queen cell question

[Kathyp]

i have what looks to be a pretty healthy hive.  in 7 weeks they have filled one deep box and about 7 frames on the second.  last week i noticed that they had made some queen cells.  is it normal for them to make queen cells if the queen is still alive and doing well?  everything looks good, but i'm not sure if there has been any new laying.  i'll check again in a couple of days.

i live in fear of squishing my queen  :(

thanks.....

[Michael Bush]

I'll bet they are just queen cups.  If there is no larvae in them, they mean nothing.

[Kathyp]

thanks for the reply.  i'll keep an eye on them.  i am surprised that they have filled up so much in so short a time.  now the blackberries are blooming.

maybe i'll get a little honey this year  :?:

[Brian D. Bray]

Also, when talking queen cells the location of them on the frame is important to figuring out what the critters are up to.

[Apis629]

Where were the queen cells, if they're on the top 1/3 and there are 1-8 of them, they may be superceadure.  If they're on the bottom 1/3 and there are 6-30+ then they're thinking about swarming.  Michael is probably right given, I wouldn't guess that a hive that small whould just jump into swarming.  Also, do they look like a peanut, minus the indent between the chambers, or, do they look like the top of an acorn.

[Kathyp]

guess i was worried for nothing.  when i got into the hive today before adding honey super, i checked the last frame that they are working on.  looks good and there are larvae.  

thanks again for the advice.  i will take a stiff shot of something before i panic again :-)