The thread of swarm vs. supersedure queens is a perennial topic that
will probably go on forever.

A swarm queens does not necessarily mean a queen that has left with a
swarm, it can mean a queen that is raised by a hive that is under swarm
conditions.  It is precisely that sort of condition that breeders try to
mimic when setting up cell builder colonies; lots of bees in a congested
brood chamber.  It is likely that a cell builder colony, if left to its own
devices, would swarm!  The beekeeper "artificially" creates this
environment by shaking extra bees into the colony (or possibly shaking a
double brood chamber into a single), and giving the colony mostly sealed
brood so there are no developing larvae to be fed.  Into this cell
builder is introduced the grafted larvae.  The sometimes, usually queenless
cell builder has little brood to care for because the brood is mostly
capped, there isn't much need to forage because there is nowhere to store
the nectar, and in fact the ONLY thing constructive for the bees to do is
feed, feed, feed the grafted developing queens.

What determines the BEST queens is their diet while developing.  If a
colony raising a supersedure queen is able to feed the developing queen
as well as a swarm colony will (regardless of how you define a swarm
colony), then the supersedure queen will be as good as the swarm colony.  If
the supersedure colony is run down, possible because the reigning queen
hasn't keep populations as high as the it woulda/coulda/shoulda been, then
the supersedure queen may not be as well nourished as a queen developing in
a swarm colony.  The best queens (genetic background issues aside) are the
ones that are best nourished during their development.

Supersedure vs. Swarm colonies is a red herring.  It all comes down to
diet; how well the developing queen is nourished.

As far as which camp is nuts, in my book calling someone a nut based on
what they do, say or believe is counterproductive.  Behave boys.

Aaron Morris - thinking Almond joys vs. Mounds; sometimes you feel like
a nut, sometimes you don't!

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