Jaytee
New Bee
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2011
- Messages
- 38
- Reaction score
- 2
- Location
- Kent
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
- Number of Hives
- 7
I collected a good sized caste swarm on Monday which had been hanging in a tree in foul weather for 5 days; I wasn't informed until the Monday afternoon. I know where they came from (not mine) so am confident it's a caste with a virgin queen as I was involved in collecting the prime swarm from the same hive. They're now hived and are being fed due to being so lethargic when collected. All looked good yesterday, they were flying well and taking the food from an Ashforth Feeder.
My question is how long should I leave it before doing the first inspection; I'm guessing at least 3 weeks to give the queen time to mate or should I have a quick look in a week to 10days to make sure there isn't a laying queen there already. I've never collected a caste before so all advice gratefully received.
My question is how long should I leave it before doing the first inspection; I'm guessing at least 3 weeks to give the queen time to mate or should I have a quick look in a week to 10days to make sure there isn't a laying queen there already. I've never collected a caste before so all advice gratefully received.
