Jeff Dugan wonders about the possibility of swarming or supercedure and the
effects on his hives.
 
I believe that piping is a sign of a new queen, as you thought.  It probably
means either a swarm or supercedure is imminent.
 
Early fall swarms are not unusual, although I always hate to see them, as
the swarm has no chance of surviving the winter.  Of course, the old queen
leaves with the swarm and a new queen will have to be mated.  Some
beekeepers think that fall swarms are a good thing as the hive population is
greatly reduced for the winter.  If they do swarm, you should check in 2-3
weeks to be certain that there is young brood and eggs in the frames.  If
not, it will mean that the new queen failed and your hive will die during
the winter.  If that is the case, protect your frames from wax moth damage
and start over in the spring with a package or (and preferably) a nuc
purchased locally.
 
If they don t swarm, supercedure will probably take place.  This is not a
bad thing, as you will have a nice new, young, queen to go through the
winter.  Again, check the brood nest in 2-3 weeks to be certain she mated
properly.  You don t need to see her as long as you see either eggs or very
young larvae.  Whether you re-queen next year should depend on how well she
does in terms of brood pattern, gentleness, honey production, etc.  If she
does well in these regards you can certainly keep her another year, but if
you do there will be a higher probability of swarming early in 2000.
 
It is not likely that either swarming or supercedure will put hive survival
at risk, as long as there is a new queen.  However, you need to be certain
they have enough food for the winter.  To check, around October 15 try
lifting the back of the hive.  If it is very heavy, they have enough food.
If not, feed syrup of a ratio of 2 sugar to 1 water.  I d say a minimum of 3
gallons, but it really depends on how much honey is actually in the hive.  A
local beekeeper should be able to tell you how much is necessary for the
winter I d guess around 40 pounds of honey/syrup (excluding weight of wood).
 
Dissolving 2 parts sugar into 1 part water can be a challenge.  I do it in a
five gallon pail, and use a dry wall cement stirrer that goes into my =
drill.
 
Good luck
Lloyd
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Owner, Ross Rounds  the finest in comb honey production.