afterswarm

Hi, We have been off and on beekeepers for about three years in Oregon. Last year a swarm moved into our deserted hive and set up housekeeping. They did just great on their own and this spring they swarmed. Then swarmed again a few weeks later! The hive looked pretty busy still, so we...

I am a new beekeeper, just going into my 2nd year. A week ago, I split one of my hives. The hive had started making queen cells so I knew it was high time. I left them one (I thought) queen cell, almost ready to cap. Today I checked the hive. They seemed very docile but active. The queen cell...

Can someone explain after-swarms to me? It seems to be basic bee knowledge (I knew this before I ever kept a bee) that the old queen leaves and the new queen destroys the other cells or fights any other emerging queen to the death! Sola Una Regina! So do we even know the mechanisms for...