No, but a crowded hive with large population is more productive, & sometimes mistaken for mean bees.

 

I often wonder if those "more productive" bees are just better robbers!

 

Indeed, bees more prone to robbing will appear more productive, until you realize they are just sacking your other hives and fail to contribute to your overall honey harvest.

 

My two most productive hives are mean. Not sure if it's just coincidence as I got both last year. They came through winter without missing a beat. Both already have lots of brood and will be ready to split soon. I'm going to try my hand at grafting (1)just to see if I can do it and (2) to see how the daughters temperaments turn out.

 

Not sure about being productive but I have noticed that the mean ones seem to make it through the winter.
Of course maybe I just notice the mean ones more.

 

>Mean Bees More Productive?

I think mean bees are robbers. Yes, robbers are more productive. And they make all your other hives less productive. And they make your life miserable....

>1. Following swarming and bear incursions, my sweet and gentle Italians turned mean.

Bears make them mean. Queenlessness makes them mean...

>2. There seems to be a general disdain here for the notion that any strain of queen you purchase (Carniolan, for instance) retains enough genetics to even be considered a true Carniolan. Is this true?

If you buy a dog that looks like a springer spaniel, is it a springer spaniel? Probably not. Does it have some springer spaniel genetics? Does it have some springer spaniel traits? Probably. Is it a "true springer spaniel"? Odds are it's smarter than a "true springer spaniel"... but not, it's not a "true springer spaniel".

 

"If you buy a dog that looks like a springer spaniel, is it a springer spaniel? Probably not. Does it have some springer spaniel genetics? Does it have some springer spaniel traits? Probably. Is it a "true springer spaniel"? Odds are it's smarter than a "true springer spaniel"... but not, it's not a "true springer spaniel".

You really got that one right! Some of the best,gentelest and most productive bees I have ever had were pure mutts!

 

I have noticed that new packages or caught swarms are gentle - until the colony gets going and have honey and brood to defend. Then they are "defensive" (also known as "mean").

My stronger, productive hives definitely have more attitude than the ones I am nursing along. They have more to lose!

 

Most times larger full hives just seem more defensive. This is due to the sheer number of bees. The more bees in the hive. The more foragers and guards there are. So you end up with a larger quantity of guards paying attention to you, which makes the hive attitude seem different.

 

I have seen truely defensive/offensive bees fill more supers with honey than less defensive bees. Maybe, like Michael Bush wrote, they are robbers too. I don't know.

 

I've heard folks say that meaner bees were more productive. I don't care. I've got no use for them. Many of my hives are too near people, pets and livestock. Plus, I have to work 'em. For a few extra pounds of honey (assuming there's any merit to the claim)....it just isn't worth it to me. I'll pinch and replace a handful of queens every spring from hives that were tagged as season long bad actors.

 

In general the same hive have not a a stable mood throughout the season. In my yards the rule is the more defensive hives are the ones with most bees and more bees fill more supers. And my bees are not robbers. I can have a nuc with 2 frames of bees next to a hive with 10 frames of bees without any problem. (I think they have a capacity of orientation far superior to the Italian bee. And I think only have two types of dance. The Italian has 3. The third dance is to signal the hive next door. I think I read this in Ruttner book).

 

A queenless hive can be more productive too. Once the colony runs out of brood to tend to the bees really get going filling every cell with honey. The ones they don't fill with pollen.