On Tue, 24 Jun 1997, Dave from Scranton wrote:
 
>         I have two hives right next to each other, maybe a foot or two
> apart. I've been working the Starlines, then the Midnites when I go out.
> I've noticed the Midnites seem to be a little more aggressive than the
> Starlines. They seem to come right upoff the frames at me. The first few
> times I worked the hives, both colonies seemed to ignore me altoghter,
> now the Midnites seem more aggressive. I haven't tried working them in
> reverse yet, I'll try that next time.
>         Could it be that they are smelling the alarm pheromones of the
> other hive when I squash a few while putting it back together? Or could
> they be smelling the other hive on my gloves?
>
 
  Hi Dave,
 
  It could be all of the above plus you may have a problem with the bees
in the hive. Weather is a factor and the queens pheromones that control
the hive may be weak. You could have some pathogens working on the bees
also. It can be more complex than just the smell of your gloves. I would
smoke my gloves after working the starlines , plus your hive tool.You may
be able to work thru this problem with the midnight first. My bet is , you
have another problem with the midnights other than your gloves. Midnights
are know for being easy to work and slow to become agressive.
 You could have the hive raise there own queen through supersedure. Now
the calmness is gone. Higher populations will raise the number of bees
that are agressive. Remember that the queen mates with more than one drone
, so all of the workers are not working with the same genes. Like just
about everything in beekeeping, it is a little more complex than one
simple answer. That is why it is so wonderful to keep bees. Your brain
gets a workout every time you work the bees. You already came up with 2
potential problems , I just added to them.
 
 Best Regards
  Roy