Queen Cells vs Supercedure cells

[leechmann]

I am asking for someone to post pictures of the two different types of cells' and the location where they are most likely found in the hive body.

Thank You.

[jdpro5010]

Well, I can't exactly help you with a picture but I can tell you where they are generally.  A swarm cell is almost always hanging down below a brood frame from the bottom bar or darn close to it.  A supercedure cell is generally located in the middle or top of a brood frame and is basically made from a worker cell.  Where as a swarm cell is a cell made specifically for a queen.  I hope that helps!

[trumpet01]

If you can get your hands on the latest Bee Culture Magazine they have an article and pics of that very thing. Hope this helps.
       Jim <><

[Robo]

http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,3320.msg18272.html#msg18272

[ArmucheeBee]

Robo

You said---I don't like keeping queens from supercedure or emergency queen cells because there is a higher chance they will be inferior.   I always requeen with a quality queen.

Does that mean you do keep a swarm cell queen?

[BjornBee]

The second picture in Robo's link always starts a "chicken before the egg" discussion, but the picture with the swarm cell, tells many things.

If you look at the cells in the brood comb, middle of the frame, you will see nectar being stored. This could be an indication that the bees ran out of room for honey and started backfilling the brood chamber, thus promoting a swarm urge. In most swarming situations, the old queen leaving will lay eggs up to within a day or two before the new queens emerge. So you will not normally see this backfilling, except for cases where the beekeeper did not have enough supers on. Yes, sometimes the queens leaves a week prior, but this is not normal.

Late season this may change, as bees will start back-filling in the brood chamber in preparation for winter. So maybe this picture was from a later swarming event. If you see this in spring flow, you need to do something different. If this was a fall swarming event brought on by a fall flow, then this is what you probably will see.

[Robo]

Robo

You said---I don't like keeping queens from supercedure or emergency queen cells because there is a higher chance they will be inferior.   I always requeen with a quality queen.

Does that mean you do keep a swarm cell queen?

Stephen,

There is some good discussion on this subject starting here -> http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,20086.msg153226.html#msg153226

[Robo]

This could be an indication that the bees ran out of room for honey and started backfilling the brood chamber, thus promoting a swarm urge.

Yes,  this picture was from one of the first hives I tried foundationless frames with (of course that was long before the term was so well known).  I don't remember all the details, but either conditions weren't good for comb building or this particular hive didn't like drawing comb.  But you are right,  they did not have much room.

[mudlake]

Those pictures just answered a lot of questions that I did not that I had. Now I know why a nuc that I had last year never grew. The queen cell was in the middle of the frame. I did all the right things and the nuc just never grew. Now I know why.  Thanks again.  Tony