On Tue, 21 May 1996, Laura Downey wrote:
 
> I want to point out one item.  I received a few posts that indicated that
> supercedure and swarming are not the same event.  Yes, I do realize
> that.  The reason I tagged my post as "Supercedure and swarming" is that
> in one of my beekeeping reference books, it states that supercedure often
> leads to swarming.
 
The confusion between swarming and supercedure seems to appear in several
books. I think it's a more common confusion than it should be.
 
> Having viewed my queen and noted that she appears to be failing, i.e. not
> laying adeqately, appearing emaciated, it would make sense that the bees
> would supercede here.
 
The queen will normally slim down just before she leaves, so may well
appear like that.
 
> But, if the queen can't fly from the original
> hive, if she crawls out of the hive, is it possible that the swarm will
> get as far as the front of the hive and stay there?
 
I've seen photographs of two instances where the colonies have
set up their new home under the hive from which they left,
because the queen couldn't fly. I'd be a little surprised if
they were at the front rather that underneath, as you'd expect
the queen just to walk back in and eventually be killed.
 
Regards,
--
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