Definition of "supersedure" [su•per•se•dure]

• The act or process of superseding. (noun)
• Replacement of a queen bee that has grown old or weak by one that is younger or more vigorous. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The phenomenon is called supersedure and a sizeable number of celebrities and social figures would vouch for its existence."
• "We are optimists and realists, we take pride in our supersedure over pre-natal blemishes …"
• "Absconding swarm, American foulbrood, Braula coeca, buff comb, Demaree ('the method of swarm control that separates the queen from most of the brood within the same hive'), supersedure ('a natural replacement of an established queen by a daughter in the same hive')—it's all here."