Scott, I would say that the bees superceded the marked queen late in the season.
I would also say that the unmarked queen was also in the hive when you looked in
October, you just didn't see her. She probably wasn't mated properly so only
drone brood is present. The bees know that there is a problem, and are trying to
raise a new queen-which they can't do because they don't have any fertile eggs.
Just a long distance theory don't ya know.   Mike

Scott Moser wrote:

>    What about the unmarked queen?  Is she a drone layer, or only
> preparing to swarm?  Thanks all!
>