> there were about ten percent double > queens, but I saw no link to aggressive behaviour. In my operation, I requeen in autumn, usually March in the southern hemisphere, as it is about the only time I have any queens left for myself. Also, it is said that having new queens in the hive for spring, September onwards, is good and reduces swarming, not that I have any problems with swarming. When requeening, I often find two queens in the one hive. It is a result of supercedure where mother is being replaced. The usual clue is that you see a recently hatched or torn down queen cell on the edge of the brood nest. There is no sign of aggressive behaviour in these hives and they act normally. Often you can tell that the old queen is being replaced when you see the wheelchair tyre marks down the comb <G>. At some stage, the daughter must take over laying in the hive and the mother, although still there, has stopped laying but is still tolerated in the hive. I found this out on several occasions with old breeder queens when I took the daughter out and the mother did not lay again. Trevor Weatherhead AUSTRALIA Coming to Apimondia in Australia in 2007 -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---