> >        One other thing I found and was confused by was I found the begining
> >of two queen cells on the bottom of a frame and took them off, that's where
> >they normally go right? I also found the beginings of a queen cup in the
middle
> >of a frame too...they don't belong there, do they?
>
>    Queen cells built prior to swarming are on the bottom of the combs;
> those built prior to supercedure are usually somewhere in the brood nest.
> The rule is not hard and fast, however.
 
I think much of this depends on the strain of bees.  In my experience
of swarm preparations there are perhaps 2/3 of the cells on the bottom
of the frames and 1/3 in the middle.  (Note, this is working with single
brood boxs.)  Emergency cells (sudden loss of queen) of course are always
on the face of the comb because a worker cell has been promoted.
 
I must admit that when I read Dave's original query I wondered if he
was seeing queen _cells_ or just queen _cups_.  Colonies, even neuclei,
seem to always make queen cups in the summer, even if they have no
desire to swarm.  Sometimes the queen even lays in them but the workers
remove the eggs.  I wouldn't say that swarm preparations have really
started until an egg has been allowed to hatch.
 
--
Malcolm Roe                            Phone  :  +44 442 230000 ext 5104
Crosfield Electronics Ltd              Fax    :  +44 442 232301
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