Will I screw up my karma?

[D Semple]

You ever just have any you wanted to kill and be done with forever?

Did a very large removal two weekends ago with absolutely the wickedest bees I've ever seen, they ate my lunch. Split them into 2 hives - 2 boxes each, never saw the queen during the removal, but lots of eggs and open brood. Tried to inspect them Monday (to look for and kill the queen / queen cells for requeening) and I no more than get the first one open than I've got 1000's from both hives boiling out and attacking, the hives are about 10' apart. Had to walk 3/4 mile through trees to lose most of them, 10 or 20 road home in my truck.

Yesterday I went back to that yard to get the equipment I left behind in my haste to get out of there Monday and about 30 or 40 met me at the gate which is about 200 yards away with fangs barred. I turned around and went back way after dark last night to retrieve my gear.

Bee yard is on a 1/4 section of farm ground surrounded by suburban houses, scared I'll have some fool kid exploring get all stung up. 

I've got 50 some odd hives of nice bees and I'm buried up to my eyeballs with work and removals. These girls have me intimidated and I just don't see the point in even screwing with them to get them turned around.

Don

[Kathyp]

light up the slash pile.  while they might settle with requeening, your concern in an urban area is legit.

you don't have some big field you can put them in until they cycle another queen?

[D Coates]

ooofff...  Never had one that hot.  A four deep removal?  Sounds like neither hive may have a queen considering they are both equally upset.  Do you have any weaker hives that could use a brood boost considering we're coming into flow now?  If they are too hot to work at all though it's a mute point especially with non beekeepers all around that may not be forgiving at all if someone is hurt.  If that's the case I've got nothing short of bring out the weenies and marshmallows for a Memorial Day BBQ.

[yockey5]

Had one just like this once. I moved the old brood boxes sans mean queeny, Installed a caged queen in old spot. Installed another queen in new location next day. In 3 weeks all problems were gone.

[yockey5]

BTW, I have a mean one to split later today. Will let you know how it goes if I survive it!  :lau:

[Javin]

To hell with karma...  It sounds to me like AHB may have officially made it to Kansas.  Even if not, there's just not an advantage to salvaging a hive that's that aggressive when it could get someone lethally attacked.  I'd say cook 'em.

Split one of your nice hives if the guilt gets to be too much.  :D

[D Semple]

I've decided I can't bring myself to killing them, so I'm going to give them a stay of execution for a week or two to see if I can get them requeened.

1st - (per Kathy) I'm going to move them to a very remote location, I'll put red "DANGER" caution tape around the hives, and mark surround trees also.
2nd - (per yockey) I'll move them in the middle of the day and move a couple of single box hives that could use a boost to their location to capture the foragers that will be returning, and weaken the mean hives.
3rd - I'll suit up to the hilt and get the queen / queen cells. (may have to go back to drinking afterwords)
4th - After a day, I'll take the 2 single box hives (used to previously capture the mean foragers) to do combines with the now queenless mean hives.
5th - I'll throw on a couple of extra suppers so I don't have to check them again for a couple of MOnths!!!

Drew - I use all 8 frame medium box equipment (so I got the equivelent of 2 - 10 frame deeps from the cutout)

Javin - After 30 + odd removals and 50 or so swarm captures the last 2 years these are the 1st really defensive bees I've run across or ever heard about in our area, nobody will ever know if they have any AHB blood, because I'm not going to tell anybody and their gentic line is going to die shortly one way or another. For the record, I don't believe they fit the description, the colony was massive, and they are a large yellow bee with brood cell size in the 5.6 mm range.

Thanks for all the help folks.

Don 

[Kathyp]

sounds like a heck of a plan!!   :-D  please take pictures!!!!

[D Coates]

Good Luck Don.  Please take pictures if you can.  If not at least let us know how things went and have a cold one for me.  I hope to not see you in the news!