Colonies that are ready to swarm may be prevented from doing so by poor weather, and virgin queens that are ready to emerge may be held captive in their cells by workers (Huber, 1792). A crowded colony under study at our laboratory was observed to contain a mated queen (marked) and a virgin queen held captive in her cell; swarming was delayed because of bad weather. The colony eventually swarmed with the mated queen. If a virgin queen escapes, however, she may kill the old queen, and any swarm which emerges afterwards would consequently be headed by a young queen. Our data suggest that a primary swarm may emerge with a virgin queen, or with a newly mated queen after her return from a mating flight but before she is capable of laying eggs.

The Seasonal Cycle of Swarming in Honeybees
Richard D. Fell, John T. Ambrose, D. Michael Burgett, David De Jong, Roger A. Morse & Thomas D. Seeley
Journal of Apicultural Research Vol. 16 , Iss. 4,1977 

PLB
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