Early Smoker and Fuels
on January 30, 2025

Experimenting with Vaporization Formulas for Smoky Scents

As I've mentioned in my video of the Electric Bee Smoker, I've been working on vaporization formulas that smell like smoke for years. I've found that campfire smoke scents with woody undertones work well. I believed that smells of ash and tar-like aromas would contribute to the authenticity, but so far the bees have not reacted the way I'd expect with these.

 

What has failed:

I've also experimented with Vetiver Essential Oil, which adds an earthy depth to the aroma. This has had varying effects.

A word of caution for anyone thinking that cigarettes and marijuana. I often have people mentioning to me that these calm humans, so they might calm bees. While nicotine is a known insect repellent, it is also an insecticide and effects bee's nervous system. Pipe-smoking beekeeping of the past would blow pipe smoke onto the bees. I suspect that this repelled the bees due to these factor. In addition I suspect aspects of their breath, containing CO₂, helped disperse bees. Blowing on bees without any nicotine moves bees.

Regarding Marijuana/CBD/Cannabis ... Unlike mammals, honey bees do not possess a canonical endocannabinoid system with CB1 and CB2 receptors. Cannabinoids such as CBD and THC primarily act through these receptors in vertebrates. Because insects, including bees, lack these receptor pathways, they do not respond to cannabinoids in the same neurophysiological manner as mammals. That said, I've not found a lot of research on the subject of CBD and honey bees, so I am not sure what behaviors they may exhibit, just that any reaction they might have would not work the same as in humans.

Stu Taylor had an interesting invention called the Hive Bomb. It was an aerosol that seemed to work well on bees. His patent describes the use of hardwood tars and how bees react similarly to smoke. I have heard a rumor that this product was taken off the market due to concerns in California about aerosolized tar causing cancer in humans. I have vaporizing tried birch tar and pine wood tar with little to no success at repelling and calming bees like a traditional smoker.

NOTE: Originally I used Propylene Glycol (PG) as a component, which is commonly used in vaping and commercial products for enhances flavor and aroma diffusion. After reading this research on the affects of glycol overtime to honey bees, I no longer feel comfortable using PG with bees.
Smoke Particles Captured in Liquid: 
People often tell me "just use liquid smoke". Most if not all liquid smokes do work when used on bees. As an example, I've used all natural hickory liquid smoke,. this has almost no effect. I find most liquid smokes to smell like barbecue smells. Bees are not carnivorous and do not smoke meats, so I suspect that they don't associate smoked meat smells with fire. Just my hypothesis of why it does not work. 

What has worked so far:

So far the use of truly smoky smells and even floral smells have had the best reactions with the bees. 


Criteria for Evaluating Reactions Against a Traditional Smoker:

  1. Do the bees change their behavior at all?
  2. Does the smoke drive the bees down into the frames?
  3. Is there an engorging reaction? And how big is the reaction?
  4. There's a buzz of recognition that the whole hive does when you smoke into a box. It is a distinct noise where the majority of the bees buzz at the same time.
  5. Does the smoker also mask the alarm pheromones? 


More experiments to come! 🐝🔥