In a message dated 5/7/99 10:43:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> at least I know I got the queen.  But I
>  also found in 4 of the 7 hives, queen cells (2 to 3 of them) on the side of
>  a couple of the frames.  Not on the bottom of the frames.
>   If everything that I have read and learned from people on this list about
>  the queen in a swarm, then I must believe that the queens that I have in
the
>  7 hives are the old queens and she isn't doing a very good job  and is
>  probably being replaced by bees.

    When a queen swarms, she is then spent, and rarely will survive long. In
most cases the hives supersede the old queens without interruption. The only
thing that would normally concern you is that the new queens have decent
weather to get mated, then the hive will go on.  It's amazing to me that a
swarm, issued early in the season, will go through the process of selecting
and building an entirely new home, supersede the queen, and become more
productive by the end of the season, than the original hive they left.

    If given a choice, I'd always select the swarm over the hive that cast a
swarm.  You would not think there to be an advantage for the swarm. Both wind
up with young queens, and the old hive usually still has hatching brood,
ready made comb, and some food reserves.  Perhaps they shed some pathogens in
the process....?   Or maybe the long interuption of the brood cycle in the
old hive is more significant.

     I hate working on a hive, that swarmed a week or two ago. They usually
have a queen, but you cannot guarantee it. They are snotty as all get out. I
usually just give them a frame of brood with eggs, and close them up.

>My question is this:  Should I just let
>  them replace her on their own or should I purchase some queens?  What are
>  the pros and cons of each....

    It's less risk to let nature take its course.  If any are questionable,
give them a frame with eggs.  I often give a swarm a frame of sealed brood
(making sure there are a few eggs) to start with. This prevents absconding,
and guarantees them a source of emergency queens, should the queen not be
able to get going again. Of course I can't check my bees as often as many
hobbyists.

   Note all the recent discussion on queen introduction and the loss rates. I
only used a few purchased queens this year, but lost about half of them (that
was extreme, and due I presume, to five solid days of cold rain).  I am
always pretty disappointed at the loss rate of these expensive queens, but do
use a few to keep new blood coming in, and for quick late-spring
replacements, when we are really pushed by the pollination season.

[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
The Pollination Home Page:    http://www.pollinator.com

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