Anicet Desrochers slips the small, crowbar-like tool underneath the lid of the beehive and cracks the propolis seal, a glue that bees make from resin. He puffs a smoker over the box as he pulls and examines the honeycomb frames with bare hands. The smoke, he says, disrupts the bees’ alarm pheromones, making them groggy, while also causing them to gorge on honey and nectar, a possible response to believing there is a fire. When they’re full, they’re less likely to sting.

~ Shaun Pett from, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/breeding-queen-bees

Let me think about that… NO. But it’s a great article that explains the bee keepers’ extreme efforts to breed the Queens. Fascinating stuff.

…but I’m not putting my bare hands in no bee hives.

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