You may have seen photos of beekeepers posing near the hive with metal contraptions billowing with smoke. These are our bee smokers, or simply known as a ‘smoker.’
The smoker, made up of a billow, a chamber and a spout, is a commonly used tool during routine hive inspections. You fill the chamber with non-toxic flammable material such as; burlap, wood chip, dried garden debris and maybe even herbs, light the material on fire, close the lid and pump the billow- the smoke will exit through the spout. A common practice is to billow the smoke onto your arm to test the heat, once you’ve achieved cool smoker so as not to harm the honeybees, the smoker is ready for use!
Smokers provide...
Honeybees have the ability to release a special pheromone when they feel threatened- this is their alarm pheromone. It is released through a gland near the honeybee’s stinger and signals to one another that there is a threat in the hive. Even though the intentions of a routine hive inspections are to promote healthy colonies, we are still entering their calm and organized home and sometimes when we enter too fast or accidentally disrupt their natural state one honeybee releases the alarm pheromone which triggers a cascading release from neighbouring honeybees. The clouds of smoke emitted from our smoker actually masks this pheromone so honeybees cannot communicate. The smoke is temporary so it will dissipate quickly and the honeybees can resume normal activity once the routine hive inspection is complete. A typical use of the smoker is to puff once or two in the front entrance and to keep the smoker on hand if necessary for use- usually little smoke is needed.
If it's too hot for smoke...
An alternate to using a smoker, especially during our heat wave, is to have sugar syrup in a spray bottle on hand. Lightly spraying the honeybees with sugar syrup will provide a delicious distraction while you proceed with a routine hive inspection. Unlike the smoker which masks the honeybee’s alarm pheromone, the sugar syrup lightly coats the bees and allows for immediate cleaning. Distraction with a sweet reward!