REGARDING           RE>Secondary swarms                                       
                                                                                
Laura Downey asks:                                                              
"Regarding secondary swarms, when it occurs, do the bees leave to join the      
original swarm, or do they take the remaining queen with them, thereby          
leaving the hive in a queenless state?"                                         
                                                                                
In my experience, secondary swarms may have several virgin queens.              
Occasionally all the virgin queens of a colony may leave with a secondary       
swarm, leaving the colony queenless, but with queen cells still in place.       
These cells may have been damaged by the virgins, so it could be                
problematical whether or not they will successfully emerge, mate and lay        
eggs.  I have ended up with queenless hives due to this.  Better to have        
prevented swarming in the first place!                                          
                                                                                
Ted Fischer