Paul Cronshaw wrote:
 
>In one of my apiary yards with 7 hives, my largest and most active hive is
>the meanest.  I call it Hive X.  All others I can work with veil only on a
>nice warm day.
 
>SO naturally I do not want to look thru this hive for a queen.  What is the
>quickest way to flush out a bad queen in a mean hive without pulling apart
>their home?  I think we discussed this topic in a previous thread.  It
>boiled down to a decision between the mean bees or the wife going!!
 
I have had one or two very aggressive hives.  On advice from a queen
breeder, I turned the mean hive at 45 degree angle and placed another hive
so the entrance was where the mean hive had been.  The new hive was stocked
with unsealed and sealed brood with attendant bees  and a quiet queen - it
does not have to be very strong as it will immediately be reinforced with
all the foraging bees from the mean hive.  However all bees raised from then
on will be descendants of the new queen and the hive seems to quieten down
almost immediately.  You are left with a mean hive with only the nurse bees
and the queen.  After a week, it is usually possible to work through this
hive and locate the queen quickly and kill her.  The nurse bees have not yet
acquired the same aggressive tendencies.  You can then unite the brood and
remaining bees to the new hive with newspaper and you will have a very
productive hive acquiring almost no stings in the process.
 
Worked for me!
 
Betty McAdam
 
HOG BAY APIARY
Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island
j.h. & e. mcadam<[log in to unmask]
http://kigateway.eastend.com.au/hogbay/hogbay1.htm