19U 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



277 



THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE SMOKER IN 

 HANDLING BEES. 



The Varying Dispositions of Bees Make Differ- 

 ent Treatment Necessary, 



BY E. D. TOWNSEND. 



The smoker, the most useful implement 

 about the apiary, seems to be given but lit- 

 tle consideration by the modern writer. 

 They are so common that we are likely to 

 give them less credit than they deserve. If 

 we were to be deprived of smokers for even 

 a single day their great value would be more 

 apparent. Of as much importance as the 

 smoker is the "knack" of knowing how 

 much smoke to use and the proper time to 

 use it. The bee-master who has acquired 

 the knowledge of quickly reading the dispo- 

 sition of the individual colony he is han- 

 dling, so as to know just how much smoke 

 it will take to handle the bees to the very 

 best advantage, is an artist. How many 

 times the aspirant to apiculture, in that 

 bungling way peculiar to the tyro, pries open 

 the hive with many a jerk, using no smoke 

 until the cover is wholly removed. If the 

 colony is one of the nervous kind, the bees 

 by this time are already in a condition where 

 smoke will hardly subdue them. How dif- 

 ferent it would have been, had there been 

 just a little smoke blown in at the entrance 

 before the cover was pried loose, then, just 

 as soon as the cover was pried up, a crack, 

 a little more smoke, as in Fig. 3, then, as 

 the cover is lifted up, more smoke should 

 be given, as in Fig. 4. By this time the 

 bees ought to be quite well subdued; but if 

 not, more smoke is necessary, and the smok- 

 er should be held to one side of the hive, as 

 in Fig. 5, where, taking advantage of the 

 wind in this case, the smoke is allowed to 

 blow across the top of the hive. For any 

 further smoking the colony may need, the 

 wind is taken advantage of as in the last 

 case. 



After removing the cover, as in Fig. 5, any 

 adhering bees are dislodged by bumping 

 the corner of the cover upon the ground, 

 near the entrance of the hive. There are 

 nearly always some young bees adhering to 

 the cover. If they are dislodged near the 

 entrance, they will find their way home. 

 However, with the hive-cover in the position 

 shown in Fig. 5, naany of the young bees 

 will fall upon the ground near where the 

 work is being done; consequently, many 

 would be stepped on, and the young bees 

 that can not tiy are just the ones that do 

 considerable crawling; and if one's jiants 

 legs at the bottom are not tied the bees may 

 crawl up inside. If the cover is turned half 

 way round, as in Fig. 6, any young or cross 

 bees are dislodged on the further side, and 

 this trouble is avoided. 



There are hardly two colonies in a hun- 

 dred of the same disposition. Some need 

 hardly any smoke, and others need but a 

 single smoking for the whole manipulation; 

 but there are some colonies of a more nerv- 



ous disposition that may need smoking al- 

 most continuously. The beginner seldom 

 knows how much smoke to use to handle 

 these varying dispositions in bees. Some 

 beginners use much too much, while others 

 think that smoke hurts bees and use too 

 little. Smoke does not hurt bees more than 

 it does man. But too much smoke spoils 

 the flavor of comb honey, and for this rea- 

 son comb honey should not be smoked 

 more than is necessary to handle the bees. 

 But this is another subject. One is able to 

 stay in a room with some smoke in it, though 

 it is rather disagreeable; but when the smoke 

 gets about so dense, we cannot stand it any 

 longer and leave. It's so with the bees. A 

 very little smoke will drive some bees from 

 the hive, while others, less nervous, will 

 stand more. Any colony, no matter what 

 its disposition, can be driven out of the hive 

 with too much smoke. It is useless and 

 very cruel to use more smoke than is abso- 

 lutely necessary to do the work. 



Bees smoked out of their hive, in some 

 cases so that they take wing, are in poor 

 condition to be controlled with smoke. They 

 should be kept in the hive as much as pos- 

 sible; but if, through some bungling, bees 

 are forced out at the entrance, or caused to 

 "boil over " at the top, it may be better to 

 close the hive for the time being, until they 

 have time to quiet down. Later, knowing 

 their disposition, the cover should be care- 

 fully removed, and smoke given, care being 

 taken not to jar the hive in removing the 

 combs; and one will be surprised at the dif- 

 ferent behavior of the colony. In smoking 

 a colony of bees preparatory to handling, 

 and when they are still in the hive, the 

 smoke should be blown over the top of the 

 hive, as I told you above, and illustrated in 

 Fig. 5. An effort should be made to subdue 

 them. No one was ever stung by a bee 

 down in the middle of the hive. It's always 

 those bees that are at the top that do the 

 stinging. Knowing this, the operator should 

 keep his eye upon those bees near the top; 

 and just as soon as a single bee is seen to 

 leave the combs in a stinging mood, a little 

 more smoke should be given. 



The experienced hand with bees will know 

 when there is too much smoke, before any 

 bees take wing. Usually the first indica- 

 tion of bees needing smoke is when a row of 

 " guards " form in line along the top-bar of 

 the brood-frame. At first only a few will 

 be seen, casting their eyes upward in a 

 threatening attitude. These few may be 

 somewhat down among the rest of the bees 

 (all of them being previously smoked down 

 below the top-bars) ; and if they are allowed 

 to go ahead without smoke, more guards 

 will form; then, as their number increases, 

 they will venture up to the very top of the 

 bar. By this time the guards are numer- 

 ous, and, if not smoked down again, some 

 will begin to "squeal" and make a wing 

 motion, a threatening signal. This is the 

 last safe moment one can keep on without 

 smoke; for it is but a moment before some 

 of the "advance guard " make the attack. 



