Beehive Smoker
Display: Farm to Fork
Culinary Technique: compression
Date: 20th Century
Dimensions: 10" h x 10" w x 5" d
Current problems with declining honeybee colonies have highlighted bees' crucial role in the food chain, as they pollinate many plants that humans and animals eat. Beekeepers use smokers to stun the bees inside the hive to make them less aggressive, allowing the apiarist to open the hive to inspect the bees or take out the honeycombs. Squeezing the bellows expels the smoke produced by slow-burning fuel in the firebox.