What is a Bee Smoker?
A bee smoker is a tool used by beekeepers to blow smoke into a beehive before inspecting, manipulating or handling the hive. The classic bee smoker, invented by Moses Quinby of St. Johnsville, New York in 1875, consists of a firepot, bellows and a nozzle to direct smoke. The bellows force air through the fuel-filled firepot, while smoke exits through the nozzle. Smoke is then directed into the beehive to keep the bees from attacking the beekeeper. Though the secret of smoking bees has been known for thousands of years, the scientific explanation for how it works is more recent. Under normal circumstances if a beehive is threatened, guard bees will release a volatile pheromone substance, iso-pentyl acetate, better known as an alarm odor. This alerts the middle-aged bees in the hive — the ones with the most venom — to defend the hive by attacking the intruder. When smoke is blown into the hive first, however, the guard bees’ receptors are dulled and they fail to sound the pheromonious al
A bee smoker is a tool used by beekeepers to blow smoke into a beehive before inspecting, manipulating or handling the hive. The classic bee smoker, invented by Moses Quinby of St. Johnsville, New York in 1875, consists of a firepot, bellows and a nozzle to direct smoke. The bellows force air through the fuel-filled firepot, while smoke exits through the nozzle. Smoke is then directed into the beehive to keep the bees from attacking the beekeeper. Though the secret of smoking bees has been known for thousands of years, the scientific explanation for how it works is more recent. Under normal circumstances if a beehive is threatened, guard bees will release a volatile pheromone substance, iso-pentyl acetate, better known as an alarm odor. This alerts the middle-aged bees in the hive — the ones with the most venom — to defend the hive by attacking the intruder. When smoke is blown into the hive first, however, the guard bees’ receptors are dulled and they fail to sound the pheromoniou
A bee smoker is a tool used by beekeepers to blow smoke into a beehive before inspecting, manipulating or handling the hive. The classic bee smoker, invented by Moses Quinby of St. Johnsville, New York in 1875, consists of a firepot, bellows and a nozzle to direct smoke. The bellows force air through the fuel-filled firepot, while smoke exits through the nozzle. Smoke is then directed into the beehive to keep the bees from attacking the beekeeper. Though the secret of smoking bees has been known for thousands of years, the scientific explanation for how it works is more recent. Under normal circumstances if a beehive is threatened, guard bees will release a volatile pheromone substance, iso-pentyl acetate, better known as an alarm odor. This alerts the middle-aged bees in the hive ?the ones with the most venom ?to defend the hive by attacking the intruder. When smoke is blown into the hive first, however, the guard bees’ receptors are dulled and they fail to sound the pheromonious alar
