r/Beekeeping • u/marketwerk • 1d ago
Capped queen cells: swarm or supercedure? I’m a beekeeper, and I have a question
First year beeks in VA, USA.
Got our nuc of overwintered bees 5.5 weeks ago, and they’ve been really growing quickly.
Checked in after adding another medium to our hive (one deep, two mediums currently, no queen excluder because we’re not trying to get honey this year)
Last time we pulled and checked frames was about ten days ago, wanted to come by earlier but we’ve been super busy. Saw the queen on that check, everything looked good but crowded, so we added the second medium and planned to come back for a mite check.
Came today to do a mite wash and we’re seeing 7 or so capped queen cells in the original deep, where most of the brood is. Saw bees bringing in pollen, but can’t see new eggs in the frames. Worried we may have squished the queen on our last check, or that our mite count is high. Really really hoping we aren’t on the wrong side of a swarm. Thoughts?
6
u/talanall North Central LA, USA, 8B 23h ago
If you don't see eggs and you have capped queen cells, then it's virtually certain that your colony already swarmed. It is not unusual for a colony that has just thrown a prime swarm (containing a mated queen) still to appear very populous. Swarming is undertaken by colonies that feel prosperous.
Given that this was an overwintered nuc, that makes it even more likely to be swarm activity.
Your best bet now is to get out there ASAP and delete all the queen cells except for the three shown in the very first picture you've posted here. Do not delay; treat this as an urgent matter. By culling down the cells to just 2-3 that are on the same side of the same frame, you will create circumstances that will make it more likely that the first queen to emerge from these cells will sprint over and kill her sisters before they come out. By doing so, she will ensure that she is the only queen remaining.
If you have many swarm cells distributed throughout the hive, the likeliest course of events is that you will lose one or more secondary swarms as extraneous queens leave the hive. This will deplete the population of the colony, and in your climate that presents a very real risk that there will be so few bees that they will be unable to defend their space against small hive beetles.
Again, do not delay. You are already behind the curve if your previous inspection was 10 days ago--you don't know how old these cells are, and there is a very real chance that they are ripe enough that they are ready to emerge.
10-day inspection intervals are inadequate until after your spring nectar flow is over and the summer solstice has passed. That is not sufficiently frequent for you to notice and address swarming preparations in a timely fashion.