Smoker
Lexikon
The smoker, also called a smoke tool or bee pipe, is the classic tool for calming bee colonies during an inspection.
The smoker, also called a smoke tool or bee pipe, is the classic tool for calming bee colonies during an inspection. It consists of a cylindrical firebox with an outlet spout and a bellows that directs smoke from slowly smouldering fuel toward the hive entrance and later over the combs. This design with a bellows is attributed to the American beekeeper Moses Quinby in the 19th century; it displaced the older, mouth-operated bee pipe, which could cause, among other things, tooth damage and irritated airways.
When bees perceive smoke, they interpret it, like many other animals, as a serious danger, such as a forest fire, and prepare to flee. In doing so they rush to their honey stores and fill their honey stomach as travel provisions. Because they are busy with this, they hardly notice the beekeeper's disturbance any more, and with a full abdomen they also fly more sluggishly, which makes it possible to work more calmly on the opened colony for a short time.
Suitable fuel is above all dry, slow-smouldering material such as wood shavings, straw, tansy or rotten softwood. For lighting, newspaper or an egg carton is used, followed by fine wood shavings; pure sawdust should be avoided because it burns through too quickly. What matters in practice is that the smoke comes out of the nozzle cool and not too dense, because hot or overly intense smoke tends to make bees aggressive rather than calming them. A typical beginner's mistake is therefore to smoke far too generously and continuously, instead of sparingly and briefly pumping again only as needed.