A smoker, or Bee Smoker, is used by the Beekeeper to pacify the bees prior or during a hive inspection.
Smoke has been used since ancient times, but it is only recently that we have learned that it works by masking alarm pheromones (which include various chemicals, e.g., isopentyl acetate[1]) that are released by guard bees or bees that are injured during a beekeeper’s inspection. The smoke creates an opportunity for the beekeeper to open the beehive and work while the colony’s defensive response is interrupted. In addition, smoke initiates a feeding response in anticipation of possible hive abandonment due to fire. When a bee consumes honey the bee’s abdomen distends, making it difficult to make the necessary flexes to sting. (The latter has always been the primary explanation of the smoker’s effect, since this behavior of bees is easily observable.)
Many types of fuel can be used in a smoker as long as they are natural and uncontaminated with harmful substances. These fuels include hessian, burlap, pine needles, corrugated cardboard, paper egg cartons, and rotten or punky wood. Some beekeeping supply sources also sell commercial fuels like pulped paper and compressed cotton.
The fuel in the smoker’s burner smoulders slowly because there is only a small amount of oxygen inside, until a squeeze of the bellows provides a blast of fresh air. In this way the fuel is used more sparingly than in an open pan, and one load of fuel may last for several hours, or even days (if it is extinguished and rekindled again later).
There is a great variety of modifications to the basic design. There is often an inner can for easy loading and cleaning, with numerous holes in the walls for air penetration. Some smokers have an outer grid attached, as a safety guard against burns.
[Original Source: Wikipedia August 2010]
In 2010 a Bee Smoker was added to the BBC’s “A History of the World in 100 Objects” and was the source of the photo at the top of this page.
