>
> I am concerned about the queen cells.  I don't want to loose my bees in a
> swarm, and I'm unsure how to tell if the hive is trying to replace a
> unproductive queen.  Any advice on how I should proceed would be
> appreciated.
>
Well from what you are describing you are looking at supercedure cells and
not swarm cells. It is also possible that you are just seeing some cup cells
but I doubt it. If the cells had royal jelly in the bottoms the bees are
not happy with the current queen and are going to try and replace her.

While I saw one answer that said the bees know what they are doing, I am
going to be a little less hopeful. The bees do sense that the queen is in
some way unacceptable. You could allow them to go ahead and raise a new queen
and hope that things come out all right. That is the way I would have done it
a few years ago. But today there are a few things you are going to need to find
out before you can allow nature to take its course:

1) Are there any other beekeepers near you? What kind of bees are they keeping?
If they are not using a hybrid then their drones should provide acceptable
genetic material for your new queen. Of course you may want to find out if they
have any drones flying this time of year in your area. A failed mating for the
new queen will doom your new hive.

2) Do you want to spend almost a month waiting for the new queen to hatch and
start laying eggs? Destroying the cells and introducing a new queen may be a
better option.

The current queen is going to need to be replaced. There is not a lot you
can do about that. I would button things up (as was suggested in another
post) and let them have a go at a new queen. Keep the feed on them.

In about 14 days take a quick look and see if you can see eggs. If not then
button them up for another week and try again. If you still cannot find
eggs then see if a local beekeeper can help you with a frame of eggs. These
can be introduced to see if the bees will try again to raise a queen. If
they start queen cells then order a new queen for them.

If you find eggs then put things back together and wait a couple of weeks. Check
for capped brood and if the brood looks normal (flat cappings, not bullet shaped)
then all is well. Decide if you want to requeen in the fall with a marked queen
from a breeder.

> Other information:
> - I have not used smoke on this hive
You may want to start giving them a little smoke the next time you
inspect. The bees are going to be getting older and may give you a
rough time otherwise.

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