I realise that we have discussed emergency queens here from time to time, and the consensus is that emergency queens can be inferior to other queens. The belief is that, when faced with a sudden queen loss, the bees may choose larvae that are older than the optimal age for making queens. These queens then will have a head start on any younger queens that may be started and thus emerge first. The result is a partially intercaste quuen that lacks capacity and longevity and perhaps some of the requisite pheremones. Having said that, I do know that Charles Mraz had a system that was entirely dependant on emergency queen rearing and that I also used one for several years commercially without any apparent ill effects. So what I am wondering is this: what is the evidence? What proof is there that, indeed, the bees do an inferior job when faced with an emergency situation? It really does not stand to reason in that the bees have relied on this mechanism -- along with the two others -- for queen replacement for eons. Does anyone have any references or personal experience that confirms that the results of emergency queen rearing are indeed inferior? allen