I've heard anecdotes that bees get mean when working mint, but mine
never seem any meaner when they're on the mint flowers.  However,
around here the mint is one of the last plants to bloom, and I wonder
if those anecdotes weren't really just saying that bees get mean at
the end of the season.  Last summer in our neighborhood EVERYTHING
bloomed itself out by the end of July, and the bees were certainly
ill tempered for the rest of the year.
 
Kerry Clark's comments:
>I've noticed... that bees working a Canola honeyflow (Brassica,
>oilseed rape) in mid June to mid July sting more than one would
>expect from bees on other flows. One can expect bees to have a
>better temperament on an apparently similar flow from red or alsike
>clover or sweetclover (a week or more later, maybe warmer but
>overlapping conditions).
 
indicate that the nectar source really might contribute to
temper, or at least that temper doesn't necessarily deteriorate
as the season progresses.  But as Kerry also says, it's hard to
study quantitatively.  I'd love to hear more.
 
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