Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
when you work a colony. Wash these clothes in a separate load so that alarm pher-
omones don't contaminate your other clothes.
Smoke That Spot
When working a colony, you may inadvertently kill a bee, which can also release
some alarm pheromone. Other bees will notice and respond. Smoking the colony
masks the alarm pheromone, reducing the number of guards that respond to the
alarm. If you are stung while working your colony, you are marked, but you can
reduce the response of other guards by quickly removing the sting apparatus from
your skin. Scrape or pull it out, then puff smoke on the sting site. This remedy
helps reduce the attack but is a less-than-perfect solution.
The two lancets of a bee's stinger are barbed and work independently, but in unison, as
they push deeper and deeper into the skin of the intruder. The shaft behind the lancets
funnels venom into the wound that the lancets are producing.
You can often confuse these followers by walking into a stand of tall shrubs or brush,
or stepping out of the line of sight of the colony for a moment—behind a building or
into a shed or garage. The guards should quickly lose interest.
If you are still being harassed, keep your veil on until they head back home. Smoking
these bees does little or no good in deterring their behavior, because they are following
you visually as well as by odor. If this behavior is common in your hive, requeening
with less defensive stock is recommended.
Robbing
Honey bee foragers have a fundamental goal—finding food. Most often that food
is nectar or pollen from flowers. Other food sources can include floral food, sugar
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