# Can I avoid a swarm without doing a split?



## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

If you have a supercedure going on, then you aren't having a swarm, and there will be no increase in colonies as a result. It's just a queen change-out, managed by the bees.

Cell placement is only a guide to what's happening. Supercedure cells, swarm cells and emergency cells are all just queen cells. 

Determining what is going on requires more info about what else the frames show.

If you want to make a very discrete, no additional stack in evidence, split then use a Snelgrove board (also called a double-screen board in some catalogs) to stop an imminent swarm. Afterward you can recombine the two parts back into one stack. Most laymen, and even most beekeepers, wouldn't recognize a Snelgrove board tucked into a stack as a split-in-progress.

Nancy


----------

