At 03:14 PM 4/25/97 -0400, you wrote:
>I need some expert advice on supersedure.
>Ten days ago I inspected one of my 3 hives and found no eggs or larvae - lots
>of sealed brood. (I know I didn't kill the queen as I hadn't been in there in
>3 weeks.)
>
>I was afraid they'd just swarmed or were about to.  I waited 9 days & went
>back (yesterday) -- still no eggs, but still some capped brood. I also
>discovered two capped supersedure cells (laid across middle of comb) with a
>lot of activity around them -- maybe they're about to hatch out?
>
>One other curiosity -- an overabundance of drones --- like 20 or more on each
>frame (usually I almost have to look for them), and lots of capped drone
>cells, though in nice patterns, and plenty of worker cells also.
>
>Questions:  was queen laying too many drones? -- did they opt to replace her?
>-- do they kill her first? -- Otherwise what keeps her from killing
>developing queens?
>
>I'd be very appreciative of some insight from some of you "real" beekeepers.
>Eugene Makovec
>St. Louis
>
>Be patient let the Bees do what they do best, manage their colony.
 It take about 48 hour for the harmony of the hive to get that colony back
to  where it was before you disturbed them. An old Queen will not destroy a
supersedure cell or a swarm cell. Only Virgin Queens, after one hatches out.
 The new Virgin will make a piping sound, and unhatched queen will respond,
thats how the newly hatched locate the queen and stings the cell with the
 aid of the workers.
 
 Gus Skamarycz
 Tyngsboro, MA.