# Trapped swarm supersedes after 6 weeks. Normal?



## challenger (May 27, 2009)

I've always heard that the queen in a primary swarm will be replaced by the swarm during the spring/early summer. 
That's just one vote for SOP.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Yep, just as I see the swarm queen is laying and am thinking it's getting ready to really start growing, they start supersede proceedings and it's 4 weeks down time before a new queen is laying again. I don't chase swarms any more, but when I did, this happened much more often than I liked.


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## IAmTheWaterbug (Jun 4, 2014)

I suppose this is a good argument for requeening captured swarms after the first brood cycle.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

I have noticed that roughly 20% of my captured swarms do try and replace the queen. Just another good reason to keep a nuc or two handy.


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## IAmTheWaterbug (Jun 4, 2014)

IAmTheWaterbug said:


> I trapped a swarm on March 24, and it was doing pretty well. Then I inspected last Friday, at the 6 weeks mark, and I was a bit distressed to see that it was queenless. There were no eggs or open brood, only capped brood, and I had a capped queen cell, near the middle of one frame.


She's out! I went in this morning, and the cell was open, with a perfect little disc of wax hanging off the end. She must have just emerged, because I also heard piping!

Of all the days for my GoPro to have a dead battery 

Since I didn't have a working camera I figured there was no need to keep looking, so I just closed it up. Bush's Bee Math says it'll be another ~12 days to laying, so I'll back in 15 days and look for eggs.


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## IAmTheWaterbug (Jun 4, 2014)

IAmTheWaterbug said:


> She's out! I went in this morning, and the cell was open, with a perfect little disc of wax hanging off the end. She must have just emerged, because I also heard piping!
> 
> Of all the days for my GoPro to have a dead battery
> 
> Since I didn't have a working camera I figured there was no need to keep looking, so I just closed it up. Bush's Bee Math says it'll be another ~12 days to laying, so I'll back in 15 days and look for eggs.


So I went back 16 days after emergence, I'm pretty sure I saw freshly laid eggs! I couldn't be 100% sure because the lighting was poor, but I'm about 80% sure. 

I won't get a chance to inspect again for nearly 3 weeks, so by that time I should have a full brood cycle.

And this time I brought a fully charged GoPro. And forgot to press Start.inch:inch:inch:


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

That sounds great, isn't beekeeping just the grandest hobby ever? 
Be careful though, or you'll get the beekeeping fever and have to attend beekeeping anonymous meetings!


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

I never had a swarm supercede that quickly yet. Most of my swarm queens I got in 2012 were still kicking in 2015 and I still have one of them for this year, basically her 4th year since I hived the swarm. She's cordovan so I know it's the original queen and she looks old and beat up, but still laying strong.


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