>
> >Having done a bit of consulting work for a large well know and often
> vilified corporation just about any large operation who uses lots of hired
> labor and relies on about half their income in the form of pollination fees
> will lean on these attributes *as well as very early and heavy brooding
> capacity* of the queen they buy. < see comments on Mr Mraz below...
>

That's exactly my point. They don't buy "golden as long as they don't sting
much" alone. Golden has some value to some (but not all), but that isn't
all they want.

>
> >And what exactly was the lesson you learned?


To be more careful what you're selecting for, and try out your second
generation before requeening your entire yards with them.


>   I would suggest any group of bees can turn pretty mean for a long list
> of reasons. Quite often you can do things to minimize this sort of problem
> which may or may not have something to do with breeding. In similar
> situations here (Central Texas) the primary cause are too many hives on too
> small of a lot, starvation or queens failing for any number of reason (yes
> including heavy varroa infestation rates) and predation (skunks, raccoons
> or small hive beetles).  Also not to be overlooked is how and when
> beekeepers do manipulation...
>

Agreed. And I can't say with 100% confidence it was all the genetics. But I
had enough justification to satisfy my concerns. Management style hadn't
changed (from last summer to this spring), varroa mites were all well
within economic injury thresholds, colony numbers were consistent with the
past 5 years, strong stores on all hives. But what was most telling was its
occurrence in all 4 yards at the same time. Two were fenced, two weren't.
No predation issues (or at least, no visible signs such as skat,
scratches).

The aggressive behavior of almost all 30 hives I had going at the time
increased. And I'm not talking a little touchy. I'm talking you can't move
a frame without getting stung 5 times. I'm talking greet you at the truck
when you're 30 yards away (before you've opened a colony). I'm talking dive
bomb and head butt you when you're standing on your front porch with no
line of sight to the hives, and an acre between you and the hives.

Regardless, the aggressive behavior continued well into our honey flow, but
magically stopped a few weeks after requeening 15 of the "suspect" hives.
Calmer in a dearth with new queens than they were on a flow with the old
queens, I'd say genetics probably had something to do with it. The rest of
the colonies are still touchy, but don't chase you down. They'll throw a
sting or two per inspection, if you aren't judicious with the smoke.
They'll be requeened before summer is out.

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