Torn Down Queen Cell.

This is a strange bee colony; it keeps preparing to replace its queen and then, as in this case, tearing down the queen cell and killing the pupa. The sign is that the cell has been opened at the side where-as, the queen opens a trap door at the end to emerge.
 
I have long been suspicious of this particular colony, normally bees come to greet me as I approach the apiary and they’re not very friendly, they also escort me off the premises and in between make un-nerving buzzing noises about my head. Today they gave themselves away by leaving me alone until, I reached their hive, then they lost all sense of restraint. It’s very difficult to concentrate of taking photographs with the continual “Thwack” noise as they crash into my hood; and it’s impossible to mis-read their intent.
I shall tolerate their behaviour until the spring when, as soon as there are mature drones around, I’ll remove the queen and give them some eggs from a better behaved colony so that they can make a replacement.
 
Today was the first day that the queens in the nucleus in the garden could emerge from pupation so, a couple of days ago, I brought the colony to the apiary where I think there might be a better supply of good drones for the chosen one to mate; for once, the weather  looks ideal for her chances. To my surprise, there were three queen cells in it, all sealed; a few days ago there had been only two - and no brood young enough to make the third. They are all due to emerge on different days, so the plan is to wait for the first to emerge and remove the rest; relying on just one pupa didn’t work as a strategy a few weeks ago, so I was risking losing a swarm from a small colony for the sake of a back-up queen. Only time will tell me if I’ve made the right choice.
 
I’ve just posted yesterday’s, “Heather Picnic.”