Last summer we started our 1st hive. They made it through a terrible winter (129mph wind storms that caused horrible damage, many subzero nights)! Now we have discovered what we think looks like queen cells. Should we go with the flow and let them swarm or should we try to intervene? As far as we know, there are no honeybees in the area. We are very close to a ski area over 8500 ft in elevation and pretty isolated. Was thinking of getting another hive this summer too, but not sure if we should split the hive, try to capture the swarm, or just let it go. I'm concerned about genetic diversity as there are no other bees in sight for at least 25 miles in any direction. Any thoughts? We have another empty top bar waiting, but I'm not sure if we should buy more bees or try to split out existing with the likelyhood of no new mating drones around. Would love to hear suggestions!
Thanks!