Yep, Kathy, beat yourself up for spending unnecessary funds on bee stuff. You are the first one to ever do that.
are you trying to tell me, in your gentle yet crusty old way, that i am whining? :evil: scolding accepted :'(
If your hive was queenless could they have started the supercedure before the new queen was introduced
no. i started this nuc just for this queen and gave them only capped brood. i introduced the cage the day i made the nuc and am reasonably certain that there was no brood of queen making age added. could i have missed a stray egg or two? even if i did, with the queen in there, i would have expected them to not feel the need to start one, or having started one, to tear it out when she was released and laying.
if i take the cell out and they are bent on replacing her, they will make another. if i take the cell out and something happens to her, or she turns out to be poor quality, i have gained nothing. there is a chance that she will avoid the swallows and make it back. that would be best. if she does not, combining still will be a good option.
except for moving frames with queen cells in order to make nucs, i do not dispose of them. it's a great way to end up with queenless hives.