What decides if a Q swarms or not?

[Wingy]

I ask because:
Earlier this year my hive showed signs of swarming so I made a split. All well and good. 2 weeks later & same again so I made another split. 5 days later I lost a swarm (ok looked it over and know where I went wrong)
Now have 3 hives building up nicely,
On inspection yesterday 1 Q is like a machine & I was presented with 8 FULL frames of capped brood, they have 2 supers over QX.
So was just thinking double brood when I heard Q piping!!
Frantic search, found my Q & got her out, but couldn’t find a VQ. Was in a rush to get to work.
Went back today and cleared all frames still couldn’t find VQ or see any sign of Emerged QC.
Thing is I would have expected my Q to have swarmed but she was still there BIAS & eggs present. Glad she hasn’t though

 

[taurus]

A talk I heard recently suggested it is a number of the flying bees who instigate swarming. They instigate the process which begins long before us mere humans figure out what the little blighters are up to.

 

[Anduril]

If you had been feeding, perhaps too much, on both occasions then this can cause swarming.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Nothing to do with the queen - she's just an egg laying machine. It's the workers that decide.

 

[Millet]

I ask because:
Earlier this year my hive showed signs of swarming so I made a split. All well and good. 2 weeks later & same again so I made another split. 5 days later I lost a swarm (ok looked it over and know where I went wrong)
Now have 3 hives building up nicely,
On inspection yesterday 1 Q is like a machine & I was presented with 8 FULL frames of capped brood, they have 2 supers over QX.
So was just thinking double brood when I heard Q piping!!
Frantic search, found my Q & got her out, but couldn’t find a VQ. Was in a rush to get to work.
Went back today and cleared all frames still couldn’t find VQ or see any sign of Emerged QC.
Thing is I would have expected my Q to have swarmed but she was still there BIAS & eggs present. Glad she hasn’t though

My tuppence worth is the Virgin has took of with a swarm and you are lucky the virgin has not splatted her mother to take rein over the colony..

 

[Wingy]

My tuppence worth is the Virgin has took of with a swarm and you are lucky the virgin has not splatted her mother to take rein over the colony..

At the time of inspecting my Q was present and the piping was obviously a VQ she must have been there, somewhere as I could hear her but the hive was so full of bees I just couldn’t find her. I knew I had to move her mother to protect her and that’s what I did as I was in a rush to get to work. Today when checking it was early not many bees were out flying and lots of brood appeared to have emerged so still couldn’t find VQ but no piping today. Don’t think a swarm has gone or if so not many bees have gone & a VQ was still there somewhere

 

[Wingy]

If you had been feeding, perhaps too much, on both occasions then this can cause swarming.

I haven’t fed since they came through winter, definitely no June gap here bees very busy and lots coming in