Inspecting hived swarm

[taurus]

I hived a swarm from a neighbour's hive last Thursday (he called on me for help as he had nowhere to put them and was worried his neighbours would get upset) - I checked them today (Wednesday) ie the 7th day after hiving them and found eggs.

He told me the hive had swarmed the previous day so I reckoned this was a cast swarm (ie not the original queen) so it would be a virgin queen.

Would a virgin queen have mated and started laying within a week?

 

[theeggman]

I hived a swarm from a neighbour's hive last Thursday (he called on me for help as he had nowhere to put them and was worried his neighbours would get upset) - I checked them today (Wednesday) ie the 7th day after hiving them and found eggs.

He told me the hive had swarmed the previous day so I reckoned this was a cast swarm (ie not the original queen) so it would be a virgin queen.

Would a virgin queen have mated and started laying within a week?

My inexperienced guess is NO. I assume you've caught the original swarm with the "old" Q.

 

[taurus]

That was what I thought - the chap told me it was the third swarm from the hive so I assumed it was a virgin queen.

Thinking about it - the local swarm guy told me he is kept very busy in our area because there are so many hives close by. I'm wondering if the swarm wasn't from his hive at all - it may have been in his next door neighbour's garden but it could be a prime swarm from somewhere else.

I was rather surprised to find a frame full of eggs so soon after they moved in.