>>I've found what appears to be a queen cell in one of my honey 
supers.

The further from the nest center a queen cell is located, the more 
likely it's supercedure...  The location on the frame is secondary 
and often insignificant.  That's my theory.

>>There were no larvae in the second brood chamber, so it seems 
pretty clear that the hive is queenless.

Did you check in all the other hive bodies and supers?  You'd really 
need to a 100% inspection to be sure there is no queen.  An injured 
queen may not lay but may still put out her odor.  Just take your 
time and take off one box at a time and it check it carefully frame 
by frame.  Every time you do this sort of inspection you'll observe 
and learn a lot about nest structure, bee behavior etc.  As you do 
this, postulate your own theories based on your observations and then 
challenge them. 

>>Currently these bees are really packing honey away.  The hive still 
seems strong.

Since its brood rearing is not a demand on resources, a de-queened 
hive with a strong work force will often put up record amounts of 
honey in a short period of time until attrition reduces its field 
force.

>>How can I make sure this queen is a success?

Either leave it alone or move the frame with the queen cell into a 
queenless nuc put together with frames from different hives 24 hours 
earlier.  You can track a queen easier in a nuc.  When she's laying 
you can introduce her with the nuc back into your original hive.

>>I have some pretty good pictures if anybody would like to see them.

Please feel free to send a couple to me.

Waldemar

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