Okay, I admit to being frankly puzzled.   Last year, my bees were producing
queen cells in February.  I lost a swarm out of it, in early March, by not
being diligent enough.  This year, I haven't seen any attempts to try to
produce queen cells.  The hive seems vigorous, but (I shouldn't complain!)
there are no signs of swarming behavior.  Presumably, the swarm left a young
queen behind in the hive, when it left.  She seems to be a good layer, and
drone production is down, too.
 
Weather has been unsettled here in California.  Warm in mid-winter, then
cool in spring.  Confused bees?
 
Is there some pheremonal reaction here, where the hive has decided it's got
a good queen and plenty of room, and hence doesn't need to spin off swarms?
I've never encountered a hive that didn't at least start queen cells, even
if they were destroyed later.
 
  -Jane B.   [[log in to unmask]]