Queen cups/play cups

[Do224]

When I went on my beginners course the instructor said that it was common to find queen cups in a hive even if the bees have no intention of swarming at that time “It’s just the bees practicing and playing around”.

I’ve found a few (three) in my hive this week. There were no eggs or larvae inside them and I wasn’t sure whether I should tear them down or just leave them (I left them).

There was brood on 6 frames and there were still three or four frames left of new foundation that they hadn’t started drawing yet.

Are they just playing around?

Should I have destroyed the cups?

 

[drdrday]

No need to destroy play cups. Bees build them all the time, scattered around the brood nest. I leave them, as if you destroy them they'll only be rebuilt. Plus if you leave them you can easily take a peek inside them on your next inspections for eggs/larvae.
They're only queen cups whilst they're empty - once they're occupied by an egg or larvae is when you have to do something.

 

[Gadgetman]

I do destroy play cups. Just as a way of keeping tabs on which ones I’ve checked. Otherwise in time they can build up and you may miss one that suddenly becomes charged or a new sneaky one hidden in the corner of a frame.
Bees can make decisions to swarm at any time at this time of year - even when there seems to be plenty of room in their current home.