> ...I have to challange the assertion that swarms usually issue
>  when the first queen cell is capped.  I have not found this to be so.

Correct.

Many times a colony will make cells and sit there until they emerge and run
around in the colony and still not go out.  Sometimes they will keep the cells a
while, even when sealed, then tear them down again because (we guess) conditions
have changed.

When we find a colony with queen cells that have larvae -- and they often are
sealed -- and the hive obviously has not swarmed, we just bust it in half
(making sure not to destroy the cells hanging off the top box by plunking it
onto a floor with too little clearance).

At current honey prices, and the current prices of packages here in Canada, this
is a real bonus.  a new hive is worth as much as the crop increase we *might*
have had by keeping the hive as one.

Both halves continue to make honey, so the sacrifice is not great.

allen