Is 2 weeks after due emergence long enough?

[8ace]

Queen in parent hive should have emerged 2 weeks ago this Thursday Friday sat (ish) is this long enough to have a look in this weekend to check for laying/new queen? Can't see any boost in pollen going through door yet though

 

[Obee1]

Queen in parent hive should have emerged 2 weeks ago this Thursday Friday sat (ish) is this long enough to have a look in this weekend to check for laying/new queen? Can't see any boost in pollen going through door yet though

Two weeks should be ok but as the weather here has been iffy for past week I would open up early or late in the day when queen won't be out on a mating flight.

 

[Swarm]

I'd leave them another week at least.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

at least another week - I would say fortnight really to be on the safe side. Doubtful she would be flying in the first week and the last week was terrible - what's the point of disrupting everything on the very slim offchance she is mated and laying?
And pollen carrying is never a reliable indicator one way or another

 

[8ace]

- what's the point of disrupting everything on the very slim offchance she is mated and laying?

To find out if she emerged/survived! At least at the moment I would have a possibility of re queening in two weeks I'll only have 10 days of bees left going off when the last bees emerged and them living 35-40 days

 

[Bosleeu]

I don't think it's the end of the world if you have a look in the morning or the evening just to see what's going on.

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[Finman]

.
You have had good weathers in UK a god time and Queen is laying if it is there.
No reason to wait.

 

[B+.]

should have emerged 2 weeks ago this Thursday Friday sat (ish)

If your dates are correct, you'll have a virgin running around inside your hive. If you open the colony too soon, there is a risk that she could fly off and your colony would be hopelessly queenless because they wouldn't have any larvae to generate a replacement.
I have queens in 5 frame nucs that have taken over a month to mate and start laying. Don't rush them or you could lose your queen. If you need an insurance policy, make a nuc with a mated queen. This can be united with the colony if/when needed.

 

[Eyeman]

I'll only have 10 days of bees left going off when the last bees emerged

Newly mated virgins seem to be reluctant to start laying whilst there is still sealed brood.
One reason I like to know if the new queen is laying is so I can time a varroa treatment with oxalic acid. You may be able to catch them when the new queens brood is not yet capped and the old queens brood has emerged!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

To find out if she emerged/survived! At least at the moment I would have a possibility of re queening in two weeks I'll only have 10 days of bees left going off when the last bees emerged and them living 35-40 days

I'm afraid you're thinking a bit too hard - if you wanted to check, you should have done so a day or two after calculated emergence - then you could have seen either the vacated QC or a dud still unopened.
Now, you're going to open up, good chance they've torn down the cell, so what have you gained? unless you plan on crashing around finding the irgin queen, nothing.
And with there being no new brood to nurse, the bees are going to last a lot longer than 30 days.
Let them do their thing

 

[Swarm]

Let them do their thing

Realising that you are concerned, I left my last post. JBM mentioned a week longer. I usually leave well alone, as I've found the bees are pretty good at just getting on with things and I'll have a little squint after a month or so, maybe longer if all looks good at the entrance.
The quote above sums it up really. I know you want to check but they are much better left, be a glass half full guy instead of a half empty guy and just watch the entrance getting busier for a while.

 

[8ace]

So the general consensus is leave it then and prey everything is ok. Failing that I guess start again next season buying another nuc of bees. This is the case for both my hives as both are in the same state due to queen vanishing shortly after AS. Flip side both hives are very busy air is still thick with bees 7pm most eves

 

[Bosleeu]

So the general consensus is leave it then and prey everything is ok. Failing that I guess start again next season buying another nuc of bees. This is the case for both my hives as both are in the same state due to queen vanishing shortly after AS. Flip side both hives are very busy air is still thick with bees 7pm most eves

You should still have time to introduce a new laying queen if this one doesn't work out. (If you wanted to). Chances are she is in there and all will be OK, so fingers crossed.

