I was having a conversation with a fellow bee keeper today. We were discussing the role of the QUEEN SUBSTANCE. In our discussion the levels of queen substance distributed throughout the hive would become lowered under two circumstances. In the first circumstance there could be an abundance of bees <very strong hive> which would lead to the distribution of Q.S. over a greater number of bee's thus making the bees prepare to swarm as a function of diminished Q.S.per bee. In the second condition whereas the queen may begin to fail or weaken, again the quantity or quality of the Q.S. changes significantly to signal supercedure. Any thoughts on this or is there info available regarding these thoughts. Thanking the list in advance! Maynard - [log in to unmask]