Wow, your "hot hive" sounds like trouble! I'm also in Houston, have done a few swarm captures, but have not anything like what you've described. Even if your hive started out as a package, you could have an AHB problem. Have thought about sending some of bees for AHB testing? The Texas Honey Bee I.D. Lab at Texas A&M will test samples from Texas for free. They are part of the Texas Apiary Inspection Service. You can find their site on the internet. I'll test a swarm capture if they seem a little too aggressive for my taste ... just "to make sure". Good luck ...
Here's some info from their website:
With the arrival of Africanized honey bees in Texas, one of the common concerns is
whether bees in a backyard or other site are Africanized. As an educational agency, the Texas
Agricultural Extension Service can offer advice and make referrals to competent persons (such as
beekeepers, pest control operators or other emergency personnel); however we cannot make site
visits or collect bees for identification.
When there is reasonable doubt as to the identity of an aggregation of bees, any person
may submit a sample of the colony to the Texas Honey Bee I.D. Lab for identification. The
laboratory is located in Bryan, Texas. Currently there is no charge for this service, and the lab
will accept bee samples from any location in Texas. Proper collection information and adequate
numbers of bees must be submitted, however, to get an accurate identification.
Because Africanized honey bees are nearly identical in appearance to our more docile,
domesticated (European) honey bees, the only way to make a positive identification is with the
use of sophisticated optical and computer equipment. In addition, at least 10 - 20 worker bees
must be submitted to accurately test whether the colony is Africanized. Bees collected away
from their nest or swarm-- for instance, at feeding or watering sites-- cannot be reliably
identified."
