Jane:
 
We just finished pulling apart and inspecting (actually measuring) every
inch of some 40 hives.  As in earlier tests, we found queen cells of all
types and descriptions in many of the hives.  At this time of the year,
almost all were supercedure cells.  Many of these hives still had a
laying queen.  Some had ripped open cells, where a queen had emerged.
 
Our observations suggest that there is a lot of queen replacement going
on.  Our hives are mildly to heavily infested with Tracheal and Varroa
mite, but I can't say that the mites have anything to do with this.
 
I can say that the percent of hives that superceded has been very high.
But we have seen a lot more of this than commonly acknowledged over many
years.  We may see it because of the nature of our research.  Seems like
we spend most of the year shaking bees out and pulling combs to look for
things.  If you live with your head in a bee box, you may see things
others miss.
 
In other words, why would a beekeeper aggressively look for queen cells
after the prime swarm season.  Honey extraction and other tasks take
precedence.
 
Ok, now I have a question.  We keep finding queens with a concave dent
near the middle of the dorsal side of the thorax.  These queens usually
are in hives that are trying to supercede.  In most cases the queen is
still laying.  Far as we know, she wasn't smashed, so how did she get the
dent?
 
Cheers
 
Jerry Bromenshenk
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