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[kazmcc]

I'm afraid you're thinking a bit too hard - if you wanted to check, you should have done so a day or two after calculated emergence - then you could have seen either the vacated QC or a dud still unopened.
Now, you're going to open up, good chance they've torn down the cell, so what have you gained? unless you plan on crashing around finding the irgin queen, nothing.
And with there being no new brood to nurse, the bees are going to last a lot longer than 30 days.
Let them do their thing

I agree. What are you going to look for? If you don't see eggs, that doesn't really mean anything yet, my queen ( my only reared queen, so in my vast requeening experience lol ) took 4 weeks from emergence to laying, and your unmarked young queen is going to be tricky to spot unless you get lucky so you are not going to come away any wiser and may disrupt them.

I do understand your worry though, and eagerness to check things are ok, so if you feel you really must, take the above advice from others, and go in late/early.

Good luck

 

[Obee1]

So the general consensus is leave it then and prey everything is ok. Failing that I guess start again next season buying another nuc of bees. This is the case for both my hives as both are in the same state due to queen vanishing shortly after AS. Flip side both hives are very busy air is still thick with bees 7pm most eves

I would think about getting a nuc up and running this year. Overwinter it and you will have a spare queen ready for the disasters that will no doubt befall you next year. If you wait till next year you wont get it in time should you need a mated queen at the start of the season in an emergency situation.

 

[Tremyfro]

I had to make an extra Nuc when I found some queen cells in one of my hives. They were still open ..so calculated the possible emergence day. I could not resist having a quick look a couple of days after the queen was expected to emerge. Having clear cover boards is a real bonus sometimes. She had emerged and there was a lovely queen cell still suspended between the frames on the matchstick. I stole it away to show the grand children. You could see the perfectly nibbled edge where she released herself.
So now sitting on my hands for a few weeks whilst she gets mated and starts to lay. This Nuc is an unexpected bonus. The queen is the daughter of one of my new Carniolans queens.
I am beginning to be a bit more relaxed about allowing enough time for the bees to do what they need to do....now I have more colonies it has given me far more flexibility.

 

[8ace]

I would think about getting a nuc up and running this year. Overwinter it and you will have a spare queen ready for the disasters that will no doubt befall you next year. If you wait till next year you wont get it in time should you need a mated queen at the start of the season in an emergency situation.

I don't have a way of getting a nuc up and running right now other than buy one. All my bees will now be foragers pretty much knowing where they live so if I bought a new queen I'd have no bees to support her in a nuc .I don't have the cash to buy a nuc box and bees at moment. If new queen starts laying and she does well and there is time I could pinch a frame of eggs and bees from her but I can't see that happening

 

[Swarm]

Forget all about splitting a nuc off, you have two colonies now depleted, awaiting new brood. By the time new bees emerge the colonies will be smaller again, your aim is to build them in strength ready for the Winter, any nuc splitting will certainly not help. As Kaz has mentioned above, new queens can take a while to start laying so if there is no sign of eggs, you have proven nothing.
Try not to worry about them and trust the bees, in a couple of years time you'll be giving others the same advice, honest.

 

[8ace]

I've found the bees are pretty good at just getting on with things and I'll have a little squint after a month or so, maybe longer if all looks good at the entrance.

how would you define all looks good? the Swarmed hive is much depleted of bees as all the original flying bees have died off of old age so is quieter then the other but still fairly active. The Parent hive is very busy and seems to be excited with the good weather at the moment. I've attached some pics, do I need to have a look in next week? which will be about 5 weeks after emergence of the 1st queen

 

[Cazza]

how would you define all looks good? the Swarmed hive is much depleted of bees as all the original flying bees have died off of old age so is quieter then the other but still fairly active. The Parent hive is very busy and seems to be excited with the good weather at the moment. I've attached some pics, do I need to have a look in next week? which will be about 5 weeks after emergence of the 1st queen

Why not look today? Four weeks is long enough.
Cazza