>>In EHB, sometimes we see a 
>>really, really mean hive, but it is rare.  But it happens. 

>What do you mean by 'EHB'?  There are many strains of Eurpoean Honey Bee, some of which make a very cross cross.

Good point.  I am referring to the European-derived hone bees normally raised, sold and widely used commercially in North America --  that I have come across.   I am also talking about a dangerously aggressive hive that attacks passersby at a distance en masse without provocation.

I was not thinking of the bees we imported from Mexico decades back before Africanization.  They were terrible, but mostly when disturbed.  Nor am I referring to some light golden Italians I got from New Zealand one year and which all mercifully died the first winter -- also not too bad when not disturbed, but nasty when worked.

Additionally, I am not thinking of the bees which were feral in Hawaii before the mainland bee operations started queen operations there decades back or some feral black bees in the eastern US which were known for being mean years ago.

So, I suppose that my generalization was in regard to North American commercial strains, many of which I have had and which have crossed indiscriminately without notable aggressiveness. 

In fact, I can only remember one hive in 40 years and tens of thousands I have managed over that time in my own operation that was over-the-top mean.  We split it and split it, without looking for a queen (for obvious reasons), trying to weaken it enough to deal with it.  Each split made honey.  And then there was the medicine Hat greenhouse colony episode...

Anyhow, let me restate my previous comment to say that in my limited experience, really dangerously aggressive hives are quite rare with the EHB I have come across.

Granted, hives which are testy or which patrol the area around the hive, particularly under erratic flows conditions,  are not at all uncommon, but I am talking about hives that sting en masse without provocation.

Temper also varies with location, even in the same hive.  A hive which is tame in one location may become quite hostile in another and vice-versa.

Generally speaking, generalizations are subject to exceptions, and that was a generalization.

 Seems to me that -- from what I have heard -- in Britain, everything is an exception.

Apologies to those who live where the exceptions happen to be the normal state. 

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