Two races of the honeybees and their F1 hybrid were evaluated with regard to their defensive behaviour. The Syrian race revealed a highly defensive behaviour, while the Carniolan race showed a mild defensive response. The F1 hybrid bees ranked between the two races. These conclusions were based on the number of stings per ball before and after smoking under various treatments at three different positions. Human sweat and geraniol were more effective. inducing aggressiveness and severe stinging more than perfume and citral chemicals. Opening the hive or exposing the balls to workers on the comb tops after hitting the lid and removing it increased the aggressive behaviour. The smoke significantly reduced the aggressive behaviour of the honeybee workers.