At 11:49 AM 5/20/96 +0000, you wrote:
>When a swarm takes place due to supercedure, do they take their "old"
>queen despite her condition?
>
>If so, and the queen is ailing and cannot fly any distance, is it
>possible that the swarm will settle very close to the hive, i.e. beneath
>the hive if it is placed on blocks, thereby giving a small amount of
>space to settle?
>
>Is the best solution to this situation, if this is indeed what is
>happening, to hive the swarm?  If the queen cannot be found, is it
>suitable to provide them with a frame or two of larvae?
>
>I think this is what is happening with one of my hives.  When I got home
>from work on Friday, it was on the cool side and rainy.  There was a
>_large_ beard of bees on the bottom of the entrance.  I knew the bearding
>wasn't due to hot weather.  The bearding was still in place on Sunday.
>
>I had checked this hive just a few days prior.  I noticed that the queen
>was there, but rather emaciated.  There was larvae present in the hive,
>but not in any great number.  I noticed one or two emergency cells
>hanging from the middle of the frames.
>
>
>Laura Downey
>Anne Arundel Co., Maryland
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>
Hi Laura
 
Supercedure and swarming are 2 different functions entirely.  Swarming is
the bees method of procreation, colony size.  The old queen leaves with the
swarm unless she has been clipped or is otherwise unable to fly.  The bees,
will eventually swarm with a virgin queen if the old queen can't join them.
 
Superceedure,  on the other hand is the colony's way of replacing what they
perceive to be a failing queenand they normaly will not swarm at this time.
I say perceived because they will sometimes supersede perfectly good queens.
I once had a nuc colony that would not keep a marked queen.  They would let
the new queen lay for 2 to 3 weeks and kill her then try to raise a new one.
I had my queen breeder send me an unmarked queen and she was accepted and
allowed continue normal duties
 
Frank Humphrey
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