[log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> Aggression is not always the fault of the   queen.

Sid,
Glad to see you again. You might recall I used your excellent comments
on tanging in our newsletter.

I have found that most of the aggression I have with my bees is not the
queen but outside influences. (I had one aggressive hive that was the
fault of the queen, this is just my experience and not the norm. A
single data point in the pixillated world of beekeeping.)

Usually the aggression is caused by animals, especially skunks, visiting
the hives at night. The next day the bees are very short tempered. It
took me a while to add the one and two, since there was no noticeable
evidence of the visit until, after a rain, I saw the paw prints on the
front of the hive. I put chicken wire in front of it and problem solved.
Bees calmed down quickly.

Raccoons also caused problems when I used entrance feeders (when I first
started beekeeping they were part of the equipment I purchased with the
hives. Terrible invention. They, by themselves, can encourage robbing
and aggression.). The raccoons would visit the hive and sample the nice
treats I left out for them. Bees were not too happy.

And then there is the beekeeper...., probably the worst of all the
animals in their treatment of the colonies. I would have stung anyone
who treated me the way I treated my bees when I first started.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine USA