> But after today, I was working them and they decided to try to kill anything within several hundred yards.

Sounds like you got 'em. The distance thing is really the main point. I have seen vicious European hives, but they usually give up after chasing you a few yards. 

Evidently, african bees in the US may be so thoroughly hybridized, that they won't test out African, but still retain the hostile behavior. The lab test often takes too long to be of any real use.

I suggest using the behavioral criterion alone. If the hive is mad vicious, get rid of it quickly before it multiplies. If a hive isn't mean, then who cares who it's parents were?

The quickest way to put down a colony without wrecking the equipment is to go to the hive just before dark. Have a trashcan with hot soapy water in it. Shake the bees quickly into the water. Let the brood die off, it is not that valuable. 

Pete

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