Bob & Liz wrote:

> <snipped>
>  At the ABF
> convention in Austin,Texas I found most Texas beekeepers use the *kick the
> hive test* . If bees boil out and are aggressive they requeen by dividing
> the hive into three nucs and requeening with European queens. The beekeepers
> logic was simple. If they are that aggressive they need requeening anyway.
> DNA tests are ok but they involve time AND many as Barry says are
> inconclusive. In my opinion DNA is  best used after a aggressive hive has
> been destroyed which  has caused a stinging incident to see if AHB or only a
> swarm of bad tempered European bees were the source of the problem.

Bob/All:
   I guess we finally agree on something - if the colony stings or runs too
much, it needs work.
 - Thanks,
         John Edwards, USDA-ARS BeeLab, Tucson, Arizona