# my hive smells like bananas



## brooksbeefarm (Apr 13, 2008)

My guess is the aster they are working on, i can smell it before i get to my hives. Jack


----------



## blueskybeesupply (Dec 11, 2007)

ALARM PHEROMONE. It's more concentrated when you open the hive in the cold, as the bees are loosely clustered and less likely to fly.

"Bees use isopentyl (2-methylbutyl) acetate as an alarm pheromone. When disturbed, individual bees on guard will raised their abdomen and emit the honey bee "alarm" pheromone, fanning their wings to aid its dispersal. This alerts other bees to a danger and makes them ready to sting when required. Isopentyl acetate is a major component of this pheromone. High concentrations are deposited with the stinger and venom sac in the flesh at the sting site. This incites other workers to join in the attack and sting close to the stinger which is emitting the pheromone." 

frrom the University of Bristol, UK
Chemistry Dept. website


----------



## SwedeBee1970 (Oct 26, 2008)

11x,

Did you get attacked by bees when opening the hive ?

Maybe, just maybe a robbery was in progress inside and the pheromone alarm was tripped....


----------



## 11x (May 14, 2009)

i was in my bee suit so i got no stings. but with that said i had ALOT of bees on my head net and slaming into me.


----------



## ScadsOBees (Oct 2, 2003)

Ha! You made them really angry! They get that way in more in the fall and when it is cooler out.

Yuppers...that's the alarm "everybody out to kill 11x!" smell. I too smell it mostly in the cooler weather, crack the top to check on them and hear the annoyed sound and the slight spicy smell.

Once I was in the kitchen wondering why I smelled an angry hive when I discovered that it was just an overripe banana on the counter.

Rick


----------



## Rohe Bee Ranch (Feb 12, 2008)

Then you were smelling the alarm pheromone. They don't like visitors much.


----------



## SwedeBee1970 (Oct 26, 2008)

Was the hive smoked before it was opened ? And what was the temp outside at the time ?


----------



## 11x (May 14, 2009)

no smoke and it was about 60 ish out and cloudy. just a quick peek to add syurp didnt want to smoke them


----------



## SwedeBee1970 (Oct 26, 2008)

GOT TO SMOKE THEM EVERY TIME ! No matter the size of the job this is a MUST do. This is natures perfect diversion. 

FEAR is the other factor. If they sense any doubt, the same result will happen. Good thing the vial was worn. Another thing that helps is wearing brighter colors. Blacks, browns and darker colors put them on edge. These colors are predatory to them. Keep your distance if you must wear these colors.


----------



## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

In the fall, most hives are more defensive. They are protecting their stores for winter. Cloudy days make them defensive as well. And hives are larger in the fall, and larger hives are also defend more. So, in the fall you need to be more cautious. I probably wouldn't have smoked to add syrup either, but I would suit up.


----------



## Dalantech (Oct 1, 2009)

SwedeBee1970 said:


> Another thing that helps is wearing brighter colors. Blacks, browns and darker colors put them on edge. These colors are predatory to them. Keep your distance if you must wear these colors.


I was told the same thing by a beekeeper right before photographing his hive. He also told me to take my cell phone out of my pocket and leave it in the car -he got attacked when his rang. Fortunately he was wearing a bee suit.


----------



## 11x (May 14, 2009)

i dont care to get attacked as long as i have my suit on i get no stings. i was just curious what the smell was. i wont smoke in less i have to. that stuff causes cancer. hahaa:lpf:


----------



## honeydreams (Aug 10, 2009)

You know Smoking your bees is kinda hard to wrap them in that little paper and not get stung:lpf:


----------



## 11x (May 14, 2009)

i have a hard time keeping them lit


----------



## More Mesa Mark (Jul 10, 2009)




----------



## devdog108 (May 7, 2009)

I experienced this for the first time when I dropped a frame the other day....wasn't pretty.....


----------



## USCBeeMan (Feb 7, 2009)

I have smelled bananas many, many times. As soon as I smell it I pick up the smoker. Sometimes the smell is over whelming. Especially if a couple of them are in your face on your veil.


----------



## CentralPAguy (Feb 8, 2009)

Yesterday, I got into my hives and got a good whiff of bananas and sure enough, I didn't smoke them and it was cloudy and 55-57 degrees. And my normally gentle hives greeted me fast and furious. Now I know what that smell means. Thanks.


----------



## Barry Tolson (May 26, 2004)

Agreed....alarm pheromone. Interesting...when I have noticed that, it was about the same instant that they started head butting. Not much, if any, warning time. It "is" quite a distict banana smell, though, when the girls are honked off.


----------



## SwedeBee1970 (Oct 26, 2008)

Didn't expect this post to go on this long. I guess that eating a banana near the hive is out of the question..............


----------



## Barry Tolson (May 26, 2004)

Eating a banana in the vicinty might be an interesting experiment, though!


----------



## 11x (May 14, 2009)

for those of you who havent experienced this it is neat. i was hit in the face with the smell the second i lifted the cover and looked in.


