When to check??

[Clemcook]

Hello,

Last Saturday I thinned my hive to one QC, on Saturday it was capped. I was wondering when would be best to go back in and check on progress? I am thinking 2 weeks but wanted some guidance

TIA
Clem

 

[Uncle Betty]

Hello,

Last Saturday I thinned my hive to one QC, on Saturday it was capped. I was wondering when would be best to go back in and check on progress? I am thinking 2 weeks but wanted some guidance

TIA
Clem

In my VERY limited experience, it was five weeks from emergence before I saw eggs. Some very mediocre weather in between.

Two weeks from capping might be a bit soon.

You want not only to see eggs, but in due course, the brood pattern and cappings.

Time of year might be relevant as well, I was dealing in May/June.

 

[Swarm]

Sit on your hands for a month, even then you may have to wait a while longer.

 

[Clemcook]

Okay, don't open the hive for a month? What if she wasn't successful will I have time to turn it around before the end of the season? Also this hive has all the stores.

 

[Erichalfbee]

My last split took 3 weeks and two days from splitting and I reckon that really good. I have had to wait six weeks at times. Work out when your new queen should be emerging and have a look two weeks after, mindful of the weather of course. If you have had one or two cracking days a week or so after she emerged then she'll probably be fine.
As for turning the hive round you have plenty of time. The bees won't age so quickly as they have no brood to tend and you have the option of uniting or getting a new queen.
The split with the existing queen and all the flyers is the one that will bring you honey rather than the one re-queening so make sure they have enough stores and put the super/s on the flying half

 

[Clemcook]

Thanks for all your advice, when reading when the cell is capped she can emerge at anytime, I tried counting the exact days but as I noticed it at about half finished I couldn't tell how long it took them to make it, plus in a week they had managed to make about 3 other fully capped QC's. Therefore really hard to calculate, I'm guessing if I saw it capped on Sunday day she may of emerged by now so maybe check 2 weeks today?? Obviously weather is bad I will extend by a couple more Days??

Thanks

 

[Uncle Betty]

when the cell is capped she can emerge at anytime

Thanks

Hope I'm neither wrong myself, nor misunderstanding you...

the cell having been capped, it takes a further c.8 days before the queen emerges.

So if you saw the cell capped on Sunday, it could have been capped eight days previously in which case she emerged on that very day.

Or it could have been capped that day, in which case she is not due out until next Monday.

Or anything in between those two.

Even then, it takes a day or two after emerging before she goes out on flights.

Let's say she came out the day you saw the capped cell - I wouldn't look until three weeks from last Sunday.

When you do have a look, avoid the 'business hours' of 10am to 6pm. If she returns from a mating flight while you are there poking around it might confuse her and lead her astray.

Someone will correct me...

 

[Millet]

Hope I'm neither wrong myself, nor misunderstanding you...

the cell having been capped, it takes a further c.8 days before the queen emerges.

So if you saw the cell capped on Sunday, it could have been capped eight days previously in which case she emerged on that very day.

Or it could have been capped that day, in which case she is not due out until next Monday.

Or anything in between those two.

Even then, it takes a day or two after emerging before she goes out on flights.

Let's say she came out the day you saw the capped cell - I wouldn't look until three weeks from last Sunday.

When you do have a look, avoid the 'business hours' of 10am to 6pm. If she returns from a mating flight while you are there poking around it might confuse her and lead her astray.

Someone will correct me...

Yee is wrong but only through this weather we have, Queens cells will maybe be sealed on 8 days ... then 8 days after they emerge or so the book's says lol, i have seen Queen cells take a few days longer to emerge, ,.9/10/11 days is what i have seen.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Thanks for all your advice, when reading when the cell is capped she can emerge at anytime, I tried counting the exact days but as I noticed it at about half finished I couldn't tell how long it took them to make it, plus in a week they had managed to make about 3 other fully capped QC's. Therefore really hard to calculate, I'm guessing if I saw it capped on Sunday day she may of emerged by now so maybe check 2 weeks today?? Obviously weather is bad I will extend by a couple more Days??

Thanks

leave her alone for a month - fiddling can do more harm that not knowing whether she emerged successfully

 

[pargyle]

leave her alone for a month - fiddling can do more harm that not knowing whether she emerged successfully

Exactly, good advice ...opening up is not going to tell you anything of use ... if she's laying then you know she's mated ... and you could have safely left them alone. If she's not laying she may just be a slow starter and there's no point in doing anything that soon so you might as well leave them be ...

A month and you will either have a laying queen - happiness - or no eggs or larvae and you still have time to sort the situation.

Nothing to be gained from mucking about with them ... it's hard but sit on your hands - watch them coming and going on the landing board and read Storch 'At the hive entrance' .. free download ... google it and you will find it on Page 1 - I don't think it's possible to link to it on here as the link is on an alternative beekeeping forum.

http://www.------------/library/gen...eping_books_articles/At the Hive Entrance.pdf

 

[enrico]

For future reference, if I really NEED to know , I will mark the frame and lift that frame only to check what has happened to the queen cell. You will panic that it has all failed so be very very patient.
E

 

[Millet]

For future reference, if I really NEED to know , I will mark the frame and lift that frame only to check what has happened to the queen cell. You will panic that it has all failed so be very very patient.
E

That is what i do, i stick a drawing pin in the top bar of any frames that have Queen cells.

 

[Clemcook]

Sorry, I have been reading many articles and miss typed.

I will leave it for four weeks from last Sunday, I did mark the frame however I agree as this is a first for me I will more than likely think it's all gone horribly wrong and worry myself. If I wait a month it will ill hopefully be as simple as it has or it hasn't worked then I can address based on my findings.

Glad I checked, so far I'm pleased all has gone well with this 'hic up' and I'm so keen for it to be a success I don't want anything I have control of to screw it up.

Thanks