,
My hives are smelling differently too in the last few days. I would, however, describe the scent more like a faint smell of Magnolia Grandiflora flowers - lemony. Any ideas of what that could be?
Bee alarm pheromones smell like ether to me.

 

[wondervet]

They seem to vary in how much alarm pheromone they produce. We used to have a colony which weren't particularly aggressive but produced an overpowering wave of isoamyl acetate pear drop smell. Used to make me itch.

 

[rockdoc]

In my apiary that pear drop smell is directly related to attack mode. It's often a sign to curtail my inspection and leave as they have had enough of me for that day. I find it can also set off another hive as its on my bee suit.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'm getting used to the smell now. Strangely, yesterday, the first hive I i9nspected and had to conduct an A/s were pretty shirty so loads of pheremone wafting over me. The next hive (invariably a little shirty but not a real problem - typical Pembrokeshire mob) although now Q-. were so laid back it was unbelievable, so obviously had totally ignored the pheremone from the hive two feet away!!!!