Spotting Queen Events
What you’re looking for, and what to do
Introduction
Spotting queen cells and understanding what they are telling you is important for both managing swarming, and understanding what the colony wants to do with their queen.
There are 3 types of queen events that we’re going to cover here. Knowing how to determine which is which is important for managing your colony well:
- Emergency Cells
- Supersedure Cells
- Swarm Cells
We would be remiss at this stage to not point out that all of this is extremely flexible. Sometimes a colony might drawn swarm cells on the face of the comb, and only make two of them.
Types of Queen Cells (QCs)
Emergency Cells
- Emergency cells are raised from existing brood
- They can use freshly laid eggs, right up to larvae that are 2-3 days old - that is to say bees that are 5-6 days post laying
- These cells are usually drawn on the face of the comb in the middle of the brood
- They are not usually on the edge of the frames
- Usually only a handful
- Anywhere from 1-5 cells is normal, though there are often more than supersedures
Supersedure Cells
- Very similar to emergency cells in all apsects
- Supersedures can be placed anywhere on the frame
- Usually only a small handful
- Anywhere from 1-5 cells is normal
Swarm Cells
- Cells usually on the borders of the frame - out of the way
- Not usually placed on top of brood, though might be where comb is port hole through the frames
- Usually they are plentiful
- Anywhere from 5-40 cells is normal
- A colony very intent on swarming will cover the bottom of frames with queen cells