allen said:

>> AHB will oftentimes not accept an EHB queen easily,
>> permanently, or at all....

While this is certainly a correct statement given the sagas
told by those attempting to keep their colonies free of AHB,
isn't it a moot point in this case?

This fellow can be presumed to be a competent beekeeper,
and he said:

        "I can't get into the remaining hive
        to kill & replace the queen.
        Just too aggressive."

So he can't replace the queen, can he?  The workers will
continue to go after him every time he tries to open, move,
or other wise "work" the colony.  While it is another good
reason to not attempt to "save" the workers, I think that
his first concern will likely be the short-term impact of
the workers on his veil, suit, and skin, rather than their
long-term impact on the queen.

Aaron said:

> I wasn't sure how the original poster knew his bees
> were actually Africanized (could just be the hive got hot/nasty)

Does it matter which it is?  I don't see why it would be.

If they are so defensive that he cannot work the hive, no
further option involving "normal" colony manipulation
would be attempted by him.  He's tried it, and he (felt he)
had to retreat.

Even if the bees are nothing more than "overly defensive", he
still has the same problem - he needs a stand-off approach
where he can kill everything that flies, and a way to "work
his way in", killing as he goes.  He just wants to avoid losing
the comb and woodenware in the process.  It is not like he is
going to somehow "learn to tolerate" these bees, or somehow
change their behavior by pure force of will.  They are too
defensive for him.  They live a few weeks each.  The queen is
sure to be laying more eggs as we type.  Connect the dots.
Given the situation, a rational person would be calling
Sigourney Weaver in as a consultant!

> and B) there may be something to be learned by following this
> problem through to whatever is its end.

Aside from learning just how many stings it takes to drive a typical
beekeeper back indoors, or learning which bee suits/veils/gloves
provide what level of protection, or, worse yet, finding out (yet
again) that even beekeepers can end up at the doctors getting a quick
injection for "too many stings", what would we hope to learn?

Given that he is clearly not experienced in dealing with AHB,
(or perhaps "highly aggressive bees", "HAB") just how much risk
would we like him to expose himself to "in the interest of knowledge"?

Get real.  If he could "work" the colony in any way, he would have
never asked the question.  The colony must die.


What about the large-size saran-wrap used to wrap pallets of boxes?
If it could be wrapped around the hive tightly enough, and there
was no screened bottom, could one "shrink wrap" the hive, and let
them die of either suffocation or dehydration.  Again, one would
need hoses to knock fliers down, but one could run up to the back
side of the hive, slap the leading edge of the film onto the hive
with duct tape, and then dance (run!) around the Maypole in a
seasonally appropriate manner, wrapping as you go until you have
several layers around all vertical surfaces.  Then, one could
approach the hive, as no bees will be exiting, and wrap top to
bottom, around the outer cover and bottom board.

A few days in the sun with no exit should teach them a lesson!  :)


                jim (who wonders if some wood and comb is worth
                 all the risk and trouble, and would like
                 one of those multi-purpose rifles that
                 Sigourney Weaver used in "Aliens"
http://www.beeculture.com/beeculture/imports/pics/ripley.jpg )

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