From: "queenbee" <' If you take the brood to the top tier and there is no
pheromone getting to
> those bees at the top, I would imagine it would be an emergency response
> and
> not a supercedure response.  In a supercedure response it would be to
> pheromone failing over time, not being cut off in one go.  I have seen
> bees
> making queen cells when brood is moved into the top super but it seemed
> from
> numbers more like an emergency response.  I have found that for
> supercedure
> they build only a couple but build many for an emergency response.'

Assuming that you do NOT put in any solid division when raising brood to the
top, I would expect some pheromone still does get thru - due to interchange
of nurse bees between the main queenright nest and the separated brood due
to some bees travelling down the hive for cleansing flights for example -
and also the pheromone coating on the brood frmames would only 'wear out'
over time, not be suddenly expunged.   So conditions for supercedure (slow
dwindling of the level of pheromone) could be expected to exist.  The test
would be whther the cells were sealed or still open 7 days later - as they
are with horisontal displacement of brood frames.  In that case the cells
were raised on eggs/larvae that were around one day old at the time the
brood was moved - NOT an emergency reaction.   I suggest 2 supercedure cells
is common when supercedure occurs within the main nest - but a greater
number (typically around 6) results when the supercedure impulse is induced
by separating (but not isolating) just part of the brood nest from the
queen.

Robin Dartington

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