Do bees become aggressive moreso when the temps and humidity are up. Very hot and muggy, thinking I should wait for cooler temps to inspect?
When it gets very hot here (over 100's sometimes) I inspect in the early morning just so I can be comfortable and not do any damage to the soft wax combs when I lift frames. I have foundationless frames so have to be careful when I inspect them.
Since the bees are trying really hard to keep the temperatures cool inside the hive, it might disturb them to have the heat rushing in when you open up the top, but I am not really sure if it matters that much.
I have never noticed a difference in the behaviour when working the bees, just because it is very hot. But lets hear from others and hear their experiences.
Annette
Annette is on to something here. I'm currently on vacation in Virginia, far from Texas panhandle where it's hot and dry. However, on my last inspection right before leaving, I discovered that frames 1 and 2 on the north side of the hive had melted and simply collapsed downward. I was using medium hive body with crimped wire foundation. I didn't use cross-wiring and the honeycomb just melted and collapsed.
That being said, I would think anything we could do to inspect in the cooler hours would be helpful to the bees. I know this goes against the idea of inspecting during the middle of the day while the foragers are out busy working.
I've found that within the first hour and half of daylight, that the bees are "sleepy" and don't seem to get to agitated as long as I move slowly.
Good luck.