>
>I remember coming across a statement that the aggressiveness of a hive
>varies inter alia with the number of guard bees posted at any one time. Thus
>if the size of the entrance is reduced, fewer guard bees are deployed and
>therefore there are fewer stingers ready to pounce.
>
>Can anybody confirm this assertion or otherwise?. I am also interested in
>trying to find out how many guard bees are deployed on average say per
>centimetre/inch  of entrance space, as I like to put numbers on things if at
>all possible.

In my view measures to reduce the 'nastiness' of an aggressive colony in
an urban or suburban environment is the wrong approach altogether.
There is just no place for anything other than placid colonies in these
environments.  Aggressive colonies will damage your neighbours, damage
your relationships with your neighbours, and give beekeeping in general
a bad name.

With the growth of Agro-Business, with monocultural rearing of
wheat/barley over large areas and with spraying to kill everything else,
the traditional view of beekeeping as a rural craft is rapidly becoming
obsolete in many areas. ( In Donald Sim's recent book '60 years with
Bees' he relates how a UK village that supported hundreds of colonies in
the 1930s was hard pressed to support 2 colonies in the 1980s)
Conversly, with increasing interest in gardening (in the UK) the urban
and suburban environments are becoming better for bees and beekeeping.
The ability to use these latter environments depends, in part, on
beekeepers being very responsible, and not keeping aggressive stocks in
them.

I also am interested in numbers and measurement related to beekeeping.
What measurements can be made that give added value to beekeepers?

Regards,
--
Mike Rowbottom


HARROGATE
North Yorkshire
UK