The PERFECT Example of an Aggressive Colony

In my first year beekeeping i had a colony that was extremely aggressive. I thought the problem must be my inexperience. Some mistake that i was making. Looking back now I should have requeened that hive immediately.

Aren’t bees supposed to try to sting you? No. Not if you aren’t close to their hive. I have 12 colonies now and all but one can be worked without gloves. Most don’t need smoke. The one that requires gloves is the one shown in this video.

I have had bees hassling me and my wife FAR from their hive. Luckily they haven’t stung any neighbors, but this hive has gotten too hot for my comfort level.

In this video i show how far away you could normally expect guard bees to patrol, and then how far this aggressive colony is going.

This hive was mostly fine before the solstice, but since the summer solstice they’ve been impossible to work. The flow lasted for another month past that, but the solstice is when the demeanor took a turn for the worse. The fact that they were better before tells me this is a queen issue and not africanized genetics.

If you’re a new beekeeper and trying to figure out if you should requeen a hive because of their behavior, i hope this is helpful. In my first year i could have used this video.

#beekeeping #beginnerbeekeeping #aggressivebees #honeybees