Bob & Liz wrote:

> Beekeepers living in AHB zones said they always kick the back of their hives
> slightly before working the hives. If AHB queen then the bees boil out.
> Not one beekeeper I have ever talked to which has really seen a hive of
> aggressive AHB's have said to me they would want to keep those around.

I had heard that the reason AHB were so aggressive was through the
method of honey collection in Africa years ago. Hives were destroyed, so
the honey collectors bred, inadvertently, for aggressive bees.

Since there is no way to check if the bees are AHB other than in a lab
or at least lab like conditions, it could be we are having a reverse
selection process going on in Texas, where the bees could be AHB but the
selection is for gentleness. We certainly do that with our own bees,
regardless of race.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, ME