----------



## devdog108 (May 7, 2009)

Same thing happened to me again today. Saw some at the local gas place scouring on Soda in a can(lol) and so I thought i would go check on them. I was met with about 400 bees and the smell of bananas as SOON as I cracked the top......


----------



## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

11x said:


> for those of you who havent experienced this it is neat. i was hit in the face with the smell the second i lifted the cover and looked in.


My wife is allergic to uncooked bananas so I guess she will have an other excuse to not help me.


----------



## jdpro5010 (Mar 22, 2007)

It is amazing to me that a person won't smoke there bees because it "disturbs" the bees in one way or another. Has that person ever thought of the additional bees being killed trying to sting them. It is done for them as well as the beekeeper.


----------



## 11x (May 14, 2009)

it is not about not smoking them, if i am diging in to the hive i smoke them a plenty i assure you. when i peak in or just in to refill a feeder i wont smoke them as not to disrupt the activity of the hive.


----------



## AllTek (Apr 22, 2009)

I agree. The bees should be smoked EVERY time they are worked. Although there are many theories as to how the smoke calms the bees, what can be deduced is that bees communicate with smell therefore adding an unknown odor (smoke) disrupts them from eliciting a systemic defense (attack). My personal opinion is that the smoke makes the bees think that their home is on fire which makes them turn into an open cell and engorge themselves on honey which prepares them for building a new nest once they've absconded. And if anyone has gathered wild swarms before the difference between a starved swarm and a newly emerging one as to defense is startling (I've had starving swarms EXPLODE on my face before). Nevertheless it's always better to keep your girls under control than to let them become alarmed and attack.


----------



## 11x (May 14, 2009)

well you all smoke your bees every time you look in the entrance and i will not smoke mine till i feal the need. ill bet if i thought my house was on fire 2 or 3 times a week i wouldent be there long.. i cant see what could be good about introducing a alarm oder in to a hive all the time. plus have you ever put smoke across a cut comb super? trust me the smell/taste stays there for weeks. the great thing about this country is the fact that we can agree to disagree.


----------



## AllTek (Apr 22, 2009)

Maybe you miss read. The idea is to _disrupt_ the "We're Under Attack" banana smell by _using_ the smoke. Ordinarily European bees will not abscond the hive under any circumstance, they will protect the brood. We as beekeepers need to keep our intrusions to a minimum, and smoke allows us to do that as we inspect the hive. If the hive becomes "alarmed" by our intrusion, without the aid of smoke, the damage, in my experience, lasts much longer. So, smoke is a tool to keep the bees under control _and_ pacified at the same time. Again, never work bees without smoke.


----------



## Maine_Beekeeper (Mar 19, 2006)

Hey 11x
You've given me a good giggle with your post, just the thought of "my hive smells like bananas" brings me a smile. 
And no, I don't smoke just to change feeders either. I'm calm and quiet and the feeders get changed with no banana smell. Occasionally I get stung in the armpit doing this kind of thing and that's what you get for working bees (even just above the inner cover) with no smoke with a tanktop on. 
We all draw a line somewhere. 
I love your enthusiasm and willingness to share what you're learning. 
Keep up the good work. 

(if you are working your hive WITH smoke and you smell bananas over everything else, GET OUT - you're being too rough and you need to slow down and crush fewer bees.)

Take care and looking forward to hearing from you more, 
-Erin


----------



## devdog108 (May 7, 2009)

I had never experienced this beofre until some of you mentioned it. Needless to say, most of the summer they were docile, but that all soon changed. I learned I need to use smoke when that smell comes along, and for petes sake, WHEN you drop a frame, try not to run like a banshee all the while screaming, IM ON FIRE, HELP ME IM ON FIRE, HELP ME (gotta love Talledega nights) it just doesnt do any good and bees are really fast.............I actually stayed put when i did drop my first frame and just let them beat the crap outta me. I only got one stung, but my jacket was inundated....lolol. What impressed me the most was the smell, but more than that, was how hard they really were trying to get between my jacket cuff and my glove...I had to cut them off and hold my cuff tight so they could not get through.....


----------



## JonEdangerousli (May 8, 2007)

"Help me Oprah Winfrey!!!" If a hive smells like bananas I look around to make sure Harry Chapin isn't around.


----------



## dixiebooks (Jun 21, 2010)

USCBeeMan said:


> I have smelled bananas many, many times. As soon as I smell it I pick up the smoker. Sometimes the smell is over whelming. Especially if a couple of them are in your face on your veil.


I'd rather have them in my face on the veil than in the veil on my face. LOL, been there, done that. not fun. -james


----------



## ParanoidBeek (Aug 1, 2010)

One thing I have learned after opening a small nuc for a quick check, fall is a dif. animal. I will never again do anything with my bees in the fall with no smoke. "If looks could kill it would have been us instead of him" (beatles) I could see the look of "get that guy" in their eyes coming out of that nuc, like missles lol luckily only one sting, but I learned a very important lesson. Scott


----------

