Beekeeping Tip: Using Hive Drapes to Calm the Bees

This post describes the use of hive drapes to minimize smoker use and to keep the bees calm. The late Billy Davis taught me about hive drapes. The most important feature about the drape is that the cloth can't have a nap or loops like a kitchen towel would. Bees are very hairy and they will get caught in the loops - so only use tightly woven fabric or something like oilcloth which is slick and has no nap.

Below is a link to a video in which Billy Davis describes his "quiet box" and the hive drape (made of oilcloth) that he uses.

Billy Davis on the quiet box and the hive drape:
https://youtu.be/v7cshQc5RyY
My blog post on Billy Davis' talk at MABA about hive drapes that changed my approach to opening the hive beginning in 2013:
https://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2013/03/billy-davis-quiet-box.html

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