Which of the following operations should be carried out to prevent honey bees from being excited during the harvesting of honey

To prevent honey bees from being excited during the harvesting of honey, the use of smoke around the hives should be carried out. Smoke is often used by beekeepers to calm bees and reduce their aggression during honey harvesting. When bees sense smoke, they become less aggressive and focus their attention on storing honey in their stomachs in case they need to flee the hive due to a possible forest fire. The smoke also masks the pheromones that the bees use to communicate with one another, which further reduces their aggression. Therefore, based on the given options, the correct answer is the use of smoke around the hives.