Mary, I'll give you my 2-bits worth about your questions. I've been a hobby bee-keeper for 15 years but there are a lot of variables in bee-keeping others will have different opinions. 1. Checking for queens - This is usually not necessary if you re-queen every year and give the bees plenty of room. However, some people like to check every 7-10 days during the swarming season. Swarm cell are ALMOST always made on the bottom bars of the top brood body (2 deeps are usually used for brood rearing here in Washington State). Just loosen the brood body and tip it up on end to examin the bottom bars. You have to look sharp 'cause sometimes the bees hide a swarm cell near the end bars. Taking each frame out for examination is much too labor intensive and upsets the bees. (Many keepers believe that honey production is decreased every time you open a hive). By the way, the queen cells are easy to identify, being shaped somewhat like a peanut and hanging downward. 2. Honey production - This depends on where you are, temperatures through the year, flowers available and many other variables. Your note says that you are taking the wax - this will decrease your production as it takes something like 5 (?) pounds of honey to make 1 pound of wax. In my area, I get 50 to 100 pounds of honey per hive and 4 to 5 deep supers are needed to hold all those bees & honey. I usually harvest the entire crop in September. If you try to get by with just your brood bodies and a shallow super, your bees will almost certainly try to swarm. I strongly suggest you get a copy of "First Lessons in Beekeeping" by Dadant. You can also check with your local Cooperative Extension office for bee info. and it's always a good idea to join a beekeeper's association - most areas have at least one and your Extension office may be able to track one down for you. Good luck & enjoy your bees! Dave Pehling, WSU Cooperative Extension [log in to unmask]