What do you think of this?

[W. Peters]

This is my third year beekeeping and currently have one single hive. But it is a strong one. So far, I have not had enough honey to harvest for various reasons, and so I was hoping that this would be the year that the golden sweetness would really flow. I had really good build-up in the early spring, so I thought I was on my way to a good year -- until I found swarm cells. I first discovered them two weeks ago, and immediately tried opening up the brood nest by removing a total of 4 frames of capped brood and putting 2 each into nucs. I put the frame with the swarm cells in one nuc with the thought that they would shortly have their own queen, and in the other, I put a frame with eggs so that they could raise their own. I replaced the removed frames with empty comb in kind of a "checkerboard" fashion.
-Two weeks later, I inspected the hive again and most of the empty frames I had installed were full of developing brood - so that was a good thing, but then I found more swarm cells. We have had a lot of rainy weather lately and so the hive has not yet had an opportunity to swarm. (Which leads to another question - I wonder what happens when a new swarm queen emerges, but the weather is not good to swarm? I guess they just duke it out). So I found the queen and it appear that she was still laying eggs, but I could tell there was some damage to here lower abdomen and she was having difficulty walking (Which made me wonder whether she had been fighting for her job). So I removed another 3 frames of capped brood along with some more swarm cells AND THE LIMPING QUEEN and put them into a deep hive body and replaced them with fresh plastic foundation. I am hoping this will make them think that the swarm has already occured. There are still several swarms cells left in the now queenless hive and I am hoping that when one emerges, things will continue as normal without the urge to swarm. So - did I do the right thing? I've opened up the brood next quite a bid and the hive still seem fairly strong (which I'm hoping will still produce some extra honey this year). Regardless, I have 3 new hives that should produce next year. I guess all is not lost.

[Joseph Clemens]

My main question is: Have you actually tried starting nucs with a single frame of brood/bees? I have not yet been brave enough to attempt it, most nucs I start with a minimum of three frames of bees, one of honey/pollen, one of brood, and one mostly empty -- I then either introduce a queen (mated or virgin) or a ripe queen cell.

[W. Peters]

The first two nucs have 2 frames each capped brood and honey with the remaining frames fully drawn empty comb. The third nuc has 3 frames capped/partially capped brood.

[Matt NY]

Are you sure these are swarm cells and not supercedure cells?

[W. Peters]

Most of the queen cells were along the bottom of the frame and the queen appeared to be fine 1 week ago. I think that they are swarm cells. But get this -- last night I opened up one of the nucs I started 2 weeks ago and found 2 queens crawling around. And there were still queen cells with queens that had net yet emerged and had not yet been destroyed. No eggs yet. Perhaps they are virgins waiting for an opportunity to mate. I'm sure they will find each other and settle the score.

[BettSue 7]

This is my first year as a beekeeper. One hive. How do i know what a swarm cell looks like? Can't say as I have ever read about or heart of this/

[Sundance]

It is not too rare to have mother/daughter queens going
to town. Which would account for fast brood build up and
a booming colony.

But the 2 queens in the Nuc?? I'm scratching
my head there.

I'd suggest marking the queens, perhaps with different
colors. Curious stuff.

[Sundance]

This is my first year as a beekeeper. One hive. How do i know what a swarm cell looks like? Can't say as I have ever read about or heart of this/

Generally.............. Swarm cells appear on the lower portion of
the frames. Supercedure cells on the upper 1/2. But this is a
big generalization that does not hold fast IMO.

[Tim B]

There are few hard and fast rules when it comes to honey bees. I have made nucs with swarm cells and have had the nuc swarm when it hatches. I have plucked as many as seven queens out of a single swarm. Your little nucs will probably be okay as the queens will sort themselves out and you can add a little brood later if needed. The big question is your primary hive. Even after removing the queen they will still want to swarm. If queens hatch they will most likely swarm. If it were my hive I would remove all cells except two, (assuming that you have two brood chambers) I would put the frame with the swarm cells along with all open brood in one brood chamber and leave the rest in the other. I would then configure the hive with 1 brood chamber, two or three supers, an excluder, then the chamber with the cells and open brood on the top. I would place 1/4 inch stick between the excluder and the upper brood chamber to tip it up and create an upper entrance. Nurse bees, emerging brood and the new queens will orient and use this upper entrance. In Six to ten days check the bottom for and remove emergency cells in the bottom chamber. Your new queens should emerge, sort themselves out,mate and return to the top chamber and start laying within two weeks. Once laying you can move the top brood back down and the swarm impluse will have passed.

[W. Peters]

AHHHHHHHHHHH! I went out to check new colony that I had created last week from 3 frames from the swarm ready hive - It being one of the only nice days we've had lately. -All the bees were dead in a pile on the bottom of the hive :( I think that they starved as there was no honey or stored surgar water anywhere. I had fed them two quarts of 1:1 at first, but I have a feeling that the other hive robbed all of it. I feel so bad that I didn't check them sooner. I did learn something - but it's so hard learning the hard way.

[mgmoore7]

And there were still queen cells with queens that had net yet emerged and had not yet been destroyed.

Those cells that did not get destroyed yet may be duds. I have seen this as well and after I know the queen was mated and laying, I opened those cells up and it was obvious the queen did not make it to maturity. I concluded from this that the queen must be able to determine if the queen in the cell is alive.