On Sun, 19 May 1996, Maynard R. Thompson wrote:
 
>         I was having a conversation with a fellow bee keeper today. We
> were discussing the role of the QUEEN SUBSTANCE.  In our discussion the
> levels of queen substance distributed throughout the hive would become
> lowered under two circumstances.  In the first circumstance there could
> be an abundance of bees <very strong hive> which would lead to the
> distribution of Q.S. over a greater number of bee's thus making the bees
> prepare to swarm as a function of diminished Q.S.per bee.  In the second
> condition whereas the queen may begin to fail or weaken, again the
> quantity or quality of the Q.S. changes significantly to signal
> supercedure. Any thoughts on this or is there info available regarding
> these thoughts.  Thanking the list in advance!   Maynard
>
 Hi Maynard and All, This subject is close to my heart. I don't have many
answers, but I know of some of the problems in getting to the answers.
  Three years ago I started 35 packages from one breeder in California.I
had supercedure in about 50% within 2 weeks. The bees were running all
over the comb and were making a lot of noise. I did get some pheromones
that was part of queen substance. Now I know that there is 5 parts to
queen substance.Thanks to some people on this list and Mark Winstons
group up in SF in BC CA.9-HDA and 9-ODA was what I used. I would put some
on a swab and place it in a hive and it would calm down very fast. So I
started reading all I could find on the subject. My Son and I were trying
to find a way to measure the level of Queen substance in a hive.My Son is
a SR. Chem major at U of Wash.It is very hard to do quantitative analysis
of those organic acids in the hive without some special expensive equipment.
 I have taken out a queen from a hive that was hyperactive and replaced
her with a new queen from a different breeder.The hive calmed down in a
few minutes.
 Some bees supercede more often than others. At one time Buckfast queens
in the US were hard to keep from superceding, when you were requeening
with them.My first feeling on this issue was a genetic problem. I still
think that it is a factor.How the queens are produced could be another
factor.They need good attention and good young bees to feed them royal jelly.
We could have a pathogen that impares the production of pheromones.
 This issue needs some solid research.By watching bee behavior over a
long time , I have seen some changes in brood patterns and
supercedure.This is complex and there is probibly more than one answer to
the question. I have had hives full of bees in 5 deeps as brood boxs and
no swarm cells.The bees were boiling over , when you took the top
off.That would limit the amount of queen substance per bee.
 Look at what the breeders are breeding for. Is it a standard and how
many traits do they check? This is not a shot at breeders.The genes  work
with the enviornment to come up with a given behavior. The only way a
breeder knows how there bees are doing is feedback. We are all in the loop.
  The gene pool that we are working with could be strained a little
bit.I'm fishing with this one. I know that there must be a researcher out
there that would love to set me straight on that one.
 This is a very good topic. I know that there are some very good breeders
out there that would use some new tools if they were given them.
 Best Regards
   Roy