For the first time, instead of a traditional smoker, I was  using the new Apisolis smokeless vaporizer.

It heats a solution of essential oils and releases it as a cool vapor to calm the bees without smoke by interfering with their alarm communication.

Native Nova is the new botanical formula that is supposed to work better with defensive colonies.

To start the vaporizer, I slowly and fully engage the bellows three times and then wait for the beep. A few seconds later, a smoke-like vapor appears.

When bees are just coming out of winter — before the first brood — they can be more defensive. At this stage my bees did not take kindly to the Apisolis vaporizer, and I had to switch to a traditional smoker, which worked like a charm.