>  I have 12 hive left now and am splitting them to increase.
 > But after today, I was working them and they decided to
 > try to kill anything within several hundred yards.

Do you know which hives went crazy?  Was it just one, or did
they all go mad? How objective was you observation?  People tend
to overestimate the actual extent of an attack when they get a lot
of stings.  Not always, though.

There are some things that can make EHB very aggressive and
chase for a hundred yards, but that is usually about it in my
experience.  There will often be some sticking with you in your retreat,
though, but if they are attacking at a distance off in another direction,
that is a different matter.

One thing that will make EHB attack for a considerable distance is a
robbing episode that is petering out.  You just don't want to be there
when the feast is over.

My worst recollection of angry bees was in Medicine Hat, inspecting
bees at a greenhouse back in the '70s.   The greenhouse owner never
worked the bees and they were totally gummed up.  My crew and I
got to work, and even dressed for the job and using our smoker properly,
they chased us out and down the road.  That was only a hive or two, but
we provided entertainment for the neighbourhood in our retreat.

It happens.

Anyhow, the first thing is to find out which hives are hot and deal
with the before you have a funeral.  Yours.

There are many suggestions in the archives, but the solution
depends on whether you just have one bad hive having a bad day
or if the whole bunch have gone bad.

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