I have been puzzled by a hive's behavior since June.  This hive had been
started from a package in early April, built up nicely, and even produced
two mediums of honey.  But it has been building queen cells since June to
now.  At first, I thought they were in a swarming mood (populous hive, queen
cells at the bottom of the frames in the upper deep), so I make a split by
moving the hive to a new location and putting an empty one in its original
location.  The split was successful but the bees in the original hive
continued the queen cells...  I was even once priviliged to witness a virgin
queen's emergence during a regular inspection.  I began to think it was
supercedure but I still see the original marked queen (she has been a very
prolific layer, BTW).  The only thing I can think of is that the marked
queen's odor is weak but, if this is the case, why hasn't the supercedure
been completed ?  I checked on them yesterday and saw two peanut-shaped
queen cells with larvae in royal jelly.

Any ideas/suggestions ?  Should I requeen by removing the old queen and
letting a new virgin take over ?  I see drones around but it's getting late
in the season here in south-eastern New York.

Waldemar
Long Island, NY

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