Have you ever been distracted by a loud noise or a peculiar smell? Bees, in their own way, react similarly to smoke. When beekeepers need to inspect or work with a hive, they use a tool called a “smoker” to produce a gentle stream of smoke. But why?
Bees are highly social creatures and communicate using special scents called “pheromones”. These pheromones are like a text to bees. One of these “texts” is an alarm signal. When bees feel danger is near, they release this alarm pheromone, calling their bee buddies to come and help protect the hive.
Now, here’s where the smoke comes in. The smoke doesn’t harm the bees but does something clever: it masks or covers up the scent of the alarm pheromone. Hence the smoke affects bees’ ability to “read” the alarm message.
Considering that a hive can house up to 50,000 bees or more, without the smoker, even a tiny percentage (let’s say 1% or 500 bees!) coming out to defend could pose a risk. The smoker keeps things calm, allowing beekeepers to do their work without being overwhelmed by defensive bees.
In essence, the smoke keeps the bees calm just long enough for beekeepers to do their job safely.
Read more
Contributors
Copyright @smorescience. All rights reserved. Do not copy, cite, publish, or distribute this content without permission.
