Hi All
 
I have seen a few mentions about this topic on the list now by Alan,
Andy and Barry.
 
Bees in my area appear to occasionally get very grumpy on very hot
humid days. I personally believe this to be due to the 'solubility'
of the pheremones in the air. Under hot humid conditions such as
those before the fabled african thunderstorms that yearly cause
people to get theirselves stung onto the medical aid halls of fame
(eg all those people that think they are allergic because they felt a
bit sick after being stung 400 times for walking near some hives) it
can be theorised that the airs ability to carry pheremone will not be
as good, hence more of it is likey to condense onto the
chemoreceptors on the bees antenae and they will get cross more
easily.
 
Conversely, I have found that on just such days, if one is very
sneaky with the smoke, and makes sure to smoke all hives in the
apiary, not just the one you are working on with white smoke, then it
is possible to work it just as any other day.
 
Many times I have found when my hive I was working on was being mean,
it was actually the neighbours.
 
Keep well
 
GArth
Garth Cambray           Camdini Apiaries
Grahamstown             Apis mellifera capensis
Eastern Cape Prov.
South Africa
 
Time = Honey
 
After careful consideration, I have decided that if I am ever a V.I.P
the I. may not stand for important.
(rather influential, ignorant, idiotic, intelectual, illadvised etc)