Supersedure cell capped in late August — can a new queen even get mated this late in Sweden?
Third year, Uppsala. Inspection on Tuesday found a single capped queen cell mid-frame in my strongest hive — classic supersedure position, not a swarm-cell fringe. The old queen (2023, so she's had a good run) is still present and still laying, though noticeably less than midsummer.
My math: cell capped now means a virgin emerging around the end of August, mating flights first half of September at best. Meanwhile every colony in the apiary is busy evicting drones as fast as they can drag them.
So — realistically, are there enough drones left in mid-September at this latitude for her to mate properly? Do I let the supersedure run, or should I be lining up a mated queen now as insurance? I've read colonies mid-supersedure often keep their own drones longer, but I don't know if that's real or forum folklore.
#supersedure#late-mating#drones#queen-rearing
▲ 9 votes💬 4 replies✅ Solved
4 replies
SkaneBees · Aug 21, 2026 · ✅ Accepted answer
Real situation, decent odds. At our latitude I've had queens mate into mid-September in a warm year — she needs a couple of 20C-ish calm afternoons, which September usually offers. Drone retention is not folklore: colonies with a queen problem keep drones longer, and eviction isn't synchronized across apiaries, so congregation areas stay stocked later than your landing boards suggest. Do NOT touch the old queen — supersedure colonies often run mother and daughter laying side by side for weeks, she's your insurance. Check for new eggs in mid-late September, act only if neither queen is laying.
AbejasCarla · Aug 21, 2026
Down here late mating is never the worry, but ten years has taught me the universal part: a colony that decides to supersede knows something about that queen you don't. Every time I've 'rescued' a supersedure with a bought queen I've regretted the meddling. The bees run a smoother succession than we do.
ImkerinLena · Aug 21, 2026
Agree with SkaneBees on all points, one addition for the insurance-minded: rather than buying a queen now, just know which colony you'd combine with if you do a late-September check and find the hive hopelessly queenless. Newspaper combine into a neighbour is a better winter outcome at your latitude than a September-introduced stranger queen anyway.
LindenNora · Aug 22, 2026
Perfect, thank you — leaving them to it, calendar marked for a September 20th egg check, and hive 3 is the designated combine partner if it all goes wrong. Weirdly proud of the old queen for arranging her own succession.