Dealing with a hot colony:
 
First off, bees aren't aggressive, they're defensive (although I admit the
distinction is moot when you are getting multiple stings).
 
Possible solutions:
 
1)  Take a "You girls think you're tough?  I'm tougher!" attitude and get the
job done come what may.   Very painful and not normally reccomended.  If you
try it, get a good bee suit and tape all the openings.
 
2)  Split the colony in two, moving the boxes at least 50 feet from each
other.  Leave a box at the original hive location.   What you have done is
change the one large, hot colony into two smaller colonies.   In about a
week, check both.   The one with new eggs in it will have the old queen.
 Knock out any queen cells you may find in the other box.   If you don't find
the queen (but know which box she is in), put your new queen in the queenless
box, and treat that like a regular requeening.   Go through the box with the
old queen in it every few days, and when you find her, kill her.   You then
recombine the boxes (the new queen should be established in the other box) to
make one colony again.
 
Should you find the old queen on the first day, kill her, knock out any queen
cells you find in the other box, combine the boxes and intoduce your new
queen.  Either way your colony should show your new queen's traits after
about 6 weeks.
 
3)   Let nature take it's course.   If the queen in the hot colony is old,
you can wait until the colony supercedes her or swarms, and see what Nature
brings you for the next queen.  Least stings to you, but it takes the longest
time to get results.
 
Personally, I pick Alternative 2.
 
W. G. Miller
Gaithersburg, MD, USA