Hello Everyone,

I had been working a hive with AHB like traits, No problems for the most
part. They were about midrange in temperament for the kind of bees
typically encountered by a commercial beekeeper until I forgot my smoker.

I workded nine hives in the yard. It was a great day and the bees in the
first nine hives could have been worked without a veil. I gently opened
the cover on that hive and experienced what Jerry described. I have been
a commercial beekeeper and had to work many mean hives but nothing like
this. Instantly my socks were completely covered with bees. You could not
see any cloth at all. Anything moving was immediately attacked. I
immediately closed the hive up, but the attack got much worse.

Curiously, the hives were located in a horse pasture. The horse was
standing about 20 feet away and I thought, boy is he going to get it. Not
so, the bees left the horse completely alone. But neither my truck or
myselft fared so well.

Birds flying 60 feet above the yard were attacked and followed for 100
yards or more  distance. The bees chasing the birds looked like those
pictures of drone comets. I afraid some of the smaller, slower birds were
killed. Have you ever seen that with Euro bees?

Anyway, end of that hive. End of story.

Dennis