Sawdstmakr,
You bring up a good point to which I'm still trying to understand. When I collected my first hive, someone mentioned that because the bees had built their hive underground they could be AHB. Being new to beekeeping became concerned about it and even questioned whether I wanted to take a chance with having them around my kids and pets. At first they didn't seem aggressive at all, I could hang out around the hive and open it to fill feeders without protection. As time goes on and their numbers have quadrupled, I'm getting a little more uneasy about opening the hive. However, as long as I use smoke, wear a veil and gloves, and move slowly there is no problem. As the hive grows will the bees become increasingly aggressive? Some beeks say requeening is absolutely necessary to ensure they do not become "africanized", which has become synonymous with "downright mean". Others seem to indicate it doesn't matter if they're africanized or not, bees are bees when it comes to managing hives, and being AHB may be a good thing to maintain healthy hives in our area as they are more suited to our climate. Thoughts?