On Sun, 16 Mar 1997 11:11:59 -0800 Doug Jones <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
>One of my 5 hives has suddenly become very aggressive...
 
Dear Doug,
 
Another, if not anecdotal reason for your bees all of a sudden becoming
aggressive may be infection with tracheal mite. I have not done an all
out study, but I have monitored closely now 6 hives with varying levels
of tracheal mite infection. If you score all of those hives for
nastyness (# of stings, usually THROUGH gloves), # of yards they will
chase (up to the next township ;->  ) and the realative # of bees
clustering on the front of the hive on a bright sunny warm day. The
hives that have been the meanies have also been the hives with the
greatest amount of infestation. As infestation levels rise, so do the
nastys. Also, if for some reason mite levels drop, the bees aren't so
bad. But, some have gone from gentle, easy to work  **** no veil or
whathaveyou *** to 250+ stingers in one glove inside of 10 minutes.
Requeening doesn't help in these cases, as infestation levels persist.
Unless of course you can find a "resistant" queen stock.
        Anyway, this may not be the problen in your case. But for about $10 US,
some reputable places can test a sample of your bees. Or, send them to
the USDA Beltsville Bee Lab, in Maryland for a free test.
In the meantime, move your bees if you can.  How 'bout your in-laws'
place ?
 
Mike